Sometimes it is truly remarkable to look back at old proposals after ten or eleven years.
In 2015/2016, we engaged intensively with AIDT e.V. on the topic of eCMR – the digital waybill – and our focus was not about burdening drivers with even more control and surveillance.
Our reasoning was different
If a transport is already documented digitally, why don’t we finally make use of this information in a meaningful way?
Why must authorities always gather the same documents again for cross-border transports? Why can’t information that is already available within the European internal market be exchanged securely, traceably, and under clear access rules between competent authorities?
Our proposal at the time therefore went far beyond simply replacing the paper waybill.
We aimed to create a transparent digital transport process.
And now it is worth taking a look at what the European Union actually launched in September 2026.
On 15 September, the European Commission presented its package on fair labour mobility. One component is a concrete proposal to strengthen the European Labour Authority (ELA).
This is not yet binding law; the proposal must first be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council.
However, the content is noteworthy.
If the proposal is adopted, the ELA will in future have improved access to information from IMI, ERRU and EESSI. Information from posting notifications will also become accessible for certain tasks. These data are intended to be used, among other things, for analyses and risk assessments.
Moreover, the ELA will be able to initiate or encourage coordinated or joint cross-border inspections on its own initiative.
Important point: this does not create a European super-control authority. The actual inspections remain with the Member States and require their approval.
But the direction is clear
Moving away from controlling individual documents – towards analysing interconnected information.
At the same time, another development is already underway.
With the European eFTI Regulation, the electronic exchange of freight information has become a reality. From 9 July 2027, Member States must accept electronic freight information via certified eFTI platforms. Authorities will be able to access the relevant digital information during inspections.
Even more interestingly, at the beginning of 2026, the ELA already consulted explicitly with the European Commission on how eFTI can in future be used for inspections, including the inspection of posting rules for drivers.
We have suddenly come very close to a vision that we discussed at AIDT more than ten years ago.
The digital waybill could in future not only prove what was loaded and where it is going.
Together with other European information systems, it could help make the entire transport process more transparent:
- Who is the transport company?
- Where was the transport ordered?
- Which journey was actually carried out?
- Which posting was notified?
- What social security coverage exists?
- What information is stored in the different European systems?
But do these pieces of information even match up?
This is exactly where I see the real opportunity.
Because digitalisation does not automatically mean that drivers are increasingly monitored.
When used correctly, digitalisation can also mean that those who have previously hidden behind complex corporate structures, chains of subcontractors and cross-border jurisdictions finally become visible.
This was one of the ideas behind our eCMR proposal at the time.
Not:
“Control the driver better.”
But:
“Make the transport more transparent.”
For example, if a digitally documented transport, company data, posting notification and social security information can be cross-checked, we create something that we have been calling for for years:
control of the system instead of permanent control of the weakest link in the system.
Of course, there is another side to this.
The more data are interconnected, the more important data protection, purpose limitation, access control, transparency and above all the ability to correct incorrect data become.
Because a single incorrect data record must not automatically lead to a company or driver being labelled as a “risk case”.
That is why it has always been decisive for me
Digitalisation – yes, but transparent, traceable and with clear rules.
What we formulated as a vision at the time is slowly gaining the technical and legal building blocks today.
The eCMR alone will not change Europe.
But the combination of eFTI + IMI + ERRU + EESSI + posting data + risk analysis could indeed give rise to a European information network with which cross-border transports can be controlled much more transparently.
Whether this ultimately becomes an instrument for fair competition and better working conditions or merely a denser control net depends on how these systems are designed and used.
That is precisely why it is worth paying close attention to this development.
Perhaps what we described in 2015 as the future of eCMR is now not so far from European reality after all.
Sometimes good ideas simply need a few more years before politics and technology are ready.
