# EUR-Lex - 12003TN12/08 - EN

Important legal notice

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# 12003TN12/08

**Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded - Annex XII: List referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession: Poland - 8. Transport policy **

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Official Journal L 236 , 23/09/2003 P. 0885 - 0889 *

8. TRANSPORT POLICY

1. 31991 L 0440: Council Directive 91/440/EEC of 29 July 1991 on the development of the Community's railways (OJ L 237, 24.8.1991, p. 25), as last amended by:

- 32001 L 0012: Directive 2001/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26.2.2001 (OJ L 75, 15.3.2001, p. 1).

Until 31 December 2006, Article 10(3) of Council Directive 91/440/EEC shall only apply in Poland subject to the following conditions:

- Polish State Railways (in particular Polskie Koleje Państwowe (PKP) CARGO S.A.) shall cooperate with railway undertakings to provide international rail freight for imports, exports and transit through Poland in a non-discriminatory manner. The access rights set out in Article 10(1) and (2) of the Directive shall be granted without limitation,

- at least 20 % of the annual total capacity of the Trans-European Rail Freight Network in Poland shall be reserved for railway undertakings other than Polish State Railways, and all origin-destinations shall allow for journey times comparable to those enjoyed by PKP CARGO S.A.. The actual capacity of each railway line shall be indicated by the infrastructure manager in the network statement. The above 20 % of the annual total capacity covers the access rights set out in Article 10(1), (2) and (3) of the Directive.

2. 31993 R 3118: Council Regulation (EEC) No 3118/93 of 25 October 1993 laying down the conditions under which non-resident carriers may operate national road haulage services within a Member State (OJ L 279, 12.11.1993, p. 1), as last amended by:

- 32002 R 0484: Regulation (EC) No 484/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 1.3.2002 (OJ L 76, 19.3.2002, p. 1).

(a) By way of derogation from Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 3118/93 and until the end of the third year following the date of accession, carriers established in Poland shall be excluded from the operation of national road haulage services in the other Member States, and carriers established in the other Member States shall be excluded from the operation of national road haulage services in Poland.

(b) Before the end of the third year following the date of accession, Member States shall notify the Commission whether they will prolong this period for a maximum of two years or whether they will fully apply Article 1 of the Regulation henceforth. In the absence of such notification, Article 1 of the Regulation shall apply. Only carriers established in those Member States in which Article 1 of the Regulation applies may perform national road haulage services in those other Member States in which Article 1 also applies.

(c) Those Member States in which, by virtue of paragraph (b) above, Article 1 of the Regulation applies, may resort to the procedure set out below until the end of the fifth year following the date of accession.

When a Member State referred to in the preceding subparagraph undergoes a serious disturbance of its national market or parts thereof due to or aggravated by cabotage, such as serious excess of supply over demand or a threat to the financial stability or survival of a significant number of road haulage undertakings, that Member State shall inform the Commission and the other Member States thereof and shall supply them with all relevant particulars. On the basis of this information, the Member State may request the Commission to suspend, in whole or in part, the application of Article 1 of the Regulation, in order to restore to normal the situation.

The Commission shall examine the situation on the basis of data provided by the Member State concerned and shall decide within one month of receipt of the request on the need for the adoption of safeguard measures. The procedure laid down in the second, third and fourth subparagraphs of paragraph 3, as well as paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of Article 7 of the Regulation shall apply.

A Member State referred to in the first subparagraph above may, in urgent and exceptional cases, suspend the application of Article 1 of the Regulation, followed by a reasoned ex-post notification to the Commission.

(d) As long as Article 1 of the Regulation is not applied by virtue of paragraphs (a) and (b) above, Member States may regulate access to their national road haulage services by progressively exchanging cabotage authorisations on the basis of bilateral agreements. This may include the possibility of full liberalisation.

(e) The effect of the application of paragraphs (a) to (c) shall not lead to more restrictive access to national road haulage services than that prevailing on the date of signature of the Treaty of Accession.

3. 31996 L 0053: Council Directive 96/53/EC of 25 July 1996 laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international traffic (OJ L 235, 17.9.1996, p. 59), as last amended by:

- 32002 L 0007: Directive 2002/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18.2.2002 (OJ L 67, 9.3.2002, p. 47).

By way of derogation from Article 3(1) of Directive 96/53/EC, vehicles complying with the limit values of category 3.4. of Annex 1 to that Directive may only use non-upgraded parts of the Polish road network until 31 December 2010 if they comply with Polish axle-weight limits. As from the date of accession, no restrictions may be imposed on the use, by vehicles complying with the requirements of Directive 96/53/EC, of the main transit routes set out in Annex I to Decision 1692/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 1996 on Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network [24].

Poland shall adhere to the timetable set out in the tables below for the upgrading of its main road network, as contained in Annex I to Decision 1692/96/EC. Any infrastructure investments involving the use of funds from the Community budget shall ensure that the arteries are constructed or upgraded to a load bearing capacity of 11.5 tonnes per axle.

In line with the completion of the upgrading, there shall be a progressive opening of the Polish road network, including the network as contained in Annex I of Decision 1692/96/EC, for vehicles in international traffic complying with the limit values of the Directive. For the purpose of loading and unloading, where technically possible, the use of non-upgraded parts of the secondary road network shall be allowed during the entire transitional period.

From 1 January 2009, all vehicles in international traffic complying with the limit values of the Directive shall not be subject to any (overweight) charges on the main transit routes as contained in Annex I to Decision 1692/96/EC.

