European car makers are upset with a new French environmental classification which relegates even the newest Euro 6 diesel engines to the second cleanest category.

Also, Dutch police fine Gumball3000 competitors €30,000 and confiscate twelve driving licences. The A1 Paris bus and taxi lane has been suspended. A trans-Continental driving record attempt finds diesel really is more expensive in Switzerland. Tolls announced on new Moscow-St Petersburg motorway.

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FRANCE ECO-STICKERS UPSET CAR MAKERS

Cleanest diesels relegated to category two.

Graphic via Legispermis.com

France’s new environmental vehicle stickers have upset the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).

Following on from the progressive Paris bans on the most polluting vehicles, due to start next month – in which diesel engines have been identified as the major culprit – Ecology minister Segolene Royal last week unveiled seven new emissions categories.

Aside from the blue sticker for electric vehicles, the cleanest is for petrol vehicles registered since January 2011. All diesels are relegated to at least category two.

ACEA says, ‘There is no reason to discriminate against [Euro 6] clean diesel technologies. This does not make sense from an environmental or health point of view, and could be detrimental to the mobility of cities and businesses.’

The windscreen stickers will allow local mayors to incentivise the use of clean vehicles through reduced or free parking or access to dedicated lanes, for instance.

In Paris, the stickers could be used to govern ‘alternate traffic’ on high pollution days.

Unlike the similar German system, the scheme – due to be introduced next January – is voluntary and will not apply to foreign-registered cars.

The stickers will be free for the first six months and €5 thereafter.

Paris is in favour of the scheme, and Grenoble, but Clermont-Ferrand and Aix-en-Provence are reportedly opposed.

Drivers will apply over the internet and have the stickers delivered to their homes.

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According to pan-Europe police federation TISPOL, a ’co-ordinated action’ saw Dutch police confiscate twelve driving licences and issue €30,000 in fines to Gumball3000 competitors and followers during this year’s event. However, it says there were no ‘significant traffic offences’ and that by paying on-the-spot fines most drivers were able to get their licences back straight away. The European leg of the high profile transatlantic rally took place between Stockholm and Amsterdam in the last week of May. Photo: competitors on the Oresund Link in Denmark, via Gumball3000 Facebook.

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roundup: PARIS. The new A1 bus and taxi lane has been suspended by a court. The reserved lane between Roissy and the peripherqiue ring road opened in April and is barred to other vehicles between 06:30-10:00 during the week. The judge ruled it made for unfair competition for the VTC chauffeurs association according to Le Parisien. Meanwhile, Paris’ second bus and taxi lane opened on the A6a in the south of the city last week. ON TOUR. The RAC and Audi Record Road Trip – an attempt by Telegraph writers Andrew Frankel and Rebecca Jackson to claim the world record for the most countries driven through on a single tank of fuel – has been compiling retail diesel prices as they go. So far they have Belgium at €1.289/l and France at €1.230. As in our recent fuel price profile, Switzerland – at €1.520 – is significantly expensive. The attempt started in Maastricht in the southern Netherlands this morning and should end somewhere in the Balkans… See @RecordRoadTrip. RUSSIA. The toll on the new M11 motorway between Moscow and St Petersburg will cost around 1,000RUB (£12, €16) when it opens for the World Cup in 2018 says The Moscow Times. The 684km road runs parallel to the existing, notorious M10 and will be up to ten lanes wide. Truck tolls are yet to be announced but are expected to be considerably higher.

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Workers at Calais and MyFerryLink react badly to Eurotunnel selling the Dover-Calais operator’s ships to rival DFDS.

Plus, a new batch of hybrid Toyota Prius for reformed Ukraine traffic police. Horrifying death toll on Polish roads last weekend. DVLA computer system crashes on day driving licence paper counterpart abolished. The north side of the Gotthard Pass is likely closed until mid-July.

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EUROTUNNEL SELLS MYFERRYLINK SHIPS

Keeps Nord Pas de Calais, possibly for hazardous freight.

A wildcat strike by MyFerryLink workers following Eurotunnel’s sale of its ferries to DFDS yesterday was quickly called off this morning.

