Canaries get confirmation that there will be no tolls on the islands roads

The confirmation that a new EU regulation to make a certain number of roads subject to tolls will not affect the Canary Islands, has been greatly received by the Regional Government and FREDICA (the Federation of Importers and Concessionaires of the Canary Islands) as they were concerned it would affect trade in the archipelago.

The recently published Directive 2022/362 of the European Parliament of February 24, 2022, on the application of charges to vehicles for the use of certain roads, excludes certain territories with the European Union.

Specifically, Article 1 of the Directive in section 3 states that it will not apply to freight vehicles registered in the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, the Azores or Madeira that carry out transport only in these territories, or between these territories, and the continental territory of Spain or Portugal, respectively.

Thus, the new Directive duplicates what was included in Directive 1999/62/EC, which already had this exception. The new Directive establishes the obligation of the Member States to charge road transport vehicles with different rates, known as the ‘Eurovignette’, but which is now extended to light vehicles, including cars, and congestion charges.

All member states of the EU will have to regulate these new road transport charges in their domestic law as of March 2024.

Apart from disagreeing with this type of measure, FREDICA said it is very important that this type of proposal is not applied in the Canary Islands, as it is a small island territory, which would seriously affect business activity, residents, and tourists in general.

There are already toll roads in various parts of Spain, but more now have to be implemented within two years, and congestion charges in certain cities in the same way as in London.