Temporary additional charges for using non-upgraded parts of the network with vehicles in international traffic complying with the limit values of the Directive shall be levied in a non-discriminatory manner, differentiated in particular as regards the treatment of vehicles with or without air suspension systems, whereby vehicles fitted with air suspension should pay lower charges (at least 25 % less). The charging regime shall be transparent, and payment of these charges shall not place an undue administrative burden or delay on the user, nor shall the payment of these charges lead to a systematic check of axle load limits at the border. Enforcement of axle load limits shall be assured in a non-discriminatory manner throughout the territory and be effective also as regards Polish registered vehicles.

State of play as of 1 January 2004

Road No | Overall length in km | Carrying capacity of 115 kN per axle Length in km | Carrying capacity of 100 kN per axle Length in km |

1 | 539,8 | | 539,8 |

2 (50 – ring-road around Warsaw) | 653,5 | 166,5 | 487,0 |

3 | 437,7 | 11,4 | 426,3 |

4 and 18 | 699,6 | 344,0 | 355,6 |

6 | 21,6 | 21,0 | 0,6 |

8 | 654,5 | 8,2 | 646,3 |

| 3006,7 | 551,1 | 2455,6 |

State of play as of 1 January 2005

Road No | Overall length in km | Carrying capacity of 115 kN per axle Length in km | Carrying capacity of 100 kN per axle Length in km |

1 | 539,8 | 62,2 | 477,6 |

2 (50 – ring-road around Warsaw) | 653,5 | 201,2 | 452,3 |

3 | 437,7 | 32,4 | 405,3 |

4 and 18 | 699,6 | 425,0 | 274,6 |

6 | 21,6 | 21,6 | |

8 | 654,5 | 37,6 | 616,9 |

| 3006,7 | 780,0 | 2226,7 |

State of play as of 1 January 2006

Road No | Overall length in km | Carrying capacity of 115 kN per axle Length in km | Carrying capacity of 100 kN per axle Length in km |

1 | 539,8 | 124,4 | 415,4 |

2 (50 – ring-road around Warsaw) | 653,5 | 266,0 | 387,5 |

3 | 437,7 | 53,1 | 384,6 |

4 and 18 | 699,6 | 504,4 | 195,2 |

6 | 21,6 | 21,6 | |

8 | 654,5 | 69,3 | 585,2 |

| 3006,7 | 1038,8 | 1967,9 |

State of play as of 1 January 2007

Road No | Overall length in km | Carrying capacity of 115 kN per axle Length in km | Carrying capacity of 100 kN per axle Length in km |

1 | 539,8 | 161,0 | 378,8 |

2 (50 – ring-road around Warsaw) | 653,5 | 302,0 | 351,5 |

3 | 437,7 | 74,3 | 363,4 |

4 and 18 | 699,6 | 621,0 | 78,6 |

6 | 21,6 | 21,6 | |

8 | 654,5 | 112,0 | 542,5 |

| 3006,7 | 1291,9 | 1714,8 |

State of play as of 1 January 2008

Road No | Overall length in km | Carrying capacity of 115 kN per axle Length in km | Carrying capacity of 100 kN per axle Length in km |

1 | 539,8 | 261,2 | 278,6 |

2 (50 – ring-road around Warsaw) | 653,5 | 401,4 | 252,1 |

3 | 437,7 | 123,5 | 314,2 |

4 and 18 | 699,6 | 669,2 | 30,4 |

6 | 21,6 | 21,6 | |

8 | 654,5 | 173,4 | 481,1 |

| 3006,7 | 1650,3 | 1356,4 |

State of play as of 1 January 2009

Road No | Overall length in km | Carrying capacity of 115 kN per axle Length in km | Carrying capacity of 100 kN per axle Length in km |

1 | 539,8 | 377,9 | 161,9 |

2 (50 – ring-road around Warsaw) | 653,5 | 450,0 | 203,5 |

3 | 437,7 | 177,3 | 260,4 |

4 and 18 | 699,6 | 699,6 | |

6 | 21,6 | 21,6 | |

8 | 654,5 | 249,0 | 405,5 |

| 3006,7 | 1975,4 | 1031,3 |

State of play as of 1 January 2010

Road No. | Overall length in km | Carrying capacity of 115 kN per axle Length in km | Carrying capacity of 100 kN per axle Length in km |

1 | 539,8 | 448,3 | 91,5 |

2 (50 – ring-road around Warsaw) | 653,5 | 500,2 | 153,3 |

3 | 437,7 | 226,5 | 211,2 |

4 and 18 | 699,6 | 699,6 | |

6 | 21,6 | 21,6 | |

8 | 654,5 | 320,3 | 334,2 |

| 3006,7 | 2216,5 | 790,2 |

State of play as of 1 January 2011

Road No. | Overall length in km | Carrying capacity of 115 kN per axle Length in km | Carrying capacity of 100 kN per axle Length in km |

1 | 539,8 | 539,8 | |

2 (50 – ring-road around Warsaw) | 653,5 | 553,4 | 100,1 |

3 | 437,7 | 287,7 | 50,0 |

4 and 18 | 699,6 | 699,6 | |

6 | 21,6 | 21,6 | |

8 | 654,5 | 400,7 | 253,8 |

| 3006,7 | 2502,8 | 503,9 |

[24] OJ L 228, 9.9.1996, p. 1.

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