The operator said it was, ‘Pleased to advise MyFerryLink services will resume with the 12:15 ex Calais & 13:30 ex Dover and will continue with a full schedule.’

As expected, it was announced last night that Eurotunnel will sell two of MyFerryLink’s three ships to rival Dover-Calais operator DFDS after a protracted legal battle sparked by the UK competition authority.

In an earlier statement, Eurotunnel said it ‘regrets’ that MyFerryLink had not been able to mount its own takeover.

It continues, ‘The manner in which DFDS conducted itself during the recruitment of ex SeaFrance personnel in 2012 gives hope for the best solution possible with regard to preserving employment, without interruption to services.’

Later on however, after Eurotunnel boss Jacques Gounon admitted in a press conference that not all MyFerryLink jobs would be preserved, dock workers in Calais downed tools ‘in solidarity’ for three hours this afternoon, paralysing all ferry services.

Meanwhile, MyFerryLink was struggling with the news that the chairman of its supervisory board Didier Cappelle has been found dead this morning after a suffering a suspected heart attack.

MyFerryLink employs 476 people of which 370 work on board the ferries.

The deal takes effect from 2 July according to DFDS.

Meanwhile Eurotunnel says it will keep the third ship, Nord Pas de Calais, though in exactly what capacity is not completely clear, or what brand it will sail under.

Pending agreement by the competition authority, the firm says it will be ‘operated in co-ordination with the Fixed Link’.

Industry insiders speculate that the ship will be used to carry hazardous freight.

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The latest batch of Toyota Prius hybrids has been delivered to the Ukraine police says the Ministry of Internal Affairs. ‘I am very pleased that these white beauties will become symbol of a new honest Ukrainian police, will work for the good of the Ukraine and will also serve a symbol of friendship between Ukraine and Japan,’ said President Poroshenko. Nearly 1600 of the cars have been donated by the Japanese government with the first deliveries in September 2013. The Ukraine traffic police had been notoriously corrupt. However, along with organisational help from the US govt, the reforms appear to be working. See more on driving in Ukraine. Photo: Europe Square, Kyiv @DriveEurope

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roundup: POLAND. Forty six people died on the roads over the Corpus Christi holiday weekend reports Radio Poland, the same number as last year. Police blame speeding, ‘arrogance’ and DUI. While Poland has traditionally been regarded as having the most dangerous roads in Europe, total deaths fell by 17% in the past five years, and by 3% last year. According to the most recent World Health Organisation statistics, Polish roads are only marginally more dangerous than those in the USA. DRIVING LICENCE. The paper counterpart to the UK driving licence is abolished today (8 June). It will likely make life more difficult for drivers wanting to hire cars abroad. They will have to log onto the DVLA website for an access code to show hirers any endorsements or points. Demand was so great today that the DVLA computer system crashed. The AA advises drivers to hold onto their paper counterparts ‘for the time being’. See the official step by step guide to the new system here. SWITZERLAND. Rock fall late last month in the Schollenen Gorge, at the north end of the Gotthard Pass, means the road will be closed likely until mid-July we are told by local @MakingAndermatt. A large chunk of loose rock is still hanging above the road. The south side of the H2 Gotthard Pass is open, as is the access to the Furka Pass, and the Oberalp and Lukmanier Passes (via Andermatt). For the latest information on getting around the mountains in the area see the official Andermatt website. Otherwise see our PassFinder.

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Thinking the conflict was dying down we head into Ukraine. Unfortunately that turns out to be far from the case. However, on the drive from Lviv to Kyiv and Odessa we find a country seemingly determined to carry on as usual.

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We had good reason to think we could get a replacement for our specialist tyre in Ukraine and we did. Map, more photos and information on driving in Ukraine below.

We asked ourselves why we were in Ukraine many times during the anxious wait for a new tyre, and while – separately – dry heaving into the toilet bowl through the night.

There is no pretty answer, except maybe that we wanted to spend some money in a country brought almost to its knees economically in the aftermath of last year’s revolution.

The depressing answer is that we went to Ukraine while we still can.

