Agreement

between the European Community and the Republic of Bulgaria 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";

of the one part, and

THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA, hereinafter referred to as "Bulgaria";

of the other part,

hereinafter referred to as "the Contracting Parties",

CONSIDERING the Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Bulgaria, of the other part, of 8 March 1993 and in particular, point 3 of Article 57, 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 Bulgaria, can flow as quickly and efficiently as possible without hindrance or discrimination;

CONSIDERING that Bulgaria 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 envisaged in the aforementioned Europe Agreement;

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 meets, inter alia, 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 Bulgaria, 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: the transport of goods between or through the Contracting Parties where the lorry, trailer, semi-trailer, with or without tractor unit, swap body or container of 20 feet or more use 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: 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: 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: payment of a specified amount for a road vehicle travelling the distance between two points on an infrastructure; the amount shall be based on the distance travelled and on the category of the vehicle.

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 Bulgaria,

- encouraging the use of unaccompanied combined transport 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 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,

- 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:

- introducing the UIC C1 gauge on new main lines and converting existing main lines to at least the B gauge (as agreed within AGTC, the Europe Agreement on important international combined transport links and related installations of 1 February 1991), if other means to reach interoperability of the networks are not attainable,

- 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, to maintain the existing rights resulting from bilateral agreements or other bilateral arrangements concluded between each Member State of the Community and Bulgaria.

However, while awaiting the conclusion of an agreement between the Contracting Parties on access to the road transport market, as envisaged in Article 7, Bulgaria 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 Bulgaria with effect from the date on which this Agreement enters into force, by means of authorisations as follows:

(a) the Community will receive:

13000 authorisations valid in Bulgaria;

(b) Bulgaria will receive:

6000 authorisations valid in the Member States of the Community for which adhesive stamps have been attached;

(c) Bulgaria 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 Bulgaria or, in the case of the Community, to the competent authorities of its Member States. The competent authorities shall complete the authorisation except for the headings "Registration No of the motor vehicle", "Outward journey" and "Return journey" and they shall 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 Bulgaria. 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 may be used for one outward and one return journey only.

3. The authorisations referred to in paragraph 2 may 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 the vehicle throughout the journey.

4. If the date on 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 Bulgarian 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 Bulgaria 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 the Contracting Parties.

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 Bulgaria while the vehicle conforms to the provisions as laid down in Council Directive 96/53/EC on weights and dimensions, the vehicle shall not be subjected to any special charges provided it keeps to the main transit routes concerned in Bulgaria as specified in Annex 5.

Article 9

Social provisions

The Contracting Parties to this Agreement shall implement the Europe 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 and (EEC) No 3821/85 as subsequently amended.

Article 10

Technical provisions

1. Bulgaria 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 of the entry into force of this Agreement.

2. The Contracting Parties to this Agreement shall implement the Europe 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. Bulgaria 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/Bulgaria Transport Committee". The Committee shall:

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

- 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:

(a) shall examine ways of cooperating and promoting of combined transport, and will review at least every two years the progress made towards realising these aims,

(b) shall review the annexes to this Agreement at least every two years,

(c) shall 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 of the date of referral in accordance with the conditions to be laid down in its rules of procedure,

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

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

(f) should prepare any recommendations for possible increases in the number of authorisations/adhesive stamps,

(g) shall 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 Bulgaria, in whose territory the infringement occurred.

Article 15

Duration of the Agreement

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

Article 16

Denunciation of the Agreement

Each Party may denounce the Agreement with six 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 shall be drawn up in duplicate in the Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Bulgarian 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 Bruselas, el veintiseis de julio del año dos mil./Udfærdiget i Bruxelles den seksogtyvende juli to tusind./Geschehen zu Brüssel am sechsundzwanzigsten Juli zweitausend./Έγινε στις Βρυξέλλες, στις είκοσι έξι Ιουλίου δύο χιλιάδες./Done at Brussels on the twenty-sixth day of July in the year two thousand./Fait à Bruxelles, le vingt-six juillet deux mille./Fatto a Bruxelles, addì ventisei luglio duemila./Gedaan te Brussel, de zesentwintigste juli tweeduizend./Feito em Bruxelas, em vinte e seis de Julho de dois mil./Tehty Brysselissä kahdentenakymmenentenäkuudentena päivänä heinäkuuta vuonna kaksituhatta./Som skedde i Bryssel den tjugosjätte juli tjugohundra./>ISO_5>¿ÞÔßØáÐÝÞ ÝÐ 26 îÛØ 2000 Ó. Ò ±àîÚáÕÛ

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ANNEX 1a

(First page of authorisation, in Bulgarian)

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(Second page of the authorisation)

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ANNEX 1b

(First page of authorisation, in German and Italian)

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(Second page of the authorisation)

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ANNEX 1c

("Adhesive stamp")

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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 road-worthiness 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 of 15 July 1991 (OJ L 233, 22.8.1991, p. 21).

