<html> <head> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 10 (filtered)"> <style>  </style> </head> <body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple> <div class=Section1> <a href="http://www.transportenvironment.org/Category7-All.html">T&E Bulletin</a>: <a href="http://www.transportenvironment.org/Article269.html">Constitutional reform key to reinstatement of city charge</a> Oct 25, 2006    Negotiations are continuing on reinstating Stock-holm’s congestion charge after last month’s local referendum and parliamentary election. In the referendum, the citizens most affected by the charge voted in favour of it being made permanent after a seven-month trial earlier this year. But because under Sweden’s constitution it cannot come into effect without approval from the national parliament, and as the ruling red-green national coalition lost its majority on the same day, confusion has reigned over whether the charge will be reinstated. Two weeks after the election, the new national centre-right coalition, whose biggest party opposed the whole idea of charging, surprisingly announced plans to reinstate the charge but to use the revenue to fund the building of a controversial by-pass west of Stockholm instead of improvements to public transport, as most has expected. This plan received a hostile reception, but it is likely that some sort of charge will be reintroduced within a year. In addition, the new government announced that a committee reviewing the constitution will be instructed to deliver a proposal for an amendment that will pass responsibility for congestion charging from parliament to local authorities. This news story is taken from the <a href="http://www.transportenvironment.org/Downloads-req-getit-lid-441.html">October 2006 edition of T&E Bulletin</a>.   </div> </body> </html>