During the planning stages it seemed as though the conflict in the east was steadily dying down.

However, in the time we were there skirmishes intensified amid official claims of a large troop build-up just over the Russian border. This weekend there are unverified reports of armed columns moving towards Ukraine from Taganrog.

If it still seems highly unlikely the fighting will spread to the west of the country – and the magnificent cities of Lviv and Kyiv (Kiev) – we were less certain of the situation in Odessa in the south.

There is little doubt that the Russian-speaking port city is loyal to the Ukraine government. On the day we left the president took the extraordinarily bold step of appointing the former Georgian president – from across the Black Sea – as the regional governor.

Nevertheless, it remains a potential strategic aim of the separatists to not only to build a ‘land bridge’ to Crimea from the Russian mainland but also to deprive Ukraine completely of its coastline.

That puts Odessa in the firing line, however notional that may appear at the moment.

Despite all this, there was no sign of any anxiety.

Life seemingly goes on absolutely as normal. Aside from our own worries, we came uncomfortably close to having a carefree holiday in Odessa, strolling the crumbling stucco streets laid out in a grid pattern by Catherine the Great, climbing the Potemkin Steps, staying in a really fabulous hotel, eating great food – just avoid salads – and staring out to sea from the city park above the port and beach.

The nearest we came to discussing the situation was while waiting for the computer system to reboot at the tyre depot. One man simply remarked they had seen fewer tourists than normal recently.

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First sight Ukraine (Kyiv is the Ukrainian spelling of Kiev). After a relatively straightforward – though thorough – procedure crossing the border, the only thing left to do now is buy ‘Green Card’ insurance. See Driving Outside of the EU.

The former capital of Austrian and Polish Galicia – and before that of the Russian Kingdom – the historic centre of Lviv survived Nazi and Soviet occupation almost unscathed (though the cobbled road in from the west is comically bumpy). It is now on the UNESCO World Heritage List. At just 70km from the Polish border it is unfortunately too soon for us to stop for the night, despite the grand hotels.

Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet, 1897, built on innovative concrete foundations over the Poltava River.

Cyrillic. Fortunately all road signs are in both Cyrillic and Latin script, at least in the north and west of Ukraine, save for the odd Soviet-era town sign (in this case painted with the Ukraine national colours of yellow and blue). Meanwhile we are impressed with the state of the roads. There are occasional bumpy sections but few actual potholes. Up to Rivne, about halfway to Kyiv, the road is either wide single lane or alternate 2+1. From there it is dual carriageway albeit with regular pedestrian zebra crossings.

We reach Kyiv at dusk after around six hours driving from Lviv, entering the city centre through Maidan Square, head on to the landmark Hotel Ukraine. This state-run establishment, built during the Stalin-era, is both elegant and opulent (and very cheap), with a fantastic view over the city, but needs updating. Alternatives include the Fairmont beside the river, the Intercontinental near St Sophia’s Cathedral or, just down the road from Maidan Square, the friendly Dnipro Hotel, also with great views.

Maidan Square from the side of Hotel Ukraine. Tributes to the people who died during last year’s protests, both here and in nearby Hrushevskoho Street, dot the square, one of the few remaining physical signs. The courage of those who returned to the barricades during the three days of sniper fire in late February 2014 – in which eighty people died – is a personal benchmark.

The Ukraine House exhibition centre on Europe Square, Kyiv, at the junction of Kreschatyk Street – Kyiv’s main shopping street which runs across Maidan Square – and Hrushevskoho Street. Ukraine traffic police, in their distinctive Toyota Prius hybrid squad cars, are notoriously corrupt but recent American aid has attempted to address the problem, successfully it seems. We were stopped just once, at one of the regular 90-70-50kmh zones where the police hang out. After a quick visual check we are sent on our way. Discerning the speed limit on the open road is an issue because the maximums are not signed (the ‘motorway’ limit is 130kmh and 110kmh on highway). We settled on a 115kmh cruise.

