Agreement

between the European Community and Romania establishing certain conditions for the carriage of goods by road and the promotion of combined transport

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, hereinafter referred to as "the Community",

ROMANIA, hereinafter referred to as "Romania",

hereinafter called "the Contracting Parties",

CONSIDERING the Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Romania, of the other part, of 1 February 1993, and in particular Article 57.3 thereof;

CONSIDERING that it is essential for the Community, in the context of the completion of the internal market and the implementation of the common transport policy, to ensure that Community goods in transit through Romania, can flow as quickly and efficiently as possible without hindrance or discrimination;

CONSIDERING that Romania has an interest in developing further with the Community existing mutual rights and obligations regarding access to the transport market and transit as a first step in achieving an inland transport agreement as foreseen in the Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Romania, of the other part, of 1 February 1993;

CONSIDERING, furthermore, that it is necessary to ensure the coordinated development of transport flows between and through the territories of the Contracting Parties, particularly by introducing and developing a package of coordinated measures on road and combined transport on a competitive basis through the promotion of environmentally friendly vehicles and respecting the principle of sustainable mobility,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

TITLE I

AIM, SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1

Aim

The aim of this Agreement is to promote cooperation between the Contracting Parties on the transport of goods and, in particular, transit traffic by road, and to ensure for this purpose that transport between and through the territories of the Contracting Parties is developed in a coordinated manner.

Article 2

Scope

1. Cooperation shall cover transport of goods by road and combined transport.

2. In this connection, the scope of this Agreement shall cover in particular:

- market access for transit traffic in the field of transport of goods by road,

- legal and administrative supporting measures including commercial, taxation, social and technical measures,

- cooperation in developing a transport system which, inter alia, meets environmental needs,

- a regular exchange of information on the development of the transport policies of the Contracting Parties.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purpose of this Agreement, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) transit traffic: a journey carried out by road through the territory of (a) Member State(s) of the Community or through the territory of Romania, regardless of whether it is made by a laden or unladen road vehicle without performing any loading or unloading operations in these territories;

(b) combined transport: means the transport of goods between or through the territories of the Contracting Parties where the lorry, trailer, semi-trailer, with or without tractor unit, swap body or container of 20 feet or more uses the road on the initial or final leg of the journey and on the other leg, rail or inland waterway or maritime services where this section exceeds 100 km as the crow flies, and make the initial or final road transport leg of the journey:

- between the point where the goods are loaded and the nearest suitable rail loading station for the initial leg, and between the nearest suitable rail unloading station and the point where the goods are unloaded for the final leg, or

- within a radius not exceeding 150 km as the crow flies from the inland waterway port or seaport of loading or unloading;

(c) road vehicle: shall mean a motor vehicle registered in a Contracting Party or a coupled combination of vehicles the motor vehicle of which at least is registered in a Contracting Party and which are used exclusively for the carriage of goods;

(d) user charges: means non-discriminatory payment of a special amount conferring the right for a road vehicle to use a given infrastructure for a given period;

(e) tolls: means payment of a specified amount for a vehicle travelling the distance between two points on a infrastructure; the amount shall be based on the distance travelled and on the category of the vehicle;

(f) territory of the Contracting Party:

- means for the European Community, the territories in which the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community is applied and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty, and

- means for Romania, the territory of Romania.

TITLE II

COMBINED TRANSPORT

Article 4

General provisions

The Contracting Parties shall adopt the mutually coordinated measures necessary for the development and promotion of combined transport as a means of ensuring that a large proportion of their international transport is performed under more environment-friendly conditions.

Article 5

Supporting measures

The Contracting Parties shall take all the steps necessary to improve the competitiveness of combined transport especially by:

(a) taking measures to encourage users and consignors to use combined transport by:

- improving the competitiveness of all types of combined transport vis-à-vis road through financial assistance to new combined transport projects by the Community or Romania,

- encouraging the use of unaccompanied combined transport especially over long distances and to promote, in particular, the use of swap bodies, containers and semi-trailers,

- freeing, in the appropriate framework, the initial and/or final road haulage legs, which form an integral part of the combined transport operation, from quota systems and systems of authorisation,

- considering to grant rebates from vehicle taxes for road vehicles when used in combined transport chains,

- improving the speed and reliability of combined transport and in particular:

