# EUR-Lex - 52011PC0550 - EN

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# 52011PC0550

**OPINION OF THE COMMISSIONpursuant to Article 294(7)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,on the European Parliament's amendment[s]to the Council's position regarding the proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCILamending Directive 1999/62/EC on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures /* COM/2011/0550 final - 2008/0147 (COD) */**

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2008/0147 (COD)

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION
pursuant to Article 294(7)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union,
on the European Parliament's amendment[s]
to the Council's position regarding the
proposal for a

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL
amending Directive 1999/62/EC on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the
use of certain infrastructures

1.           Introduction

Article 294(7)(c) of the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union provides that the Commission is to deliver an
opinion on the amendments proposed by the European Parliament at second
reading. The Commission sets out its opinion below on the three amendments
proposed by the Parliament.

2.           Background

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and the Council[1] || 08/07/2008

Date of the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee: || 16/12/2009

Date of the opinion of the European Parliament, first reading: || 11/03/2009

Date of the Council’s position at first reading (qualified majority): || 15/02/2011

Date of the opinion of the European Parliament, second reading || 07/06/2011

3.           Objective of the proposal
from the Commission

The current Directive 1999/62/EC sets
maximum rates that Member States may charge to heavy goods vehicles for the use
of transport infrastructure. However, in determining these rates, Member States
may not take into account external costs such as air and noise pollution. The
Commission's proposed changes will allow such charges which, if introduced,
will promote more efficient and cleaner freight transport. Chief among the
other proposed changes is giving Member States greater flexibility in varying
toll rates to promote greater use during non-peak times and ultimately reduce
congestion. Lastly the additional revenue generated by external cost charging
ought to be used to finance projects making transport sustainable.

4.           Opinion of the Commission
on the amendments by the European Parliament

The Committee on Transport and Tourism
voted on 12 April 2011 a recommendation consisting of 35 amendments to the
Council’s first-reading position. In
accordance with the provisions of Article 294 of the TFEU and the joint
declaration on practical arrangements for the co-decision procedure [2], a number of informal contacts took then place between the Council, the
European Parliament and the Commission with a view to reaching an agreement on
this dossier at second reading. Following these
contacts, the Committee presented
three compromise amendments which were subsequently
voted by the plenary on 7 June 2011. The
Commission endorses these amendments.

4.1.        Amendments accepted by the
Commission

The Council's position at first reading has
already been endorsed by the Commission (see the Commission's opinion on the
Council's position[3]).
The most important changes introduced by the amendments of the European
Parliament to the Council's position are:

–
To clarify the Council's mechanism to vary
infrastructure charges at peak periods by adding provisions to guarantee the
revenue neutrality and improve the transparency. The resulting mechanism will
provide a new tool for Member States to manage congestion at peak periods
without imposing excessive burden on the road transport industry.

–
To insert a provision on the use of revenues in
the transport sector. The provision encourages Member States to invest the
revenues of tolls in projects to make transport more sustainable. It shall be
deemed applied if 15% of the revenues are used on the trans-European network.
Member States will be obliged to report on the revenue raised and on the
investments made in transport. This compromise found, although less ambitious
than the initial Commission's proposal, is a clear step forward to improve
transparency in the use of toll revenues and encourage new investments in
transport.

–
To authorise in mountain areas the simultaneous
application of the existing mark-up and the new external cost charges for Euro
0, I and II vehicles and for Euro III vehicles as from 2015. A compulsory
"miniearmarking" of the revenues generated by this combination of
charges is also foreseen. This provision will contribute to further accelerate
the introduction of cleaner vehicles while generating additional revenue for
building alternatives to road transport. .

–
To insert a "rendez-vous clause" based
on Commission's reports due respectively 12 and 48 months after the entry into
force of the Directive and where appropriate on a Commission's legislative
proposal. The content of the reports has been aligned to the recent White Paper
on transport.

The Council’s position did not foresee any
obligation for Member States to transmit to the Commission a correlation table,
in spite of the general line usually taken by the European Parliament on the
matter.

However, the Hungarian Presidency with the
support of the forthcoming Polish, Danish and Cypriot Presidencies issued a
statement confirming that the adoption of this directive does not prejudge the
outcome of interinstitutional negotiations on correlation tables (see annex).

The European Parliament could thus agree
with the Council but with a statement (see annex) according to which the Commission
should inform it within twelve months after adoption of this agreement in
plenary and make a report at the end of the transposition period on the practice
of Member States in drawing up their own tables illustrating, as far as
possible, the correlation between this Directive and the transposition
measures.

During the plenary of 7 June 2011, the
Commission issued a statement which among others confirms the commitment of the
Commission towards ensuring that Member States establish correlation tables
linking the transposition measures they adopt with the directive, confirms its
agreement to produce the information requested by the European Parliament and
stresses that its position followed in this file shall not be considered as a
precedent (see text in annex).

5.           Conclusion

Pursuant to Article 293(2) of the Treaty on
the Functioning of the European Union, the Commission amends its proposal by
endorsing the amendments as set out above.

Annex

Statement of the Presidency

"It is hereby declared that the
agreement reached between the Council and the European Parliament in the
trilogue of 23 May 2011 concerning the Directive of the European
Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 1999/62/EC on the charging of
heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures, Eurovignette, does
not prejudge the outcome of interinstitutional negotiations on correlation
tables."

Statement of the European Parliament

"The European
Parliament regrets that the Council was not prepared to accept the mandatory
publication of correlation tables in the context of the proposal amending
Directive 1999/62/EC. It is hereby declared that the agreement reached between
the European Parliament and the Council in the trilogue of 23 May 2011
concerning the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending
Directive 1999/62/EC on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of
certain infrastructures (Eurovignette) does not prejudge the outcome of
interinstitutional negotiations on correlation tables.

The European
Parliament calls on the European Commission to inform it within twelve months
after adoption of this agreement in plenary and to make a report at the end of
the transposition period on the practice of Member States in drawing up their
own tables illustrating, as far as possible, the correlation between this
Directive and the transposition measures, and to make them public."

Statement of the European Commission:

"The
Commissions recalls its commitment towards ensuring that Member States
establish correlation tables linking the transposition measures they adopt with
the EU directive and communicate them to the Commission in the framework of
transposing EU legislation, in the interest of citizens, better-law making and
increasing legal transparency and to assist the examination of the conformity
of national rules with EU provisions.

The Commission
regrets the lack of support for the provision included in the proposal for a
Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive
1999/62/EC on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain
infrastructures (Eurovignette),
which aimed at rendering the establishment of correlation tables obligatory.

The Commission, in
a spirit of compromise and in order to ensure the immediate adoption of that
proposal, can accept the substitution of the obligatory provision on
correlation tables included in the text with a relevant recital encouraging
Member States to follow this practice. It
will inform within twelve months after adoption of this agreement in
plenary and make a report at the end of the transposition period on the
practice of Member States to draw up, for themselves and in the interests of
the Union, their own tables illustrating, as far as possible, the correlation
between this Directive and the transposition measures, and to make them public.

However, the position followed by the
Commission in this file shall not be considered as a precedent. The Commission
will continue its efforts with a view to finding together with the European
Parliament and the Council an appropriate solution to this horizontal
institutional issue."

[1]               COM(2008) 436 final – 2008/0147 COD:

[2]               OJ C 145, 30.6.2007, p. 5.

[3]               COM(2011) 69 final