The road for the first hundred miles or so – of the three hundred from Kyiv to Odessa – is very bumpy though, as before, there are few actual potholes. It’s ironic that when we do lose a tyre it is to a random lump of metal in the road, long after the surface has smoothed out completely. The landscape starts off flat then turns gently rolling further south.

Typical of Odessa architecture – and bright colours – is the fantastic Bristol Hotel, designed by official city architect Alexander Bernardazzi in 1899. Not all of the buildings are in as good a condition as the Bristol but many are being renovated. This full-service, five star hotel cost us just €150 per night, i.e. less than half the price of a comparable place in Western Europe, with standards to match. At a short walk from the city centre, and the car parked outside under the watchful eyes of the fearsome doormen, why would you stay anywhere else (though there are plenty of boutique-style hotels in town)? Unfortunately it seems the high-rise Hotel Odessa at the bottom of the Potemkin Steps is no longer open.

After busting a tyre in Bulgaria two years ago, and quickly finding a new one, we knew all was not lost after a puncture on the road to Odessa. Nevertheless it was an anxious two day wait ahead of the weekend for a new one to arrive. The Land Rover dealer recommended the branch of ‘Tehnoopttorg-Trade’ up the road who not only found us a tyre in time – of precisely the same brand and type, even including the M+S all-season markings – but also escorted us to the local fitter, above, and refused a tip. ‘Eternally grateful’ does not come close.

It’s 150 miles from Odessa to the Romanian border at Izmail but crossing there is impossible thanks to the protected Danube Delta wetlands. There is no other way to leave south west Ukraine except via Moldova. Well connected British expat writer Nikolai Holmov, aka ‘Odessa Blogger’, says a useful way for the new governor to make his mark would be to push for this E87 road to be upgraded. We wholeheartedly agree. Driving through Moldova was no hardship for us, despite the two international borders – the road are mostly great while parts of capital Chisinau were also designed by Bernardazzi – but a direct, good quality road connection to Romania, Bulgaria – Turkey – and, eventually, Western Europe would surely be his best inheritance.  

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Making life easier on the busiest days of the summer in France, especially this year’s ‘Black Saturday’ on 1 August.

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On highest days and holidays, the jams start very early on the French motorway network. Very early.

By 06:00 there are already hours-long delays on the busiest routes – all along the A10 Paris-Bordeaux and, particularly, A7 Lyon-Avignon – as drivers from Paris, mainly, head to the coasts.

Delays on the latter easily top five hours at the worst times.

The good news is that the jams normally peak by lunchtime (though can still last until the early evening).

The choice is between getting stuck in early to be sure of arriving at your destination eventually, or – as Dutch motoring club ANWB advises its members to do – delaying departure until the early afternoon.

This summer’s busiest days are Saturday 1 August for traffic leaving for the holidays and – expected to be only slightly less congested – Saturday 22 August for drivers heading home.

Delays occur for three reasons: sheer weight of traffic, accidents, and queues at the peage toll booths.

There is not much to do about the first two but signing up for the automatic toll tag from SanefTolling.co.uk – as many thousands of Brits already have – saves time with the free-flow lanes.

Apart from that there are some recommended alternative routes.

A notorious peage pinch point is at Niort on the A10 Poitiers-Bordeaux. Avoid this on the N10 via Angouleme.

Meanwhile, on the A7 Lyon-Avignon – the most congested stretch of road by far – the parallel N7 is almost as bad.

The difficulty is that there are no motorways across the mountainous south east.

The best you can do is a combination (north to south) of A43-A48-A51 Lyon-Grenoble – with a single lane central and scenic section E712/D1075 from Montestier – to pick up the A51 again at Sisteron.

The A51 connects with the Cote d’Azur A8 autoroute at Aix-en-Provence. This way is normally an extra hour over the notional 4h30 Lyon-Nice A7-A8, for instance, but could be time well spent.

(Petrolheads will hate it but also bear in mind the famous driver’s road N85 ‘Route Napoleon’ which runs directly from Grenoble to Cannes via Gap, Sisteron and Grasse. On a good day however this takes 7h30 from Lyon).

The other stretch of motorway to avoid is the A9 Avignon-Montpellier-Perpignan to the Spanish border.

