This document is meant purely as documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
"B "M1 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 3298/94
of 21 December 1994
laying down detailed measures concerning the system of rights of transit (ecopoints) for heavy goods
vehicles transiting through Austria 3
(OJ L 341, 30.12.1994, p. 20)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
"M1 Commission Regulation (EC) No 1524/96 of 30 July 1996 L 190 13 31.7.1996
"M2 Commission Regulation (EC) No 609/2000 of 21 March 2000 L 73 9 22.3.20001994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 1
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 3298/94
of 21 December 1994
laying down detailed measures concerning the system of rights of
transit (ecopoints) for heavy goods vehicles transiting through
Austria
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to the Act of Accession of Norway, Austria, Finland and
Sweden, and in particular Article 11 (6) and Annex 4 of Protocol No 9
thereto,
Whereas the abovementioned Protocol provided for a special regime
concerning the transit of heavy goods vehicles through Austrian territory
based on a system of Rights of Transit (Ecopoints); whereas such a
regime shall replace, from the date of Accession, the system of
distribution of ecopoints established by Council Regulation (EEC) No
3637/92 of 27 November 1992 (1);
Whereas the Commission should adopt detailed implementing measures
concerning the procedures relating to the ecopoint system and the
distribution of ecopoints;
Whereas, according to the second subparagraph of Article 11 (6) of
Protocol No 9, such measures should ensure that the actual situation for
the present Member States resulting from the application of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 3637/92 and of the Administrative Arrangement,
signed on 23 December 1992 (1), setting the date of entry into force and
the procedures for the introduction of the ecopoint system referred to in
the Transit Agreement, is maintained;
Whereas the Commission should adopt detailed measures concerning
outstanding technical questions relating to the ecopoint system as
foreseen in Joint Declaration No 18;
Whereas Annex 4 of Protocol No 9 shall be adapted to take account of
transit journeys by heavy goods vehicles registered in Finland and
Sweden, based on indicative values for the respective countries
calculated on the basis of the number of transit journeys in 1991 and a
standard value of NOx emission of 15,8 grammes NOx/kw;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance
with the opinion of the Committee set up by Article 16 of Protocol No 9,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
I. Administrative provisions
Article 1
1. The driver of a heavy goods vehicle on the territory of Austria shall
carry, and shall make available for inspection at the request of the
supervisory authorities, either:
(a) a duly completed standard form or an Austrian certificate confirm-
ing payment of the ecopoints for the journey in question, modelled
on Annex A, hereinafter referred to as ‘the ecocard’; or
(b) an electronic device, fitted to the motor vehicle which enables the
automatic debiting of ecopoints, hereinafter referred to as ‘the
ecotag’; or!B
(1) OJ No L 373, 21. 12. 1992, p. 1.!M1
!B
!M11994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 2
(c) appropriate documentation, as defined in Article 13, to demonstrate
that an ecopoint-free transit journey, as defined in Annex C, is being
made; or
(d) appropriate documentation to demonstrate that a non-transit journey
is being made, and when the vehicle is fitted with an ecotag, the
ecotag is set for this purpose.
The competent Austrian authorities shall issue the ecocard against
payment of the cost of production and distribution of ecopoints and
ecocards, and shall install the necessary infrastructure at appropriate
places to read the ecotags.
1a. Transit journeys made in the circumstances listed in Annex C or
under ECMT authorisations that are valid on Austrian territory shall be
exempt from the ecopoints system.
2. Ecotags shall be manufactured, programmed and installed in
accordance with the general technical specifications laid down in Annex
F. The competent authorities in each Member State are authorized to
approve, program and install the ecotags.
The ecotag shall be programmed to contain information on the country
of registration and the NO xvalue of the motor vehicle, as stated in the
conformity of production (COP) document, as defined in paragraph 4.
3. The ecotag shall be affixed to the windscreen of the motor vehicle. It
shall be positioned in accordance with Annex G. It shall be non-trans-
ferable.
