On 21 April 2026, in Luxembourg, the Court of Justice of the European Union will hold the hearing in case C-524/24, launched by Italy against Austria over restrictions on heavy goods traffic along the Brenner corridor. The action, brought by the Italian government through the Ministry of Transport, challenges the compatibility of the bans introduced by the Land Tirol with the free movement of goods guaranteed by Articles 34 and 35 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Austria is the defendant in the proceedings, while the European Commission has intervened in support of Italy.
This hearing represents the decisive procedural step before the ruling expected in summer 2026. The physical setting of the dispute is the Tyrolean stretch of the A12 Inntal motorway, between Langkampfen and Ampass, and more broadly the Brenner Pass, a central node of the trans-European transport network Ten-T. At the centre of the litigation are four groups of measures adopted by Austria. The first concerns the night-time transit ban for heavy goods vehicles, applied during specific time slots with limited exceptions. The second is the sectoral ban, which prohibits the road transport of specific categories of goods, including paper, cement, metal products and certain types of agricultural and consumer goods, with the declared aim of encouraging a shift to rail.
The third group includes winter bans and restrictions during peak periods, particularly at weekends characterised by heavy tourist flows. For 2026, Austria has extended the blocking time slots for vehicles over 7.5 tonnes on Saturdays from 10 January to 14 March, widening the time window during which traffic is halted. The fourth element is the traffic metering system, which allows only a limited number of heavy goods vehicles to pass from the A12 towards the Brenner at predetermined intervals. The 2026 calendar issued by the Land Tirol includes around 30 metering days, with operational management entrusted to Asfinag.
The legal reconstruction of the case shows that the Italian appeal is structured around four grounds, each referring to one of the contested measures. Italy argues that the restrictions constitute measures having equivalent effect to quantitative restrictions and do not meet the requirements of necessity and proportionality required under EU law to justify derogations from the free movement of goods. In particular, according to the Italian position, the package of bans results in a systematic compression of the corridor’s capacity, significantly affecting flows originating from or destined for Italy.
A significant development occurred on 14 May 2024, when the European Commission issued a formal opinion within the procedure activated by Italy under Article 259 of the Treaty. According to reports by Confetra (General Confederation of Italian Transport and Logistics) and European Litigation, the Commission concluded that the Austrian measures are neither justified nor consistent with their stated objectives, criticising the night-time ban, the sectoral ban, seasonal restrictions and the metering system. The Commission’s subsequent intervention in case C-524/24 in support of Italy further strengthens the systemic relevance of the dispute.
On the Austrian side, the federal government and the Land Tirol defend the restrictions as essential instruments to protect public health and air quality in Alpine valleys, as well as to ensure road safety and manage traffic peaks. Vienna argues that the measures are proportionate and part of a long-term strategy aimed at encouraging a modal shift to rail, in line with European climate objectives and with the future full operation of the Brenner Base Tunnel.
For Italian and European road haulage companies, the impact is primarily operational and economic. The bans and the metering system make journey times less predictable, cause forced stops and require trips to be rescheduled, with knock-on effects on delivery planning and vehicle utilisation. Alternative routes, such as the Tarvisio crossing or other Alpine passes, involve longer distances and additional costs, affecting the competitiveness of supply chains that use the Brenner corridor for trade with Germany and Central and Northern Europe.
The scale of the case goes beyond the bilateral dimension. The Brenner is one of the main north–south axes of the Ten-T network and represents a key link between Italy’s manufacturing system and the German and Central European markets. A ruling confirming the legitimacy of the Austrian measures could widen the scope for Member States to introduce traffic restrictions for environmental and health reasons, provided they are justified. Conversely, a decision in favour of Italy would require a revision of the Tyrolean package of measures and set stricter limits on national restrictions affecting strategic corridors of the internal market.
M.L.