The A75 via Clermont Ferrand – which is toll free except for the the stunning Millau Viaduct – hits the A9 south of Montpellier to miss at least some of the Spain-bound traffic.

The A20 Limoges-Toulouse connects to the A9 even further south but the A61 at Carcassone is another busy stretch.

In truth neither the A75 nor A20 are immune from major delays, particularly at Vierzon where they diverge – though a newly added extra lane might help this summer – but both are generally better options than the A10 or A7.

Another major bottleneck is the N20 Puymorens Tunnel in the Pyrenees, off the A66 near Toulouse. With work on-going to the south of the tunnel until November, it is best avoided completely at busy times.

Similarly, do everything to avoid the Mont Blanc Tunnel on a Black Saturday. Consider heading into Switzerland for the Great St Bernard Tunnel. Stick to the back roads to dodge the Swiss motorway vignette.

The advice in general is to keep abreast of the latest situation and be ready with alternatives at short notice (or prepare for long delays and see anything less than five extra hours as a bonus). Radio 107.7fm has information in English. @VinciAutoroutes tweets a graphic hourly showing delays on the major routes in the south. Bison Fute is the national traffic website though motorway operators’ site Autoroutes.fr is better.

See our France at a Glance page for the very latest or follow our traffic tweets @DriveEurope.

See the official jam calendar for France – or more here – and for the Mont Blanc Tunnel.

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The European Commission launches a formal objection to the ‘disproportionate’ minimum wage rule for truck drivers in Germany, as Belgium sets the charges for its upcoming electronic truck toll system and France clarifies its weekly rest rules.

Also, one thousand electric vehicles average 450km each day on a tour of northern Europe. Hundred percent Exit Checks during very busy weekend at Dover. A spate of car-jackings to the west of Paris. The competition authority will appeal last week’s MyFerryLink decision.

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GERMAN WAGE RULE UNDER EU FIRE

EU launches formal complaint over minimum wage rule for all truck drivers in Germany.

The European Commission has launched an infringement procedure against the new German minimum wage rule for truck drivers.

The country introduced a minimum wage for the first time in January, set at €8.50 per hour.

It also applies to truck drivers, even those just passing through the country.

In a statement the Commission says, ‘Whilst fully supporting the introduction of a minimum wage in Germany, the Commission considers that the application of the Minimum Wage Act to all transport operations which touch German territory restricts the freedom to provide services and the free movement of goods in a disproportionate manner.

In particular, the application of German measures to transit and certain international transport operations can in the Commission’s view not be justified, as it creates disproportionate administrative barriers which prevent the internal market from functioning properly.’

All transport companies operating on German territory are required to prove their employees were paid at least €8.50 per hour, including evidence such as previous wage slips.

Reports last week said the rules were starting to be enforced with numerous complaints about the amount of paperwork involved.

Penalties can reach €500,000.

The German authorities have two months to respond to the Commission.

The Polish government in particular strongly objected to the new rules, as did the International Road Transport Union (IRU).

Reaction:

Kevin Hopper, managing director of Brian Yeardley Continental tells us via Twitter (@bcyl1975) he disagrees with the Commission adding, ‘If certain EU member states paid their drivers proper pay rates it would level the playing field in the EU.’ He also said the paper work has taken ‘minutes’ to complete.

Meanwhile, Michael Cramer MEP, chairman of the European Parliament Transport and Tourism Committee – who mounted a spirited defence of the minimum wage law at the recent meeting on the subject – said on twitter (@MEPMCramer), ‘The EU Commission starts infringement procedure on German minimum wage for truck drivers. If only they’d been so outspoken on social dumping!’

In the pro-camp, the International Road Transport Union said (@The_IRU) , ‘IRU welcomes EU Commission action against German minimum wage.’

Also, Gesine Meissner, another German MEP – and member of the Transport and Tourism Committee – said the EU’s action was right, adding, ‘Otherwise we fall back into the Turnpike mentality and protectionism.’