(i) by encouraging the increase of the frequency of combined transport services in accordance with the needs of consignors and users;

(ii) by encouraging the reduction of the waiting time at terminals and increasing of their productivity;

(iii) by streamlining of border controls affecting combined transport, transferring those controls for all goods except goods subject to veterinary and phytosanitary control to combined transport terminals as soon as possible;

(iv) by improving the security conditions of the goods, the transport unit and the loading unit during the combined transport chain,

- ensuring non-discriminatory access to terminals when they are financed or co-financed by public funds,

- giving, where feasible, priority allocation of the road transit authorisations, agreed in Article 6(2) by the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties, to road hauliers according to their use of combined transport as measured by the statistical data available to each Contracting Party,

- considering, where necessary for the compatibility with rail gauges, the weights, dimensions and technical characteristics of specialised combined transport equipment and considering coordinated action to order and to put into service such equipment as is required by the level of traffic;

(b) making accessible, on request, information available concerning new combined transport actions including technology research projects (co-)financed by that Contracting Party, by means of an executive summary, setting out the contents, results and the impact of the action or technology project;

(c) creating suitable infrastructure by:

- as laid down in the relevant provisions of the AGTC, the European Agreement on important international combined transport links and related installations of 1 February 1991,

- removing any bottlenecks on the road access routes to the combined transport terminals so as to enhance the use of combined transport;

(d) considering the following actions:

- examining the possibilities to allow 44-tonne vehicles on six axles for initial and final road legs of combined transport,

- making exceptions to weekend and holiday driving restrictions for initial and final road legs of combined transport,

- allowing mutual access for combined transport operators on the railways in the context of a new agreement.

TITLE III

ROAD TRANSPORT

Article 6

General provisions

1. With regard to mutual access to transport markets, the Contracting Parties agree, initially and without prejudice to paragraph 2 of this Article, to maintain the existing rights resulting from bilateral agreements or other bilateral arrangements concluded between each Member State of the Community and Romania.

However, whilst awaiting the conclusion of an agreement between the Contracting Parties on access to the road transport market, as foreseen in Article 7, Romania shall cooperate with the Member States of the Community to amend these bilateral agreements and/or arrangements as may possibly be necessary to adapt them to this Agreement.

2. In addition to the authorisations provided in the regimes described in paragraph 1, the Contracting Parties hereby agree to grant, for each calendar year, access to transit traffic by goods vehicles through the territories of the Member States of the Community and Romania with effect from the date on which this Agreement enters into force, by means of authorisations as follows:

(a) the Community will receive:

14000 authorisations valid in Romania;

(b) Romania will receive:

7000 authorisations valid in the Member States of the Community for which adhesive stamps have been attached;

(c) Romania will receive:

3000 adhesive stamps for each Member State of the Community;

(d) the authorisations referred to under (a) and (b) shall correspond to the models in Annex 1a and Annex 1b respectively;

(e) the adhesive stamps referred to under (c) shall correspond to the model in Annex 1c;

(f) the authorisations referred to under (a) and (b) shall be supplied by the services of the Commission to the competent authorities of Romania or, in the case of the Community, to the competent authorities of its Member States. The competent authorities shall fill out the authorisation except for the headings "Registration number of the motor vehicle", "Outward journey" and "Return journey" and they will deliver them to their transport operators at a charge so as only to cover reasonable administrative expenses;

(g) the adhesive stamps referred to under (c) shall be supplied by the services of the Commission to the competent authorities of Romania. These adhesive stamps shall be attached to the authorisation prior to its use so as to indicate for which Member State or Member States of the Community the authorisation is valid;

(h) the Contracting Parties agree that no taxes or similar charges will be levied on the use of the authorisations referred to under (a) and (b);

(i) the authorisations and the adhesive stamps shall be valid for one calendar year until 31 January of the year thereafter and can be used for one outward and one return journey only.

3. The authorisations referred to in paragraph 2 can be used only by vehicles complying at least with EURO 1 standards or with provisions of the "green lorry certificate" as reproduced in Annex 4. The evidence for compliance with this provision shall be kept on board of the vehicle throughout the journey.

4. If the date at which the Agreement enters into force in accordance with Article 19 is not 1 January, the number of authorisations and adhesive stamps specified in paragraph 2 will be reduced pro rata for the calendar year in which the Agreement enters into force.

5. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall issue authorisations for the transport of goods pursuant to this agreement only to carriers who are authorised according to the legislation of that Contracting Party to engage in international road transport operations. The authorisation must be kept in the vehicle. In the case of a coupled combination of vehicles it must accompany the motor vehicle. It covers the coupled combination of vehicles even if the trailer or semi-trailer is not registered in the name of the authorisation holder or if it is registered in another country.

6. The Contracting Parties shall refrain from taking any unilateral action that might lead to discrimination between Community and Romanian hauliers or vehicles. Each Contracting Party shall take all steps necessary to facilitate road transport referred to in this agreement to or through its own territory.

Article 7

Access to the market

The Contracting Parties shall, as a matter of priority and taking account of the adoption by Romania of the fiscal, social and technical rules of the Community, undertake to work together to seek a common system for regulating future road transport market access between them.

Article 8

Fiscal provisions

In the case of transport operations in accordance with this Agreement:

1. the Contracting Parties shall ensure that the principle of non-discrimination in terms of nationality or place of establishment is applied to road vehicle taxation, fiscal burdens, tolls and any other form of user charges made for the use of road transport infrastructure;

2. road vehicles registered in one Contracting Party shall be exempted from all vehicle taxes and charges levied on the circulation or possession of vehicles as well as from all special taxes or charges levied on transport operations in the territory of the other Contracting Party.

Road vehicles shall not be exempted from payment of taxes and charges on motor fuel, road tolls and user charges levied for the use of infrastructure;

3. the Contracting Parties shall ensure that tolls and any other form of user charges may not be imposed at the same time for the use of a single road section. However, Contracting Parties may also impose tolls on networks where user charges are levied, for the use of bridges, tunnels and mountain passes;

4. the following items shall be exempt from customs duty and from all taxes and charges:

(a) fuel contained in the tanks of road vehicles at the time of importation into the territory of the other Contracting Party, where the tanks are those designed by the manufacturer for the type of road vehicle in question;

(b) fuel held in the tanks of trailers and semi-trailers used for the cooling systems of refrigerators;

(c) lubricants in quantities required for use during the journey;

(d) spare parts and tools required for the repair of a vehicle which has broken down while performing an international road transport operation. The spare parts that are replaced should be re-exported or destroyed under the control of the competent customs authority of the other Contracting Party;

5. without prejudice to the second subparagraph of paragraph 2, if the weights, dimensions or axle load of a vehicle exceed the maximum limits in force in the territory of Romania while the vehicle conforms to the provisions as laid down in Council Directive 96/53/EC(1) on weights and dimensions, the vehicle shall not be subjected to any special charges provided it complies with the provisions laid down in Annex 5.

Article 9

Social provisions

The Contracting Parties to this Agreement shall implement the European Agreement concerning the work of crews of vehicles engaged in international road transport (ERTA) of 1 July 1970, as in force at the entry into force of this Agreement or shall apply rules identical to Council Regulations (EEC) No 3820/85(2) and (EEC) No 3821/85(3) as subsequently amended.

Article 10

Technical provisions

1. Romania shall adopt measures equivalent to those given in Annex 2 by the time of the entry into force of this Agreement and to those given in Annex 3 within two years after the entry into force of this Agreement.

2. The Contracting Parties to this Agreement shall implement the European Agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road (ADR) of 30 September 1957, as in force at the entry into force of this Agreement.

3. Romania shall endeavour to harmonise on the basis of Community rules its legislation on the carriage of perishable goods, live animals and dangerous goods.

4. The Contracting Parties shall pool their experience and exchange information on their legislation so as to improve the flow and safety of traffic during peak periods (weekends, public holidays, the tourist season).

5. The Contracting Parties shall cooperate in encouraging the introduction, development and coordination of interoperable road traffic information systems.

6. The Contracting Parties shall also endeavour to harmonise the technical assistance to be provided to drivers, the dissemination of essential information on traffic and emergency services including ambulance services and other matters of concern to drivers.

TITLE IV

SIMPLIFICATION OF FORMALITIES

Article 11

Simplification of formalities

1. The Contracting Parties agree to simplify the formalities concerning the flow of goods transported in accordance with the present Agreement.

2. The Contracting Parties agree to begin negotiations with a view to concluding an agreement on the facilitation of controls and formalities relating to the carriage of goods.

