COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty concerning the Common Position of the Council on the adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 96/53/EC 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

1- BACKGROUND

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2- OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL

The purpose of the proposal for a Directive is to harmonise throughout the EU the maximum length of buses.

The proposal, in keeping with the object of creating a Single Market, provides for uniform rules to apply to vehicles throughout the Community.

The proposal aims to extend the scope of Directive 96/53/EC [1]on the maximum weights and dimensions of vehicles to cover the length of all buses operating in the EU.

[1] OJ L 235 of 17.9.1996, p. 59.

3- COMMENTS ON THE COMMON POSITION

3.1 General remarks

The Commission is pleased to note that the Common Position adopted by the Council reflects to a large degree the original proposal made by the Commission. The Common Position reflects a fair and balanced compromise.

3.2 Amendments adopted by the European Parliament at its First Reading.

A total of 3 amendments were adopted by the European Parliament at its First Reading of the proposal.

These amendments concern:

- an extension of the period of 'Grandfather Rights' for buses that do not comply with the Directive until 2015 (amendment 1)

- a longer maximum length of 13.5m for 2 axle buses (amendment 2)

- a longer maximum length of 18.75m for articulated buses (amendment 6)

Amendments 2 and 6 of the European Parliament have been accepted into the Common Position. Amendment 1 has been accepted in spirit, since the Common Position now contains an even longer period of 'Grandfather Rights'. Amendment 1 was accepted by the Commission.

3.3 New aspects introduced by the Council

The Common Position introduces the following substantive changes to the Commission proposal:

- a new Article 1 (3) has been added which explicitly excludes buses with more than one articulated section from the scope of the Directive. In the opinion of the Commission this makes the text clearer without changing its content.

- the period of Grandfather Rights has been extended from an expiry date of 31.12.2009 to 31.12.2020. The Commission accepts the longer transitional period which is justified taking into account the service life of a bus.

- point 1.5a of annex I has been revised and now prescribes a different manoeuvrability test that must be met by 15m buses. This reflects the new manoeuvrability criteria accepted by the Member States in the course of UN-ECE technical specifications, the Commission thus accepts it.

- a new Article 8a has been added giving a time limited derogation of 3 years to named Member States regarding the obligation to accept 15m buses on their territory with the revised manoeuvrability criteria. The Commission accepts this in order to give these Member States time to adapt their road infrastructure.

- a new Article 10a requires the Commission to undertake a study reviewing the feasibility of introducing a stricter manoeuvrability test. The Commission accepts this as a possibility to improve the Directive in the future.

4- CONCLUSION

The Commission supports the Common Position as an important step in the total harmonisation of vehicle weights and dimensions in the EU.

Consequently, the Commission delivers a favourable opinion on the common position as a whole.