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COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 862/2004 
of 29 April 2004 
adapting Regulation (EC) No 2888/2000 of the European Parliament  
and of the Council, in the field of transport, by reason of  
the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia,  
Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Po land, Slovenia and Slovakia 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 
Having regard to the Treaty esta blishing the European Community, 
Having regard to the Treaty concerning the acc ession of the Czech Repub lic, the Republic of 
Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of La tvia, the Republic of Lit huania, the Republic of 
Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Repub lic of Slovenia and the Slovak 
Republic to the European Union 1 (hereinafter referred to as th e "Treaty of Accession") and in 
particular Article 2(3) thereof, Having regard to the Act concerning the condi tions of accession of the Czech Republic, the 
Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Re public of Latvia, the Repub lic of Lithuania, the 
Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and 
the Slovak Republic and the adjust ments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded 
2 
(hereinafter referred to as the Act of Accessi on) and in particular Article 57(1) thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
                                                 
1 OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 17. 
2 OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 33. 
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Whereas: 
(1) For certain acts which remain valid beyond 1 May 2004 and require adaptation by reason of 
accession, the necessary adaptations were not prov ided for in the Act of Accession, or were 
provided for, but further adapta tions are necessary. A ll these adaptations n eed to be adopted 
before accession in order to enter into force as from accession.  
(2) Pursuant to Article 57 (2) of the Act of Accession, such adapta tions are to be adopted by the 
Council in all cases where the Council alone or  jointly with the European Parliament 
adopted the or iginal act. 
(3) Regulation (EC) No 2888/2000 of the Europ ean Parliament and of the Council of 
18 December 2000 on the distribution of permits  for heavy goods vehicles travelling in 
Switzerland1 should therefore be amended accordingly, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
The Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 2888/2000 shall be  replaced by the text set out in the Annex. 
                                                 
1 OJ L 336, 30.12.2000, p. 9. 
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Article 2 
This Regulation shall enter into forc e subject to, and as from the date  of, the entry into force of the 
Treaty of Accession. 
This Regulation shall be binding in  its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 
Done at Luxembourg, 29 April 2004. 
 For the Council 
 The President 
 M. McDOWELL   
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ANNEX  
"ANNEX I 
Scale for allocating "full-weight" permits 
The Commission shall allocate "full-weight" perm its to the Member States according to the 
following scale: 
Member State % 
Belgium 6,9 
Denmark 1,4 
Germany 25 
Greece 0,9 
Spain 2 
France 15 
Ireland 0,85 
Italy 24 
Luxemburg 1,45 
Netherlands 8,9 
Austria 8 
Portugal 0,7 
Finland 0,8 
Sweden 0,75 
United Kingdom 3,35 
Total: 100 % 
The total number of permits to be allocat ed will amount to 300 000 for 2001 and 2002 and to 
400 000 for 2003 and 2004. 
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For the period 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2004, the Commission shall allocate 10 000 
additional "full-weight" permits to the Member  States according to the following scale: 
Member State Number of permits 
Czech Republic  3 164 
Estonia  440 
Cyprus  66 
Latvia  132 
Lithuania  308 
Hungary  1 934 
Malta  352 
Poland  2 109 
Slovenia  1 055 
Slovakia  440 
Total  10 000  
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ANNEX II 
Scale for allocating "empty" permits 
The Commission shall allocate "empty" permits to  the Member States according to the following 
scale: 
Number of "empty" permits available annually 
Member State 2001 - 2004 
Belgium  14 067 
Denmark  1 310 
Germany  50 612 
Greece  5 285 
Spain  1 500 
France  16 126 
Ireland  220 
Italy  93 012 
Luxemburg  3 130 
Netherlands  21 517 
Austria  2 183 
Portugal  192 
Finland  867 
Sweden  381 
United Kingdom  9 598 
Total:  220 000 
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For the period 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2004, the Commission shall allocate 5 500 
additional "empty" permits to the Member States according to the following scale: 
Member State Number of permits 
Czech Republic  1741 
Estonia  242 
Cyprus  36 
Latvia  73 
Lithuania  169 
Hungary  1 064 
Malta  193 
Poland  1 160 
Slovenia  580 
Slovakia  242 
Total  5 500  
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ANNEX III 
Methodology for determining the allocation of permits 
Allocation of the permits determined in Annexes I and II will take place on the basis of the 
following methodology: 1. Member States of EU-15
 
"Full-weight" permits Initially, each Member State will receive 1 500 permits. Thereafter, the remaining permits will be allocated in equal parts on the basis of criteria relating to bilateral traffic operations a nd transit traffic operations. 
This result will be adjusted slightly to take accoun t of the specific geographical situation of certain 
Member States. 
Bilateral traffic 
The allocation will take place on the ba sis of the shares of each Memb er State in bilateral transport 
to and from Switzerland. 
Transit traffic 
The allocation will take place on the ba sis of the shares of heavy vehicles registered in the Member 
State concerned in the total numbe r of diverted kilometres in nor th-south and south-north trans-
Alpine road traffic as a result of the cu rrent weight restrictions in Switzerland. 
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Diverted mileage will be calculated as the differe nce between the actual distance of trans-Alpine 
journeys and the shortest di stance through Switzerla nd. The mileages through Switzerland will be 
adjusted by the addition of 60 kilometres to ta ke into account border delays and road traffic 
conditions. For those Member States where the abovementione d method of calculation leads to an amount of 
less than 200, the allocation will be established at a level of 200 permits. 
"Empty" permits "Empty" permits will be allocated on the basis of the shares of vehicles registered in the Member States in the transit traffic th rough Switzerland of vehicles with a laden weight between 7,5 and 
28 tonnes. 2. New Member States
 
"Full-weight" permits Member States which have concluded bi-later al agreements with Switzerland (Czech Republic, 
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and Slove nia) will receive at leas t the same number of 
permits as they would have received under the bi -lateral agreements fo r the period 1 May 2004 to 
31 December 2004 if these agreements had remained in force throughout 2004. 
Cyprus, Malta and Slovakia are allocated permits on the basis of their shares of transport to and 
from as well as in trans it through Switzerland in 2002. 
The rest of the permits available for the ten new Member States will be allocated on a pro-rata 
basis. "Empty" permits Given that the Commun ity will receive 5 500 "empty" permits, which amounts to 55% of the 
number of "full-weight" permits, the "empty" permits will be allocated at this ratio."