RENTAL companies throughout Europe have called on the European Commission to allow the free movement of vehicles throughout Europe. European Car & Truck Rental Association (ECATRA) president Freddie Aldous has already met with European Parliament members and several European Commissioners to discuss increased rental flexibility between member nations.

The EC has pledged to investigate the issue and at the recent ECATRA congress in Rome, two speakers - Roger Craske, director of European Union tax and legislation ADT Auctions, a former Customs & Excise official, and EC adviser, and Andre Gallin, quality and development director Hertz France - discussed the key issues.

Rental companies are to lobby the EC for the right to allow re-rental of cars in a foreign country - possibly up to a maximum three-month period after the car arrives in the country - to either a local or a foreign customer for use anywhere in Europe prior to its repatriation to its original country. In calling for a more efficient pan-European daily rental sector Craske said the result, following EC discussions, needed to be:

A paper will shortly be submitted to each relevant directorate setting out the justification for more flexible cross-border rental possibilities and ECATRA's ideas for providing a framework. It will feature calls for:

The catalyst for ECATRA's call for increased rental flexibility has been the current political trend towards a more open market and improved transport links, particularly with the opening of the Channel Tunnel. Gallin said that in the same way as airline companies sell cross-border tickets, so car rental companies need to deal across borders without hindrance.