6. TRANSPORT POLICY

1. 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 Romania 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 Romania.

(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.

2. 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 3.2.1, 3.4.1, 3.4.2, 3.5.1 specified in Annex I to that Directive may only use non‐upgraded parts of the Romanian road network until 31 December 2013 if they comply with Romanian 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 5 to the EC/Romania Transport Agreement [11] and Annex I to Decision No 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 [12], which are listed below:

1. Alba Iulia — Turda — Zalău — Satu Mare — Halmeu (road E 81)

2. Zalău — Oradea — Borş (roads 1 H and E 60)

3. Mărăşeşti — Bacău — Suceava — Siret (road E 85)

4. Tişiţa — Tecuci — Huşi — Albiţa (road E 581)

5. Simeria — Haţeg — Rovinari — Craiova — Calafat (road E 79)

6. Lugoj — Caransebeş — Drobeta-Turnu Severin — Filiaşi — Craiova (road E 70)

7. Craiova — Alexandria — Bucureşti (road 6)

8. Drobeta-Turnu Severin — Calafat (road 56 A)

9. Bucureşti — Buzău (roads E 60/E 85)

10. Bucureşti — Giurgiu (roads E 70/E 85)

11. Braşov — Sibiu (road E 68)

12. Timişoara — Stamora Moraviţa

Romania shall adhere to the timetable set out in the table below for upgrading its secondary road network as shown in the map below. 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 Romanian secondary road network 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.

As from the date of accession, all vehicles in international traffic complying with the limit values of Directive 96/53/EC shall only be subject to temporary additional charges on the secondary Romanian road transport network if they are in excess of national axle‐load limits. These vehicles shall not be subject to such temporary additional charges on the secondary Romanian road transport network if they are in excess of national limits in relation to the dimension or total weight of the vehicle. Moreover those vehicles in international traffic complying with the limit values of Directive 96/53/EC and fitted with air-suspension, shall be subject to lower charges of at least 25 % less.

Temporary additional charges for using non-upgraded parts of the secondary network with vehicles in international traffic complying with the limit values of the Directive shall be levied in a non-discriminatory manner. 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 vehicles registered in Romania.

The charges for vehicles without air-suspension complying with the limit values set out in Directive 96/53/EC shall not exceed the level of charges set out in the table below (expressed in 2002 figures). Vehicles fitted with air-suspension complying with the limit values set out in Directive 96/53/EC shall be subject to lower charges of at least 25 % less.

Maximum level of charges (2002 figures) for vehicles without air-suspension complying with the limit values set out in Directive 96/53/EC

Stated single-axle load in a vehicle from - to | Amount of additional charge for the use of one kilometre of non-upgraded road (with maximum carrying capacity of 10 tonnes per axle) in euro (2002 figures) |

from 10 tonnes per axle to 10,5 tonnes per axle | 0,11 |

from 10,5 tonnes per axle to 11 tonnes per axle | 0,30 |

from 11 tonnes per axle to 11,5 tonnes per axle | 0,44 |

Timetable for upgrading the secondary road network on which there will be a progressive opening for vehicles complying with the limit values of Directive 96/53/EC

Period | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | TOTAL |

Km ongoing [13] | 3031 | 2825 | 1656 | 1671 | 1518 | 1529 | 1554 | |

Km put into service [14] | 960 | 1674 | 528 | 624 | 504 | 543 | 471 | |

Cumulated works (in km) | 3916 | 5590 | 6118 | 6742 | 7246 | 7789 | 8260 | 8260 |

+++++ TIFF +++++

NATIONAL ROADS REHABILITATION - PROJECTSTO BE COMPLETED BY 2013Stages I-XIIILength = 8 260 kmValue = 6 489,3 Million Euro

3. 31999 L 0062: Directive 1999/62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 1999 on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures (OJ L 187, 20.7.1999, p. 42), as last amended by:

- 12003 T: Act concerning the conditions of accession and the adjustments to the Treaties — 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 (OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 33).

By way of derogation from Article 6(1) of Directive 1999/62/EC, the minimum tax rates laid down in Annex I to the Directive shall not apply in Romania to vehicles engaged exclusively in domestic transport operations until 31 December 2010.

During this period, the rates to be applied by Romania to these vehicles shall gradually reach the minimum rates of tax laid down in Annex I to the Directive in accordance with the following schedule:

- by 1 January 2007, the rates to be applied by Romania shall not be less than 60 % of the minimum rates laid down in Annex I to the Directive;

- by 1 January 2009, the rates to be applied by Romania shall not be less than 80 % of the minimum rates laid down in Annex I to the Directive.

[11] Road Transit Agreement between the European Community and Romania for the carriage of goods of 28 June 2001 (OJ L 142, 31.5.2002, p. 75).

[12] OJ L 228, 9.9.1996, p. 1. Decision as last amended by Decision No 884/2004/EC (OJ L 167, 30.4.2004, p. 1).

[13] Km ongoing = road sections for which works are carried out during the reference year. These works may start in the reference year or may have started in the previous years.

[14] Km put in service = road sections for which the works are completed or put into service in the reference year.

--------------------------------------------------