(2)

Articles 7, 7a and 7b are replaced by the following: ‘Article 7 1. Without prejudice to Article 9 paragraph 1a, Member States may maintain or introduce tolls and/or user charges on the trans-European road network or on certain sections of that network, and on any other additional sections of their network of motorways which are not part of the trans-European road network under the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article and in Articles 7a to 7k. This shall be without prejudice to the right of Member States, in compliance with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to apply tolls and/or user charges on other roads, provided that the imposition of tolls and/or user charges on such other roads does not discriminate against international traffic and does not result in the distortion of competition between operators. 2. Member States shall not impose both tolls and user charges on any given category of vehicle for the use of a single road section. However, a Member State which imposes a user charge on its network may also impose tolls for the use of bridges, tunnels and mountain passes. 3. Tolls and user charges shall not discriminate, directly or indirectly, on the grounds of the nationality of the haulier, the Member State or the third country of establishment of the haulier or of registration of the vehicle, or the origin or destination of the transport operation. 4. Member States may provide for reduced toll rates or user charges, or exemptions from the obligation to pay tolls or user charges for vehicles exempted from the requirement to install and use recording equipment under Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 of 20 December 1985 on recording in road transport (12), and in cases covered by, and subject to the conditions set out in, Article 6(2)(a) and (b) of this Directive. 5. A Member State may choose to apply tolls and/or user charges only to vehicles having a maximum permissible laden weight of not less than 12 tonnes if it considers that an extension to vehicles of less than 12 tonnes would, amongst others: (a) create significant adverse effects on the free flow of traffic, the environment, noise levels, congestion, health, or road safety due to traffic diversion; (b) involve administrative costs of more than 30 % of the additional revenue which would have been generated by that extension. Member States choosing to apply tolls and/or user charges only to vehicles having a maximum permissible laden weight of not less than 12 tonnes shall inform the Commission of their decision and on the reasons therefor. Article 7a 1. User charges shall be proportionate to the duration of the use made of the infrastructure, not exceeding the values stipulated in Annex II, and shall be valid for a day, a week, a month or a year. The monthly rate shall be no more than 10 % of the annual rate, the weekly rate shall be no more than 5 % of the annual rate and the daily rate shall be no more than 2 % of the annual rate. A Member State may apply only annual rates for vehicles registered in that Member State. 2. Member States shall set user charges, including administrative costs, for all vehicle categories, at a level which is no higher than the maximum rates laid down in Annex II. Article 7b 1. The infrastructure charge shall be based on the principle of the recovery of infrastructure costs. The weighted average infrastructure charge shall be related to the construction costs and the costs of operating, maintaining and developing the infrastructure network concerned. The weighted average infrastructure charge may also include a return on capital and/or a profit margin based on market conditions. 2. The costs taken into account shall relate to the network or the part of the network on which infrastructure charges are levied and to the vehicles that are subject thereto. Member States may choose to recover only a percentage of those costs. Article 7c 1. The external-cost charge may be related to the cost of traffic-based air pollution. On road sections crossing areas with a population exposed to road traffic-based noise pollution, the external-cost charge may include the cost of traffic-based noise pollution. The external-cost charge shall vary and be set in accordance with the minimum requirements and the methods as specified in Annex IIIa and shall respect the maximum values set out in Annex IIIb. 2. The costs taken into account shall relate to the network or the part of the network on which external-cost charges are levied and to the vehicles that are subject thereto. Member States may choose to recover only a percentage of those costs. 3. The external-cost charge related to traffic-based air pollution shall not apply to vehicles which comply with the most stringent EURO emission standards until four years after the dates of application laid down in the rules which introduced those standards. 4. The amount of the external-cost charge shall be set by the Member State concerned. If a Member State designates an authority for this purpose, the authority shall be legally and financially independent from the organisation in charge of managing or collecting part or all of the charge. Article 7d By one year after the adoption of future and more stringent EURO emission standards, the European Parliament and the Council shall, in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, determine the corresponding maximum values in Annex IIIb. Article 7e 1. Member States shall calculate the maximum level of infrastructure charge using a methodology based on the core calculation principles set out in Annex III. 2. For concession tolls, the maximum level of the infrastructure charge shall be equivalent to, or less than, the level that would have resulted from the use of a methodology based on the core calculation principles set out in Annex III. The assessment of such equivalence shall be made on the basis of a reasonably long reference period appropriate to the nature of the concession contract. 