4. The driver of a heavy goods vehicle registered on or after 1 October
1990 shall also carry, and produce upon request, a COP document,
modelled on Annex B, as evidence of the NO xemissions of that vehicle.
Heavy goods vehicles first registered before 1 October 1990 or in respect
of which no document is produced shall be assumed to have a COP value
of 15,8 g/kWh.
5. Member States shall notify the Commission of the national
authorities authorized to issued the documents and ecotags referred to
in paragraphs 1 to 4.
Article 2
1. Unless a vehicle is using an ecotag, the requisite number of
ecopoints shall be affixed to the ecocard and cancelled. The ecocard
shall be cancelled by any one of the following methods:
(a) stamping the ecocard in an ecocard stamping machine;
(b) having the ecocard stamped by the Austrian border control
authorities upon entering Austria;
(c) having the ecocard stamped and dated by the national authorities of
the haulier before entering Austrian territory;
(d) having the ecocard stamped at an office where the initialisation of
ecotags is performed.
Austrian frontier stations that are equipped with an ecocard stamping
machine are listed in Annex H.
For statistical purposes page 1 of the completed ecocard shall either be
collected by the Austrian authorities or subsequently returned by the
competent authorities within three months of the completion of the
journey to the Austrian authorities. The statistics thus collected shall
assist the Commission in making any proposal for the distribution the
reserve of ecopoints.!M1
!M2
!M1
!M21994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 3
2. If the vehicle fitted with an ecotag, upon confirmation of it
undertaking a transit journey requiring ecopoints, a number of ecopoints,
equivalent to the NO xemission information stored in the ecotag of the
vehicle, shall be deducted from the total of ecopoints allocated to the
Member State in which the vehicle is registered. This shall be done by
infrastructure provided and operated by the Austrian authorities.
For vehicles fitted with ecotags that are making bilateral journeys they
must set the ecotag to demonstrate that a non-transit journey is being
made prior to entering Austrian territory.
3. In the case where an ecocard is used and where a tractor unit is
switched during a transit journey, the proof of payment on entry shall
remain valid and be retained. Where the COP value of the new tractor
unit exceeds that indicated on the form, additional ecopoints, affixed to a
new card, shall be cancelled on leaving the country.
4. For journeys requiring ecopoints, the ecocard or the ecotag shall
replace all Austrian forms hitherto used for transport statistics.
5. The competent authorities of the Member States shall regularly
notify the Commission of the number of points used on ecocards. The
originals, or copies, of forms bearing cancelled ecopoints shall, where
necessary, be made available to individual national authorities or to the
Commission.
Alternatively, if the vehicle is fitted with an ecotag, the Austrian
authorities shall make available the necessary information to a
designated authority in the Member State where the vehicle is registered
within 48 hours that a transit journey has been made. Such information
shall also be made available to the Commission.
6. Paragraphs 1 to 5 shall apply without prejudice to Article 14a.
Article 3
1. Until 31 December 1996 Austrian proof of payment for ecopoints for
Italy or Germany shall be recognized as replacing the authorizations
previously used in Austria, Germany and Italy. In Italy such proof of
payment shall replace a bilateral half-ticket for a single journey and in
Germany a bilateral authorization for a return journey.
For Austrian-registered heavy goods vehicles leaving Italy, a duly-
completed copy of the form referred to in Article 1 (1), bearing the
requisite number of ecopoints for Italy, shall replace the authorization
provided for.
2. Continuous journeys which involve crossing the Austrian frontier
once by train, whether by conventional rail transport or in a combined
transport operation, and crossing the frontier by road before or after
crossing by rail, shall be regarded not as transit of goods by road through
Austria within the meaning of Article 1 (e) of Protocol No 9, but as
bilateral journeys within the meaning of Article 1 (g) thereof.