3. The Contracting Parties agree, to the extent necessary, to take joint action on, and to encourage, the adoption of further simplification measures.

TITLE V

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 12

Widening of the scope

If one of the Contracting Parties concludes, on the basis of experience in the application of this Agreement, that other measures which do not fall within the scope of this Agreement are in the interest of a coordinated European transport policy and, in particular, may help to solve the problems of transit traffic, it shall make suggestions in this respect to the other Contracting Party.

Article 13

Joint Committee

The body responsible for cooperation shall be a Joint Committee to be known as the "Community/Romania Transport Committee". The Committee shall:

- be made up of representatives appointed by the Community and Romania,

- meet at the request of either Contracting Party, alternately in the territory of each Contracting Party,

- establish its own rules of procedure,

- act by mutual agreement,

- ensure the proper implementation of this Agreement and, in particular, shall:

(a) examine ways of cooperating and promoting combined transport, and will review at least every two years the progress made in this respect;

(b) review the Annexes of this agreement at least every two years;

(c) resolve any disputes which may arise over the application and interpretation of this Agreement. In the case of disagreement, the decision shall be referred to a subsequent meeting of the Joint Committee to be held within two months from the date of referral in accordance with the conditions to be laid down in its rules of procedure;

(d) coordinate the monitoring, forecasting and other statistical work relating to international road and combined transport and, in particular, road transit traffic;

(e) adopt, as necessary, measures concerning the technical adaptation of the provisions of the present Agreement;

(f) if needed prepare recommendations for increases in the number of authorisations/adhesive stamps;

(g) discuss, as necessary, all other topics relevant to the implementation of this Agreement.

Article 14

Infringements

1. In the event of an infringement of the provisions of this Agreement by a road vehicle, or by a driver of such a vehicle, the competent authority of the Contracting Party in whose territory the infringement occurred may notify the infringement to the competent authority of the other Contracting Party which may take steps as provided by its national laws.

2. The competent authority receiving any such notification shall as soon as possible inform the competent authority of the other Contracting Party of the action taken.

3. The provisions of this Article shall be without prejudice to lawful sanctions that may be applied by the courts or enforcement authorities, of either the Member State of the European Community or Romania, in whose territory the infringement occurred.

Article 15

Duration of the Agreement

This Agreement is concluded for a period of five years. If neither of the Contracting Parties denounces it, with 12 months notice before the expiry of this period, the Agreement is automatically renewed for a period of three years.

Article 16

Denunciation of the Agreement

Each Party may denounce the Agreement with a 12 months notice to be notified to the other Party.

Article 17

Annexes

The Annexes shall form an integral part of this Agreement.

Article 18

Languages

This Agreement is drawn up in two copies in the Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Romanian languages, each text being equally authentic.

Article 19

Entry into force

This Agreement shall be concluded in accordance with the Contracting Parties' own procedures. It shall enter into force on the first day of the second month after the Contracting Parties have notified one another of the completion of the procedures necessary for that purpose.

Hecho en Luxemburgo, el veintiocho de junio del dos mil uno./Udfærdiget i Luxembourg den otteogtyvende juni to tusind og en./Geschehen zu Luxemburg am achtundzwanzigsten Juni zweitausendundeins./Έγινε στο Λουξεμβούργο, στις είκοσι οκτώ Ιουνίου δύο χιλιάδες ένα./Done at Luxembourg on the twenty-eighth day of June in the year two thousand and one./Fait à Luxembourg, le vingt-huit juin deux mille un./Fatto a Lussemburgo, addì ventotto giugno duemilauno./Gedaan te Luxemburg, de achtentwintigste juni tweeduizendeneen./Feito em Luxemburgo, em vinte e oito de Junho de dois mil e um./Tehty Luxemburgissa kahdentenakymmenentenäkahdeksantena päivänä kesäkuuta vuonna kaksituhattayksi./Som skedde i Luxemburg den tjugoåttonde juni tjugohundraett./Intocmit la Luxemburg, la douazeci si opt iunie doua mii unu.

Por la Comunidad Europea/For Det Europæiske Fællesskab/Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft/Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα/For the European Community/Pour la Communauté européenne/Per la Comunità europea/Voor de Europese Gemeenschap/Pela Comunidade Europeia/Euroopan yhteisön puolesta/På Europeiska gemenskapens vägnar

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Pentru România

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(1) OJ L 235, 17.9.1996, p. 59.