3. Tolling arrangements which were already in place on 10 June 2008 or for which tenders or responses to invitations to negotiate under the negotiated procedure were received pursuant to a public procurement process before 10 June 2008 shall not be subject to the obligations set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 for as long as those arrangements remain in force and provided that they are not substantially amended. Article 7f 1. In exceptional cases concerning infrastructure in mountainous regions, and after informing the Commission, a mark-up may be added to the infrastructure charge levied on specific road sections which are subject to acute congestion, or the use of which by vehicles is the cause of significant environmental damage, on condition that: (a) the revenue generated from the mark-up is invested in financing the construction of priority projects of European interest, identified in Annex III to Decision No 661/2010/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2010 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network (13), which contribute directly to the alleviation of the congestion or environmental damage and which are located in the same corridor as the road section on which the mark-up is applied; (b) the mark-up does not exceed 15 % of the weighted average infrastructure charge calculated in accordance with Article 7b(1) and Article 7e, except where the revenue generated is invested in cross-border sections of priority projects of European interest involving infrastructure in mountainous regions, in which case the mark-up may not exceed 25 %; (c) the application of the mark-up does not result in unfair treatment of commercial traffic compared to other road users; (d) a description of the exact location of the mark-up and proof of a decision to finance the construction of priority projects referred to in point (a) are submitted to the Commission in advance of the application of the mark-up; and (e) the period for which the mark-up is to apply is defined and limited in advance and is consistent, in terms of the expected revenue to be raised, with the financial plans and cost-benefit analysis for the projects co-financed with the revenue from the mark-up. The first subparagraph shall apply to new cross-border projects subject to the agreement of all Member States involved in that project. 2. A mark-up may be applied to an infrastructure charge which has been varied in accordance with Article 7g. 3. After receiving the required information from a Member State intending to apply a mark-up, the Commission shall make this information available to the members of the Committee referred to in Article 9c. If the Commission considers that the planned mark-up does not meet the conditions set out in paragraph 1, or if it considers that the planned mark-up will have significant adverse effects on the economic development of peripheral regions, it may reject or request amendment of the plans for charges submitted by the Member State concerned. These implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 9c(2). 4. On road sections where the criteria for applying a mark-up pursuant to paragraph 1 are met, the Member States may not levy an external-cost charge unless a mark-up is applied. 5. The amount of the mark-up shall be deducted from the amount of the external-cost charge calculated in accordance with Article 7c, except for vehicles of EURO emission classes 0, I and II from 15 October 2011, and III from 2015 onwards. All these revenues generated by the simultaneous application of the mark-up and the external cost charges shall be invested in financing the construction of priority projects of European interest identified in Annex III to Decision No 661/2010/EU. Article 7g 1. Member States shall vary the infrastructure charge according to the EURO emission class of the vehicle in such a way that no infrastructure charge is more than 100 % above the same charge for equivalent vehicles meeting the strictest emission standards. Existing concession contracts are exempted from this requirement until the contract is renewed. A Member State may nevertheless derogate from the requirement of varying the infrastructure charge if: (i) this would seriously undermine the coherence of the tolling systems in its territory; (ii) it would not be technically practicable to introduce such differentiation in the tolling system concerned; (iii) this would lead to diversion of the most polluting vehicles with negative impacts on road safety and public health; or (iv) the toll includes an external-cost charge. Any such derogations or exemptions shall be notified to the Commission. 2. Where, in the event of a check, a driver or, if appropriate, the haulier, is unable to produce the vehicle documents necessary to ascertain the EURO emission class of the vehicle, Member States may apply tolls up to the highest level chargeable. 3. The infrastructure charge may also be varied for the purpose of reducing congestion, minimising infrastructure damage and optimising the use of the infrastructure concerned or promoting road safety, on condition that: (a) the variation is transparent, made public and available to all users on equal terms; (b) the variation is applied according to the time of day, type of day or season; (c) no infrastructure charge is more than 175 % above the maximum level of the weighted average infrastructure charge as referred to in Article 7b; (d) the peak periods during which the higher infrastructure charges are levied for the purpose of reducing congestion do not exceed five hours per day; (e) the variation is devised and applied in a transparent and revenue neutral way on a road section affected by congestion by offering reduced toll rates for hauliers who travel during off-peak periods and increased toll rates for hauliers who travel during peak hours on the same road section; and (f) a Member State wishing to introduce such variation or changing an existing one informs the Commission thereof and provides it with the information necessary to ensure that the conditions are fulfilled. Based on the information provided, the Commission shall make public and regularly update a list containing the periods and corresponding rates during which the variation is applied. 