3."M1Notwithstanding paragraph 2, continuous transit journeys
through Austria using the following rail terminals shall be deemed to
constitute journeys: 3
Fürnitz/Villach Süd, Sillian, Innsbruck/Hall, Brennersee, Graz.
Article 4
Ecopoints shall be valid between 1 January of the year for which they are
attributed and 31 January of the following year.!M1
!B
!M11994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 4
Article 5
1. Infringements of Protocol No 9 or of this Regulation by a driver of a
heavy goods vehicle or an undertaking shall be prosecuted in accordance
with the national legislation in force. "M1In the case of repeated
infringements of this Regulation, Article 8 (3) and Article 11 of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 881/92 (*) shall apply. 3
2. The Commission and the competent authorities of the Member
States shall, each within the limits of their jurisdiction, provide each
other with administrative assistance in investigating and prosecuting
infringements of Protocol 9 or this Regulation, in particular by ensuring
that the ecocards and ecotags are correctly used and handled.
3. Controls may be carried out at a point other than the border, at the
discretion of the Member State, with due regard to the principle of
non-discrimination.
4. The Austrian supervisory authorities may, having due regard to the
principle of proportionality, take appropriate measures if a vehicle is
fitted with an ecotag and at least one of the following situations occur:
(a) the vehicle or the operator of the vehicle has repeatedly committed
infringements;
(b) there are insufficient ecopoints remaining in the allocation of the
country in which the vehicle is registered;
(c) the ecotag has been tampered with or has been changed by a party
other than those authorized in Article 1 (2);
(d) the Member State has not allocated sufficient ecopoints for the
vehicle to make a transit journey;
(e) the vehicle does not have appropriate documentation in accordance
with points (c) or (d) of Article 1 (1) to justify why the ecotag has
been set to demonstrate that a non-transit journey is being made on
Austrian territory;
(f) when the ecotag specified in Annex F is not loaded with sufficient
ecopoints to make a transit journey.
5. The Austrian supervisory authorities may, having due regard to the
principle of proportionality, take appropriate measures if a vehicle is not
fitted with an ecotag and at least one of the following situations occur:
(a) an ecocard is not presented to the supervisory authorities in
accordance with the provisions of this Regulation;
(b) an ecocard is presented which is incomplete or incorrect, or where
the ecopoints are not correctly affixed;
(c) the vehicle does not possess, the appropriate documentation to
justify that it does not need ecopoints;
(d) or the ecocard has not been cancelled in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 2(1).
II. Distribution of ecopoints
Article 6
1. A number of ecopoints equal to 96,66 % of the total available shall
be distributed between the Member States according to the distribution
scale shown in Annex D.!B
(*) OJ No L 95, 9. 4. 1992, p. 1.!M1
!M2
!B1994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 5
!M1
2. The printed ecopoints which are intended for affixing to ecocards
shall be made available each year to Member States in two instalments,
the first before 1 October of the preceding year, and the second before 1
March of the relevant year.
In the circumstances envisaged in Article 11 (2) (c) of Protocol 9, the
number of ecopoints shall be reduced for that year using the method laid
down in point 3 of Annex 5 to the Protocol.
3. The electronic ecopoints shall be made available each year to
Member States in three equal instalments: the first instalment before 1
November of the preceding year, the second instalment before 1 March
and the third instalment before 1 July.
Article 7
1. The competent authorities of the Member States shall allocate their
available ecopoints to the operators concerned, established on their
territory.
2. Each year the competent authorities of the Member States shall
indicate and return to the Commission by 15 October at the latest any
ecopoints which, on the basis of available data and the estimates for
traffic for the final months of the year, are not likely to be used before
the end of the year.
Article 8
1. The ecopoints which are not distributed among Member States, in
accordance with Article 6, as well as those which have been returned to
the Commission, in accordance with Article 7, shall constitute a
Community reserve.