More truck news:

Flanders in northern Belgium has published the rates for its upcoming electronic toll system due next April, applying to vehicles 3.5t+, reports FlandersNews.be. Called Via Pass, the charges vary by weight, emissions and the type of road from €0.074 per km up to €0.2 per km. For more information see ViaPass.be.

France has published a clarification of its rules on weekly rest periods introduced last year, via Trackerinfo.eu. Since last July, drivers cannot take extended weekly rest periods inside their trucks. The note makes clear that the employer is liable for any penalties – a fine of up to €30,000 and one year in prison – rather than the driver though there are still queries over the status of self-employed drivers.

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A BMW i8 passes the Berlin Reichstag during last week’s nine-day all-electric ‘eTour Europe’. Around 1,000 electric cars took part, on a circular tour starting and finishing in Munich via Basel, Luxembourg, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Bremen, Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Bratislava, Budapest and Vienna. The total distance was 4200km at an impressive daily average of 450km. Taking part were not just standard production cars or hybrids but specialist conversions such as the Kreisel Electric Porsche Panamera 4S which boasts a 300kmh top speed and 450km range. For more information see eTourEurope.eu

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roundup: DOVER. Full Exit Checks were not expected to start until mid-June but Dover-Calais ferry operator MyFerryLink warns that all passengers will be subject to the identification checks this busy holiday weekend. It will be the first proper test for the new regime since its partial introduction in early April. Dover is expected to be ‘very busy’ from Friday evening and all day Saturday; MyFerryLink advises car drivers to use the M2/A2 into the port. See more on Whitsun holiday traffic. FRANCE. There have been ten reported instances of car-jacking in Yvelines, the region to the west of Paris, since 7 May reports France Bleu (though there is nothing to suggest foreign drivers have been targeted). Drivers have been flagged down by cars with blue lights and vehicles stolen after owners were asked to open the boot. The advice is to remain in the vehicle and call the 112 emergency number if unsure. MYFERRYLINK. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will appeal last Friday’s Court of Appeal judgement overturning its decision to bar the ferry operator from Dover. In a statement it says, ‘In seeking permission to appeal, the CMA is also seeking greater legal clarity for the wider benefit of the UK merger regime.’

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The new Tangenziale Est Esterna Milano – east Milan bypass – is the second major road opening in the region this year, but the benefits won’t be fully apparent until the still-uncertain foothills motorway gets the go ahead.

Also, plans floated in Paris to banish cars from the city Bois as it is revealed the air is worse on the metro than the Peripherqiue. Gumball 3000 drivers to be alco-tested each morning. Eurotunnel says the migrant situation is worse now than the bad old days of Sangatte.

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NEW MILAN MOTORWAY

The east Milan outer ring relieves A51-A52, and links to new A35 Milan-Brescia motorway.

Tangenziale Est Esterna Milano (TEEM). Photo Tangnziale.Esterna.it

As of this week Milan should no longer be a complete car park.

The A58 Tangenziale Est Esterna Milano (TEEM) – the east Milan outer ring road – opened for business on Saturday.

It runs between the east-west A4 Turin-Venice motorway and the north-south A1 Milan-Rome, relieving the heavily congested A51-A52 inner east ring which serves Linate airport.

Recently appointed transport minister Graziano del Rio, cutting the ribbon, said the new road – opened on time, to budget and original specification – ‘Showed Europe that Italy knows how to be efficient.’

However he also said that the system for building new infrastructure needs to be reviewed, especially as the region embarks on several new projects including the ‘Pedemontana Lombarda’, a new link across the north of Milan between the A8 and A4 motorways (see map below).

TEEM A58 runs for 32 km around Milan between the Agrate Brianza on the A4 in the north east and Melegnano on the A1 in the south.

There are junctions for the SP14 and SP103 main roads into Milan from the east, and also – importantly – the A35 BreBeMi, Milan-Brescia motorway which opened last year.

Try as we might, we cannot find the toll tariffs. As well as the lack of access, relatively high charges have led to lower than forecast – albeit growing – traffic on the A35.

