CONFÉRENCE EUROPÉENNE DES MINISTRES DES TRANSPORTS
EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORTRESOLUTION No. 2002/3 ON SIMPLIFICATION OF PROCEDURES OF ISSUINGVISAS FOR PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS1[CM(2002)9/FINAL]

The ECMT Council of Ministers of Transport, meeting in Bucharest on 29 and 30 May, 2002:

HAVING REGARD to:• ECMT Resolution No. 94/5 on "Removal of obstacles at border crossings for international roadgoods transport" [CEMT/CM(94)11/FINAL] adopted on 27 May 1994, in Annecy;• ECMT Resolution No. 95/1 on "Access to European[CEMT/CM(95)1/FINAL] adopted on 8 June 1995, in Vienna;

Transport

Markets"• ECMT Recommendation on "Visas for Professional Drivers" [CEMT/CM(98)9/FINAL]
adopted on 27 May 1998, in Copenhagen;• ECMT Resolution No. 99/1 on "The integration of European Inland Transport Markets"[CEMT/CM(99)2/FINAL] adopted on 20 May 1999, in Warsaw;• ECMT Resolution N° 99/2 on "The Removal of obstacles at border crossings for international
goods transport" [CEMT/CM(99)3/FINAL] adopted on 20 May 1999, in Warsaw;

TAKING NOTE of::• the increasing volume of trade between ECMT Member countries;

ATTENTIVE:• to the necessity to ensure compatibility with the work underway in the European Union on thissubject;

AIMING for:• a single united European market for transport services on the basis of the liberalisation ofaccess to national markets and establishment of equal conditions for competition;

1.

Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany and Portugal entered a reservation on this topic.

AWARE:• that in most cases the provisions of this Resolution fall under the authority of official bodies
other than Transport Ministries of ECMT Member countries;• of problems arising from the divergence in the procedures for issuing visas for professionaldrivers carrying out international road haulage in ECMT Member countries;

CONFIDENT that:• simplification of the procedures for issuing visas for professional drivers carrying outinternational haulage is an important condition for the facilitation of border crossings, andthat international coordination and cooperation in this field would improve the efficiency ofroad transport and support the development of international trade;

REAFFIRMS:• the obligations adopted in ECMT Resolutions No. 94/5, No. 95/1 and No. 99/2;

RECOMMENDS:• that ECMT Member countries regularly exchange information on practices in the field offacilitating the issuing of visas for professional drivers for the purpose of ensuring effective
and coordinated procedures in this field, and strive for simplified procedures on the basis of
more harmonisation of documentation concerning the obtaining of visas;

INVITES:• the official Bodies concerned in ECMT Member countries to simplify the procedures for
obtaining visas for professional drivers involved in international road transport by means ofsimplification of formalities, limitation of the number of supporting documents required,reducing time for obtaining visas, and also to promote the issuance of multiple visas valid forone year;• Governments of ECMT Member countries to work with other Members of ECMT to identify
best practice in the issue of visas;

INSTRUCTS:• the Committee of Deputies to take the necessary steps for implementing the provisions of thisResolution and report on the results at the next ECMT Council meeting.

2ECMT, 2002