(2) OJ L 370, 31.12.1985, p. 1.

(3) OJ L 370, 31.12.1985, p. 8.

ANNEX 1a

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ANNEX 1b

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ANNEX 1c

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ANNEX 2

Pertinent dispositions of the acquis communautaire

1. Council Directive 88/77/EEC of 3 December 1987 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the measures to be taken against the emission of gaseous pollutants from diesel engines for use in vehicles (OJ L 36, 9.2.1988, p. 33), as last modified by Directive 96/1/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 40, 17.2.1996, p. 1).

2. Council Directive 70/157/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the permissible sound level and the exhaust system of motor vehicles (OJ L 42, 23.2.1970, p. 16), as last modified by Commission Directive 96/20/EC (OJ L 92, 13.4.1996, p. 23).

ANNEX 3

1. Council Directive 92/6/EEC of 10 February 1992 on the installation and use of speed limitation devices for certain categories of motor vehicles in the Community (OJ L 57, 2.3.1992, p. 27).

2. Council Directive 96/96/EC of 20 December 1996 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers (OJ L 46, 17.2.1997, p. 1).

3. Council Directive 71/320/EEC of 26 July 1971 on the approximation of laws of the Member States relating to the braking devices of certain categories of motor vehicles and their trailers (OJ L 202, 6.9.1971, p. 37), as last amended by Commission Directive 91/422/EEC (OJ L 233, 22.8.1991, p. 21).

ANNEX 4

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ANNEX 5

Transit routes in Romania permitting Community vehicles conforming to Community rules on weights and dimensions to transit Romania without paying any special charges

1. Community vehicles conforming to 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) shall be exempt from any special permit and from any special charges relating to them being in excess of the Romanian rules on weights and dimensions providing the vehicles keep to the following transit routes within Romania:

- transit route Nadlac/Calafat (Pan-European Corridor IV): namely the E68 from the Hungarian border to Nadlac and Arad, E671 from Arad to Timisoara, E70 from Timisoara to Craiova, E79 from Craiova to Calafat and to the Bulgarian border,

- transit route Nadlac/Giurgiu (Pan-European Corridor IV and IX): namely the E68 from the Hungarian border to Nadlac, Deva and Sebes, E68/E81 from Sebes to Miercurea Sibiului and Vestem, E81 from Vestem to Pitesti, E70 from Pitesti to Bucarest; Bucarest south-western bypass, and E85 from Bucarest to Giurgiu and to the Bulgarian border.

2. The following sections of the transit routes mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be temporarily excluded from the application of paragraph 1 of this Annex until 31 December 2000 at the latest unless the Joint Committee determines that the sections concerned have been upgraded (or realigned) to the required standards permitting use by vehicles conforming to the Community rules on weights and dimensions:

- E 70 Bucharest to Pitesti.

3. The following section of the transit routes mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be temporarily excluded from the application of paragraph 1 of this Annex until 31 December 2003 at the latest unless the Joint Committee determines that the section concerned has been upgraded (or realigned) to the required standards permitting use by vehicles conforming to the Community rules on weights and dimensions:

- E 68/E81 Miercurea Sibiului to Vestem,

- E 70 Timisoara to Lugoj,

- E 85 Bucharest to Giurgiu.

4. The following section of the transit routes mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be temporarily excluded from the application of paragraph 1 of this Annex until 31 December 2006 at the latest unless the Joint Committee determines that the section concerned has been upgraded (or realigned) to the required standards permitting use by vehicles conforming to the Community rules on weights and dimensions:

- E 79 Craiova to Calafat and Bulgarian border,

- E 70 Lugoj to Craiova.

5. Without prejudice to paragraph 1, the Romanian authorities will, according to national rules in force, on the sections mentioned in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 above and until the dates mentioned therein, levy only the distance and weight related charge relating to the vehicle being in excess of the Romanian rules on weights and dimensions.

Information on the entry into force of the Road Transit Agreement between the European Community and Romania for the carriage of goods

The Road Transit Agreement between the European Community and Romania, which was signed on 28 June 2001, and which the Council decided to conclude on 7 December 2001, will come into force on 1 June 2002, the procedures provided for in Article 19 of the Agreement having been completed on 3 April 2002.