2. The ecopoints of the Community reserve shall be allocated by the
Commission to the Member States in accordance with the procedure set
out in Article 16 of Protocol 9, at least one month before the end of the
year.
The reallocation shall be weighted according to the following criteria, as
detailed in Annex E:
— the special position of Greece and Italy,— the effect of German reunification,— the promotion of alternative transport modes through Austria, in
particular the ‘Rollende Landstraße’,
— the number of ecopoints allocated to Member States, actually used
by them,
— the average NO
xfigures for transiting vehicles from Member States,
— unforeseen occurrences.
III. Adaptation of ecopoint figures
Article 9
Annex 4 of Protocol No 9 "M1 3shall be adapted as
follows:
Y ear Percentage of ecopoints Ecopoints for EU-15
1991
base100 % 23 556 220
1995 71,7 % 16 889 810!M2
!M1
!B
!M11994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 6
Y ear Percentage of ecopoints Ecopoints for EU-15
1991
base100 % 23 556 220
1996 65,0 % 15 311 543
1997 59,1 % 13 921 726
1998 54,8 % 12 908 809
1999 51,9 % 12 225 678
2000 49,8 % 11 730 998
2001 48,5 % 11 424 767
2002 44,8 % 10 533 187
2003 40,0 % 9 422 488
IV . Technical questions concerning the ecopoint system
Article 10
"M1For the purposes of 3Article 11 (2) (b) and Annex 5 (1) of
Protocol No 9, in the case of vehicles registered before 1 October 1990
which have had a change of engine since this date, the COP value of the
new engine shall apply. In such a case the certificate issued by the
appropriate authority shall mention the change of engine and give details
of the new COP value for NOx emissions.
Article 11
Where a traction unit registered in a Member State other than Austria is
replaced by an Austrian-registered traction unit during a transit journey
across Austria to Italy, a permit for bilateral traffic between Austria and
Italy shall, until 31 December 1996, be required in addition to the proof
of payment for the journey by the first traction unit.
Article 12
A transit journey shall be exempt from paying ecopoints if the following
three conditions are met:
(i) the sole purpose of the journey is to deliver a brand-new vehicle, or
vehicle combination, from the manufacturers to a destination in
another State;
(ii) no goods are transported on the journey;
(iii) the vehicle or vehicle combination has appropriate international
registration papers and export licence plates.
Article 13
A transit journey shall be exempt from paying ecopoints if it is the empty
leg of a journey exempt from ecopoints as listed in Annex C and the
vehicle carries suitable documentation to demonstrate this. Such suitable
documentation shall be either:
— a bill of lading, or
— a completed ecocard to which no ecopoints have been attached, or
— a completed ecocard with ecopoints, which are subsequently
reinstated.!B1994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 7
!M2
Article 14
A journey shall be deemed to be exempt from the payment of ecopoints
if the vehicle either sets down or picks up its complete load in Austria
and the vehicle carries suitable documentation to demonstrate this,
irrespective of the route taken by the vehicle to enter and exist Austria.
Article 14a
For a transitional period expiring on 31 December 1997, the use of either
ecocards or ecotags shall be permitted for the administration of transit
traffic.
From 1 January 1998 the Commission shall allow each Member State to
use annually ecocards up to a maximum of 0,6 % of the total number of
ecopoints for the Member States as laid down in Article 9. Member
States shall notify the Commission by 1 August of each year at the latest
of the number of ecopoints they wish to have for use on ecocards the
following year. These ecopoints shall be made available by the
Commission in a single portion before 1 December. The ecocards shall
be made available in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article
1 (1).