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The opening of the A58 TEEM will feed more vehicles onto the A35 BreBeMi motorway but the road won’t fully come into its own until the SP19 A4-A21 link at the Brescia end is upgraded to dual carriageway, and the in-build A35 extension to the A4 is completed. Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounds the future of the A36 ‘Pedemontana Lombarda’ foothills motorway, as alluded to by Del Rio, above. The first stretch, between the A8 and A9 in the west, opened earlier this year but the rest is struggling for finance. Only when it is finished will drivers from central Europe be able to bypass Milan entirely on the way to Rome and southern Italy.

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roundup: FRANCE. ‘I am not anti-car,’ Paris deputy mayor Christophe Najdovski tells Le Parisien today, ‘but I think we should return it to its rightful place,’ as he reveals an aspiration to ban cars from the Bois de Boulogne and Vincennes, downgrade the Peripherqiue ring road to an ‘urban boulevard’ and cut the speed limit to 50kmh (at night). This is on top of cutting the speed limit to 30kmh in four new districts by the end of the year and pedestrianizing the ‘right bank’ of the Seine, already announced, as well as progressive bans on older diesel powered vehicles due to start this July, ostensibly to tackle pollution. However, it also emerged today (via thelocal.fr) that the air quality on the Paris metro railway is worse than on the Peripherique. GUMBALL 3000. Drivers at this year’s event, due to start in Stockholm on Saturday, will be tested each morning using Alcosense breathalysers. Twenty percent of drink driving convictions happening the morning after says the company. Meanwhile, the legal limit in Sweden – for instance – is 0.02%, a quarter of the UK level. EUROTUNNEL. Several hundred migrants are caught each day trying to board trucks on the A16 motorway, and at the Channel Tunnel operator’s French terminal, and the company spends €10m each year on security. ‘This is completely new, even going back as far as the bad old days of Sangatte, this level of migrant pressure is new in the area,’ Eurotunnel’s John O’Keefe told BBC South East today, following on from reports last week that new security measures at Calais, have – as predicted – shifted the problem further down the coast.

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The week ahead: after Friday’s euphoria, Dover-Calais operator MyFerryLink faces another difficult day tomorrow. Will Eurotunnel still sell its ships?

Also, we’re off on another ambitious road trip. More heavy traffic for Whitsun weekend. Gumball 3000 sets off from Stockholm, as classic racers take over Spa-Francorchamps. Plus, overnight maintenance at the Mont Blanc Tunnel.

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Events: the Spa Classic – from Tour Auto organiser Peter Auto – takes over the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium from Friday to Sunday (22-24 May). More than 80 prototypes from 1966-79 take part in a series of events including night races. On Saturday (23 May) the famous Gumball 3000 Rally starts in Stockholm before heading to Amsterdam – via Oslo and Copenhagen – for Tuesday evening. Photo: Gumball 3000 in Monaco, Oskar Bakke.

Some very hard thinking must be going on at Eurotunnel this weekend.

Earlier this year, as the interminable legal battle looked to have no end in sight, the Channel Tunnel operator made good on its promise to cut its losses and sell the ferries it leases to MyFerryLink.

The deadline for bids on the three ships is midnight tomorrow (Monday 18 May).

Coincidentally it’s just three days after the Court of Appeal’s surprise decision allowing MyFerryLink to stay in business.

In the cold light of day, has that judgement really changed anything? After all it wasn’t Eurotunnel who appealed but SCOP, MyFerryLink’s operating company.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) may well want to slink away but DFDS says it will go to the High Court.

With more legal action in prospect, the urge for Eurotunnel to cut and run must be stronger than ever. But will it dare pull the plug on 600 jobs after Friday’s stunning success?

A handsome offer for the ships, new jobs for MyFerryLink’s loyal employees – and the likelihood of good business on a ‘significantly improved’ English Channel (in the words of DFDS) – could see everyone happy yet.

Unfortunately we are unlikely to be around to find out what happens. On Thursday we’re off on another trip, this one the most ambitious yet.

We meet up in Berlin on Friday then head south and east for two weeks to check out the Tatras, Carpathians and hopefully the Black Sea.