4. The variations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 are not designed to generate additional toll revenue. Any unintended increase in revenue shall be counterbalanced by changes to the structure of the variation which must be implemented within two years from the end of the accounting year in which the additional revenue is generated. Article 7h 1. At least six months before the implementation of a new infrastructure charge tolling arrangement, Member States shall send to the Commission: (a) for tolling arrangements other than those involving concession tolls: — the unit values and other parameters used in calculating the various infrastructure cost elements, and — clear information on the vehicles covered by the tolling arrangements, the geographic extent of the network, or part of the network, used for each cost calculation, and the percentage of costs that are intended to be recovered; (b) for tolling arrangements involving concession tolls: — the concession contracts or significant changes to such contracts, — the base case on which the grantor has founded the notice of concession, as referred to in Annex VII B to Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts (14); this base case shall include the estimated costs as defined in Article 7b(1) envisaged under the concession, the forecast traffic, broken down by type of vehicle, the levels of toll envisaged and the geographic extent of the network covered by the concession contract. 2. Within six months of receiving all the necessary information in accordance with paragraph 1, the Commission shall give an opinion as to whether the obligations of Article 7e are complied with. The opinions of the Commission shall be made available to the Committee referred to in Article 9c. 3. Before the implementation of a new external-cost charge tolling arrangement, Member States shall send the Commission: (a) precise information locating the road sections where the external-cost charge is to be levied and describing the class of vehicles, type of roads and the exact time periods according to which the external-cost charge will vary; (b) the envisaged weighted average external-cost charge and the envisaged total revenue; (c) if appropriate, the name of the authority designated in accordance with Article 7c(4) to set the amount of the charge, and of its representative; (d) the parameters, data and information necessary to demonstrate how the calculation method set out in Annex IIIa will be applied. 4. The Commission shall take a decision as to whether the obligations of Articles 7b, 7c, 7j or 9(2) are complied with by: (a) six months after the submission of the file referred to in paragraph 3; or (b) where applicable, an additional three months after receipt of additional information pursuant to paragraph 3 requested by the Commission. The Member State concerned shall adapt the proposed external-cost charge in order to be in conformity with the decision. The decision of the Commission shall be made available to the Committee referred to in Article 9c, to the European Parliament and to the Council. Article 7i 1. Member States shall not provide for discounts or reductions for any users in relation to the external-cost charge element of a toll. 2. Member States may provide for discounts or reductions to the infrastructure charge on condition that: (a) the resulting charging structure is proportionate, made public and available to users on equal terms and does not lead to additional costs being passed on to other users in the form of higher tolls; (b) such discounts or reductions lead to actual savings in administrative costs; and (c) do not exceed 13 % of the infrastructure charge paid by equivalent vehicles not eligible for the discount or reduction. 3. Subject to the conditions provided for in Article 7g(3)(b) and in Article 7g(4), toll rates may, in exceptional cases, namely for specific projects of high European interest identified in Annex III to Decision No 661/2010/EU, be subject to other forms of variation in order to secure the commercial viability of such projects where they are exposed to direct competition with other modes of vehicle transport. The resulting charging structure shall be linear, proportionate, made public, and available to all users on equal terms and shall not lead to additional costs being passed on to other users in the form of higher tolls. The Commission shall verify compliance with those conditions prior to the implementation of the charging structure in question. Article 7j 1. Tolls and user charges shall be applied and collected and their payment monitored in such a way as to cause as little hindrance as possible to the free flow of traffic and to avoid any mandatory controls or checks at the Union’s internal borders. To this end, Member States shall cooperate in establishing methods for enabling hauliers to pay tolls and user charges 24 hours a day, at least at major sales outlets, using common means of payment, inside and outside the Member States in which they are applied. Member States shall provide adequate facilities at the points of payment for tolls and user charges so as to maintain normal road safety standards. 2. The arrangements for collecting tolls and user charges shall not, financially or otherwise, place non-regular users of the road network at an unjustified disadvantage. In particular, where a Member State collects tolls or user charges exclusively by means of a system that requires the use of a vehicle on-board unit, it shall ensure that appropriate on-board units compliant with the requirements of Directive 2004/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the interoperability of electronic road toll systems in the Community (15) can be obtained by all users under reasonable administrative and economic arrangements. 3. If a Member State levies a toll on a vehicle, the total amount of the toll, the amount of the infrastructure charge and/or the amount of the external-cost charge shall be indicated in a receipt provided to the haulier, as far as possible by electronic means. 4. Where economically feasible, Member States shall levy and collect external-cost charges by means of an electronic system which complies with the requirements of Article 2(1) of Directive 2004/52/EC. The Commission shall promote cooperation between Member States that may prove necessary to ensure the interoperability of electronic toll collection systems at European level. Article 7k Without prejudice to Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, this Directive does not affect the freedom of Member States which introduce a system of tolls and/or user charges for infrastructure to provide appropriate compensation for those charges.