V . Final provisions
Article 15
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1995, subject to the
entry into force of the Act of Accession of Norway, Austria, Finland and
Sweden.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all Member States.!M1
!B1994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 8
ANEXO A — BILAG A — ANHANG A — ΠΑΡΑΡΤΗΜΑ Α — ANNEX A — ANNEXE A — ALLEGATO A —
BIJLAGE A — ANEXO A
!B1994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 9
!B1994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 10
!B1994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 11
!B1994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 12
!B1994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 13
!B1994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 14
ANEXO B — BILAG B — ANHANG B — ΠΑΡΑΡΤΗΜΑ Β — ANNEX B — ANNEXE B — ALLEGATO B —
BIJLAGE B — ANEXO B
!B1994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 15
!B1994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 16
ANNEX C
JOURNEYS FOR WHICH NO ECOPOINTS ARE REQUIRED
1. The occasional transport of goods to and from airports when flights are
diverted.
2. The carriage of baggage in trailers attached to passenger vehicles, and the
carriage of baggage to and from airports by vehicles of all kinds.
3. The carriage of postal consignments.4. The carriage of damaged vehicles or vehicles in need of repair.5. The carriage of waste and sewage.
6. The carriage of animal carcases for disposal.
7. The carriage of bees and fish spawn.8. The transport of corpses.9. The carriage of works of art for exhibition or commercial purposes.
10. The occasional carriage of goods for advertising or educational purposes.
11. The carriage of goods by removal firms possessing the appropriate
personnel and equipment.
12. The carriage of equipment, accessories and animals to and from theatrical,
musical, cinema, sporting or circus events, exhibitions or fairs, or to and
from radio, cinema or television recordings.
13. The carriage of spare parts for ships and aircraft.14. The empty journey of a goods vehicle sent to replace a vehicle that has
broken down in transit and the continuation of the journey by the
replacement vehicle using the authorization issued for the first vehicle.
15. The carriage of emergency medical aid (particularly in the case of natural
disasters).
16. The carriage of valuable goods (e.g. precious metals) in special vehicles
escorted by the police or another security service.!
B1994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 17
ANNEX D
DISTRIBUTION SCALE OF ECOPOINTS
Member State Units
Austria 214 800
Belgium 32 500
Denmark 40 500
Germany 482 500
Greece 60 500
Spain 1 200
Finland 4 600
France 5 000
Ireland 1 000
Italy 510 000
Luxembourg 5 000
Netherlands 123 500
Portugal 400
Sweden 7 500
United Kingdom 8 500
Total 1 497 500!B1994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 18
ANNEX E
ECOPOINT REDISTRIBUTION CRITERIA
The special position of Greece and Italy
Of the Community reserve of 3,34 % of the total number of ecopoints, a
proportion of ecopoints equivalent to 4 874 of the units set out in Annex D shallbe allocated to Italy and 576 of the units set out in Annex D to Greece, on a
priority basis.
Furthermore, all necessary efforts shall be made to ensure that the share of
ecopoints allocated to Greece takes sufficient account of Greek needs.
The effect of German reunification
In addition, a proportion of ecopoints equivalent to 6 444 if the units set out in
Annex D shall be allocated to Germany from the Community reserve.
The redistribution of ecopoints returned by Austria
All Austrian ecopoints returned to the Commission for redistribution shall be
redistributed to Member States requesting additional ecopoints in proportion tothe use made by heavy-goods vehicles registered in Member States of the
‘Rollende Landstraße’ in Austria.
Upon the coming into force of the Agreement between the European Community
and the Swiss Confederation on the carriage of goods and passengers by rail and
road, the distribution of ecopoints returned by Austria shall be as follows:
of the Austrian ecopoints returned for distribution to the Commission, 30 % shall
be allocated to Greece and 30 % to Italy, on a priority basis. The remaining
ecopoints returned by Austria shall be distributed to Member States asking for
additional ecopoints in proportion to the use made by heavy-goods vehiclesregistered in Member States of the ‘Rollende Landstraße’ in Austria.