Whether we get that far depends on whether the paperwork is sorted out in time…

Meanwhile, Friday sees the return of heavy traffic ahead of the Whitsun holiday. Ominously, ‘very heavy congestion’ is expected in Germany from the afternoon. France – Paris in particular – will be busy too. Switzerland and Austria see the worst of it on Saturday. Everyone heads home again on Monday.

Note: Mont Blanc Tunnel. Overnight Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (18-20 May) there will be alternating one-way traffic during maintenance.

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MyFerryLink wins Court of Appeal battle but, according to rival operator DFDS, the war is far from over yet.

Also, a designer women-only charity tour leaves London for Cannes via Milan. A Ferrari driver keeps vehicle and licence after 250kmh speed trap near Paris – as a biker loses both in a quick fire double transgression – and road deaths rise again in France.

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MyFerryLink WINS ‘DEFINITIVE’ JUDGEMENT

Ferry operator looks set to stay on Dover-Calais route. DFDS to ‘wait and see’ initially but will take case to the High Court.

MyFerryLink fight it out Dover-Calais. Photo @DriveEurope

Ferry operator MyFerryLink says it has won a ‘definitive’ victory today in its fight to stay in business.

The long running legal battle about supposed unfair competition from the Eurotunnel-backed Dover-Calais operator has seen a string of judgements and appeals since the now Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) first barred the operator in June 2013.

In a statement, MyFerryLink says, ‘Following a series of legal challenges, the Court of Appeal has now definitively over-turned the CMA’s conclusions… the decision of the Court of Appeal is very comprehensive, exposing fatal flaws in the CMA’s analysis. The decision represents a significant victory both for our dedicated employees and for our customers, who will continue to benefit from healthy competition on the short sea. This should now spell the end of the road for the CMA’s (supported always by DFDS) attempts to suppress the MFL business.’

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says it, ‘Will study the judgment carefully and consider its next steps.’

A spokesman for DFDS Group in Copenhagen tells @DriveEurope the company will adopt a wait and see approach.

It will consider its next steps depending on whether the CMA decides to appeal, and the reaction of Eurotunnel which had said it was selling the MyFerryLink ships.

Failing that, DFDS will take the case to the High Court in the UK he says. The outcome should become apparent in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile he says DFDS’ results have ‘improved significantly’ on the Dover-Calais route and the judgement is ‘not a disaster’ for the company.

The original case hinged on whether, when the company bought its three ships off the now defunct SeaFrance, and employed the same crew, it was a merger or a straightforward acquisition of assets.

By ruling it was the former, the CMA maintained it had jurisdiction to bar the Eurotunnel-funded operator from Dover on unfair competition grounds.

However, the Court of Appeal disagreed today by a 2 to 1 majority verdict.

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Cash & Rocket: the fourth, women-only charity tour from Gumball 3000 co-founder Julie Brangstrup kicks off in London today. Last year’s Cash & Rocket raised $1.3m for women and children in developing countries. Seventy entrants, in some very snazzy cars, drive 1500 miles to Paris, Lyon, Milan and Cannes, finishing on Tuesday. High-profile drivers include Estee Lauder model Arizona Muse, Hollywood actress Michelle Rodriguez and Valentino designer Maria Grazia Chiuri. For more see CashandRocket.com

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roundup: FRANCE. Interesting, widely reported case of a Swiss-resident Italian clocked at 250kmh on the A6 to Paris who kept his car (a Ferrari F430 Spider) and his driving licence. Normally where drivers are caught at more than 50kmh above the limit the driving licence is automatically confiscated and potentially the car too. The man did have to pay a €750 fine deposit however, and will be summonsed to court where the penalty may be increased. Despite keeping his licence the man is apparently barred from driving in France. Meanwhile, a biker was caught twice within 3km today, once at 136kmh and then at 167kmh, says @Gendarmerie. Both the bike and the licence were confiscated. It was also announced today that while road accident injuries fell by more than 3% last month compared to April 2014, fatalities increased by 4.3% according to official figures from Securite Routiere. It’s more bad news for French road safety after overall road deaths increased last year for the first time in a decade, and new tighter road rules due on 30 June. More detail to follow. 

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