ANNEX 4

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ANNEX 5

Transit routes in Bulgaria permitting Community vehicles conforming to Community rules on weights and dimensions to transit Bulgaria 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 charges relating to them being in excess of the Bulgarian rules on weights and dimensions providing the vehicles keep to the following transit routes within Bulgaria:

- transit route Vidin/Kulata (Pan-European corridor IV): namely the ferryboat from the Romanian border to Vidin, E79 from Vidin to Vratza and Botevgrad, E79/E83 from Botevgrad to Sofia, E79 Sofia south-eastern bypass and E79 from Sofia to Kulata and the Greek border,

- transit route Russe/Kulata (Pan-European corridor IX, TINA link Biala/Botevgrad and Pan-European corridor IV): namely the Danube bridge from the Romanian border to Russe, E85 from Russe to Biala, E83 from Biala to Pleven and Botevgrad, E79/E83 from Botevgrad to Sofia, E79 Sofia south-eastern bypass and E79 from Sofia to Kulata and the Greek border,

- transit route Kalotina/Kulata (Pan-European corridors X and IV): namely the E80 from Federal Republic of Yugoslavian border to Kalotina and Sofia, E80 Sofia south-western bypass and E79 from Sofia to Kulata and the Greek border,

- transit route Vidin/Svilengrad (Pan-European corridors IV and IX): namely the ferryboat from the Romanian border to Vidin, E79 from Vidin to Vratza and Botevgrad, E79/E83 from Botevgrad to Sofia, E79 Sofia eastern bypass, E80 from Sofia to Plovdiv, Orizovo and Haskovo, E80/E85 from Haskovo to Svilengrad and E85 from Svilengrad to the Greek border,

- transit route Russe/Svilengrad (Pan-European corridor IX): namely the Danube bridge from the Romanian border to Russe, E85 from Russe to Biala, E85 from Biala to Veliko Tarnovo and Haskovo, E80/E85 from Haskovo to Svilengrad and E85 from Svilengrad to the Greek border,

- transit Route Kalotina/Svilengrad (Pan-European corridors X, IV and IX): namely the E80 from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia border to Kalotina and Sofia, E80 Sofia southern bypass, E80 from the Sofia to Orizovo, E80 from Orizovo to Haskovo and E80/E85 from Haskovo to Svilengrad, E85 from Svilengrad to the Greek border.

2. The following sections of the transit routes mentioned in point 1 shall be temporarily excluded from the application of point 1 of this Annex until 31 December 2001 at the latest unless the Joint Committee determines that the sections concerned have already been upgraded (or realigned) to the required standards permitting use by vehicles conforming to the Community rules on weights and dimensions:

- E79, Sofia to Kulata and Greek border

- E80, Federal Republic of Yugoslavian border to Kalotina and Sofia

- E80, Orizovo to Haskovo

- E80/E85, Haskovo to Svilengrad

- E83, Biala to Pleven and Botevgrad

- E85, Russe to Biala

- E85, Svilengrad to Greek border.

3. The following section of the transit routes mentioned in part 1 shall be temporarily excluded from the application of part 1 of this Annex until 31 December 2004 at the latest unless the Joint Committee determines that the section concerned has already been upgraded (or realigned) to the required standards permitting the use by vehicles conforming to the Community rules on weights and dimensions:

- E79, Vidin to Vratza and Botevgrad.

4. The following section of the transit routes mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be temporarily excluded from the application of part 1 of this Annex until 31 December 2007 at the latest unless the Joint Committee determines that the section concerned has already been upgraded (or realigned) to the required standards permitting use by vehicles conforming to the Community rules on weights and dimensions:

- E85, Biala to Veliko Tarnovo and Haskovo.