The number of ecopoints allocated to Member States, the number actually
used by them and the average NO
xfigures for transiting vehicles from
Member States
The remaining ecopoints shall be distributed to Member States requesting
additional ecopoints proportional to a coefficient that is defined for each MemberState as follows:
— number of ecopoints deemed necessary, based on extrapolation of the most
recent statistics from Austria,
— multiplied by the proportion of ecopoints allocated to a member State that
were actually used by that Member State the previous year,
— multiplied by the most recent average NO
xfigures for transit vehicles from
the Member State, as a percentage of the target figure for the year.!M21994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 19
ANNEX F
GENERAL TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF THE ECOTAG
Short-range communication beacon — vehicle
(Pre)standards and technical reports relevant to DSRC
The following requirements provided by CEN/TC 278 with regard to short-range
communication between the vehicles and the roadside infrastructure are to be met:
(a) prENV278/9/#62 ‘DSRC Physical Layer using Microwave at 5,8 GHz’;
(b) prENV278/9/#64 ‘DSRC Data Link Layer’;(c) prENV278/9/#65 ‘DSRC Application Layer’.
Type test
The supplier of the ecotag must provide type-test certificates for the appliances
from an accredited test institute confirming compliance with all the limit values
specified in the current I-ETS 300674.
Operating conditions
The ecotag for the automatic ecopoint system must guarantee the required
functionality under the following operating conditions:
— ambient conditions: ambient temperature from −25°C to +70°C,
— weather conditions: all eventualities,— traffic: several lanes, moving,— speed range: From ‘stop-and-go’ to 120 km/h.
The above operating conditions are minimum requirements pending the adoption
of (pre)standards relevant to DSRC.
The ecotag may react only to microwave signals specific to its own applications.
Ecotag
Identification
Each ecotag must have a unique identification number. In addition to the number
of digits necessary to make it distinguishable, this number must also contain a
check sum for integrity verification.
Installation
The ecotag should be designed for installation behind the windscreen of the lorry
or traction unit. It shall be installed so as to be completely non-detachable fromthe vehicle.
Transit declaration
The ecotag must have an input facility for declaring a journey exempt from the
payment of ecopoints.
This facility must be clearly visible on the ecotag for control purposes;
alternatively, it must be possible to set the ecotag at a defined initial position. At
all events, it must be ensured that only the status at the time of entry is taken into
account for evaluation in the system.
External marking
Every ecotag must also be clearly identifiable on visual inspection. To this end, the
abovementioned unique identification number must be indelibly applied to thesurface of the appliance.!
M11994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 20
Anon-detachable, indelible marking to the ecotag in the form of prepared stickers
shall be affixed to the ecotag. This marking must show the number of ecopoints
for the individual vehicle (‘5’, ‘6’, ... ‘16’).
These special stickers must be tamper-proof; they must have mechanical strength
and be light- and temperature-resistant. They must have a high adhesive strengthand any attempt to remove them must result in their destruction.
Integrity
The casing must be constructed in such way that any manipulation of the internal
components is excluded and any interference can subsequently be detected.
Memory
The ecotag must have sufficient memory capacity for the following data:
— identification number,— vehicle data
— COP value,
— transaction data
— identification of the border post,— date/time,
— status of journey declaration,
— blocking (blacklisting) information,
— status data
— manipulation,
— battery status,
— status of latest communication.
There must be a reserve of memory of at least 30 %.!
M11994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 21
ANNEX G
INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ECOTAG
The ecotag shall be located on the interior side of the windowscreen within the
marked area (illustrated above) where the dimensions are as follows:
x = 100 cmy = 80 cm.!
M11994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 22
ANNEX H
Austrian border stations equipped with an ecocard-stamping machine
Achenkirch
Arnoldstein
Braunau
Brennerpaß
Ehrwald
Hangendenstein
Hörbranz
Kiefersfelden
Musau
Nauders
Neuhaus
Pinswang
Reit im Winkel
Saalbrücke
Scharnitz
Schleching
Sillian
Springen
Suben
Steinpaß
Walserberg
Wegscheid!M21994R3298 — EN — 11.04.2000 — 002.001 — 23