Linava, the national association of Lithuanian road transport operators, has begun laying the groundwork for a class action at the Court of Justice of the European Union. Representing over 600 Lithuanian hauliers, the association announced on its official website its intention to seek compensation for the damage inflicted on national companies by the Mobility Package, particularly after the European Commission withdrew the requirement for trucks to return to base every eight weeks.
"The association invites all carriers who believe they have suffered losses due to unlawful actions by the authorities and who have supporting documentation to come forward. We believe that government decisions should not lead to losses for businesses that ensure the stable operation of the entire economic system, and therefore they are entitled to seek compensation through the courts," reads the statement dated 15 April 2025.
Linava has also asked its member companies to gather data and documents proving the losses caused by the regulation. These will be reviewed starting from 5 May to support the association’s legal team in drafting the complaint. The claim appears all the more justified following the dramatic U-turn by the European Court of Justice on 4 October, which overturned the requirement for goods transport vehicles to return to their country of registration every eight weeks—a key provision of the Mobility Package.
According to the Court, the return-to-base requirement introduced in 2022 had not been adequately assessed by EU legislators. For this reason, Linava intends to demand compensation for the damage caused by two years of forced and uneconomic returns, which were also deemed counterproductive by the European Commission. The Commission backed the Court's decision, noting that the obligation to return trucks had led to inefficiencies in the transport system and unnecessary increases in emissions, pollution, and congestion, while restrictions on combined transport had undermined its effectiveness in supporting multimodal freight logistics.
However, the decision to scrap the return obligation has sparked discontent and criticism in other parts of Europe, including from Germany’s Social Democratic Party, which viewed the move as a missed opportunity to tackle social dumping and create fair competition within the European transport sector. Hauliers from Eastern Europe, particularly Lithuania and Poland, are widely seen as the main gateway for non-EU drivers into the European market—drivers who end up working on the continent's roads in conditions that fall well below the minimum standards expected in a forward-looking Europe.
Marco Martinelli
