# CE2004078EN.01075701.xml

| 27.3.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 78/757 |
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27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 78/757

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(2004/C 78 E/0805)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2801/03

by Pedro Marset Campos (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(19 September 2003)

Subject:   Special tolls in France and Germany for the transport of goods by road

Subject:

The announcement that the French and German authorities will shortly impose special tolls for lorries travelling through those countries on the motorways is likely to cause justified alarm in the Murcia region (Spain), particularly in the farming industry, since it might have adverse effects on the transport of fruit and vegetables from Murcia to various EU countries.

| 1. | Is the Council aware of this situation? |
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1.

Is the Council aware of this situation?

| 2. | Does the Council not consider it appropriate to demand that this measure should not be implemented, given that the charges are discriminatory and damaging? |
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2.

Does the Council not consider it appropriate to demand that this measure should not be implemented, given that the charges are discriminatory and damaging?

| 3. | Does the Council take the view that these French and German measures may violate the free movement and transport of goods in the EU? |
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3.

Does the Council take the view that these French and German measures may violate the free movement and transport of goods in the EU?

| 4. | Does the Council not believe that, if they were to be implemented, these measures would be most damaging for the most outlying European regions, such as the Murcia region which remains an Objective 1 region? Does this measure not represent flagrant discrimination among regions? |
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4.

Does the Council not believe that, if they were to be implemented, these measures would be most damaging for the most outlying European regions, such as the Murcia region which remains an Objective 1 region? Does this measure not represent flagrant discrimination among regions?

| 5. | Does the Council not believe that, at a time of economic recession in the euro zone, these measures would damage economic recovery in a key sector such as the transport of goods by road? |
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5.

Does the Council not believe that, at a time of economic recession in the euro zone, these measures would damage economic recovery in a key sector such as the transport of goods by road?

Reply

(4 March 2004)

(4 March 2004)

The Council is aware of the fact that German authorities intend to impose in the near future tolls on heavy goods vehicles, levied per kilometre. The Council does not dispose of any information which might indicate that France, apart from the tolls it already applies on its highways, intends to impose additional tolls on all heavy goods vehicles travelling through France.

The Council recalls that any levying of tolls for heavy goods vehicles must respect the provisions of Directive 1999/62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures (1).

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Provided that a Member State respects these provisions, it is free to impose tolls on heavy goods vehicles; it may be recalled that in some ‘transit countries’, such tolls — also levied on transport operators from other countries which make use of their infrastructure — constitute a contribution to the financing of the transeuropean networks concerned.

Furthermore, the Council informs the Honourable Parliamentarian that it is currently examining the Commission's proposal for a Directive on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructure (2), which aims to ensure that a harmonised methodology will be used for the calculation of tolls and to render toll systems more transparent; in the context of this examination, the particular concerns of peripheral countries and regions will be duly taken into account.

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(1)  OJ L 187, 20.7.1999, p. 42.

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(2)  COM(2003)448 final (2003/0175 (COD)).

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