Can cabotage operations take place in multiple EU countries on the same trip?

No. All 3 permitted cabotage operations must take place in the same host member state where the international inbound delivery was made. Each EU country's cabotage allowance requires its own valid triggering inbound delivery into that specific country. A carrier delivering into Germany and then moving freight domestically in both Germany and the Netherlands on the same trip is performing unauthorised cabotage in the Netherlands — the Dutch allowance requires a separate qualifying inbound delivery into the Netherlands, independent of the German inbound delivery.

Read more about this topic in our article

What Does Cabotage Mean in Transport?