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 on the training of professional drivers for the carriage of goods or passengers by road

2001/0033 (COD)

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 on the training of professional drivers for the carriage of goods or passengers by road

1- BACKGROUND

Transmission of the proposal to the EP and the Council

(document COM(2001) 56 final - 2001/0033(COD)): // 2.2.2001

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee: // 11.7.2001

Opinion of the European Parliament at first reading: // 17.1.2002

Adoption of the joint guideline in the Council: // 7.12.2001

Adoption of the common position by qualified majority: // 5.12.2002

2- OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL

As a follow-up to its communication of June 2000 Towards a safer and more competitive high-quality road transport system in the Community, the Commission drafted a proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council aimed at establishing basic and continuous training for professional drivers.

3- COMMENTS ON THE COMMON POSITION

3.1 General remarks

The Commission notes that the common position adopted unanimously by the Council respects the Commission's original proposal by introducing basic and continuous training, and at the same time extending the arrangements for undertaking such training. The common position is therefore the result of a fair and balanced compromise.

3.2 Amendments adopted by the European Parliament at first reading

A total of 25 amendments were adopted by the European Parliament at first reading.

These amendments concern:

- the scope (amendment 1): this new wording of Article 1 is clearer and in particular extends the scope to drivers from third countries who work for an undertaking established in a Member State; this amendment was accepted in the amended proposal and also features in the common position, except for the fact that it uses the term "the activity of driving" instead of professional drivers in the first line in order to avoid any ambiguity;

- an additional exception to the scope in Article 2 (amendment 2) which was not accepted in the amended proposal or in the common position; the inclusion of the first amendment made this amendment superfluous;

- the abolition of the general reference in Article 2(e) to the 50 kilometre radius: amendment 3 proposes giving the Member States the possibility of granting an exemption from the 50 kilometre radius; this amendment was included in part in the amended proposal and in the common position;

- the possibility of working as a professional driver before completing the training required by the proposed Directive (amendment 4); the amended proposal and the common position include this possibility in principle, whilst adding conditions relating to length and territoriality;

- the introduction of an acquired rights clause for professional drivers who have five years' experience: this amendment (5) was not included in the amended proposal or in the common position; the wording of the initial proposal is less strict: all drivers working before the proposed Directive comes into force can continue to drive without having to redo the basic training; there is a risk that the amendment would have serious consequences for a sector where there is already a shortage of labour;

- the relation with training to obtain a driving licence (amendment 6): paragraph a) of this amendment was included in the amended proposal and the essence of paragraph b) was accepted; the common position took over the essence of these two paragraphs; paragraph c) of amendment 6 was not incorporated in the amended proposal or in the common position;

- the possibility of driving a category D or DE vehicle from the age of 21 subject to minimum basic training, providing the vehicles are used for the carriage of passengers on regular services where the route does not exceed 50 kilometres (amendment 7): this amendment usefully fills a gap in the Commission's initial proposal and was included in the amended proposal, as well as in the common position subject to being reworded;

- taking examinations: these amendments (8 and 9), which are consistent with the Commission's proposal, were included in the amended proposal; they were also accepted in essence in the common position;

- undertaking training during working hours: this amendment (10) was not accepted in the amended proposal or in the common position: this is a matter which comes under the competence of the Member States and even sometimes the social partners; there are also some types of training such as training leave which could be excluded later on;

- undertaking 35 hours of continuous training in blocks of at least seven hours: this amendment (11) was included in the amended proposal and in the common position; it allows greater flexibility in the provision of continuous training, whilst maintaining a minimum duration for a training day and therefore avoiding training sessions which are too short and therefore of limited pedagogical value;

- the content of continuous training (amendment 12): the proposed amendments to Article 8(2) were accepted in essence in the amended proposal; they were incorporated in part in the common position;

- freedom of place of training: this amendment (13) was not accepted in the amended proposal or in the common position;

- the place of training for professional drivers from third countries: in view of the extension of the scope (amendment 1), it is logical to adapt Article 9 relating to the place of training (amendment 14); the amended proposal and the common position were amended in line with this amendment;

- transfer of continuous training days (amendment 15): this gap in the initial proposal was remedied in the amended proposal and in the common position; it is logical that a professional driver who has already undertaken training days in a company or a certain Member State and who then changes his normal place of residence, should not have to redo these continuous training days;

- structure of the Annex, Section 1: amendments 16, 17 and 18 propose a clearer structure for the training programme; a distinction is made between the carriage of goods and the carriage of passengers, and objectives were formulated for each point of this section; the amended proposal and the common position adopted this structure; at the same time, Section 1 was reformulated in the light of amendment 6 in order to avoid any overlap with the training leading to the award of a driving licence;

- introduction of an "international transport" training option: it was proposed to introduce such a special option particularly in order to improve language skills; this amendment (19) was not accepted in the amended proposal or in the common position; it is too far removed from the essence of the initial proposal;

- independent examination body (amendments 20 and 21): this clarification is consistent with the Commission's proposal and was accepted in essence in the amended proposal and in the common position;

- external audit of examinations (amendments 22 and 23): these are two clarifications proposed under Section 5 of the Annex which deals with the approval of training courses; these proposals are far too detailed and cannot therefore be included in this section; these amendments were not included in the amended proposal or in the common position;

- instructors' prior knowledge and experience: amendment 24 respects the Commission's initial proposal, whilst introducing slightly more flexibility in order to ensure a sufficient level of recruitment of instructors; the amendment was included in the amended proposal and in essence in the common position;

- evaluation: amendment 43 provides for an evaluation three years after the entry into force of the Commission's proposed Directive; the Commission can accept such an evaluation in principle as the amendment does not present any clauses which question the Commission's right of initiative; it seems useful to evaluate the implementation of the Directive in order to determine if the level of Community harmonisation has meant that the Commission's objectives have been met; the amendment was included in the amended proposal and in essence in the common position, although the date set for the evaluation was put back;

To summarise, out of the 25 amendments adopted by Parliament, the Commission accepted five (amendments 1, 7, 11, 15 and 24), subject to some formal and drafting amendments if need be; it accepted eight in principle (amendments 4, 8, 9, 12, 14, 20, 21 and 43), five in part (amendments 3, 6, 16, 17 and 18) and rejected seven (amendments 2, 5, 10, 13, 19, 22 and 23).

The common position similarly accepted the same amendments as the Commission's amended proposal.

3.3 New amendments made by the Council

The common position makes the following changes to the Commission's amended proposal.

- extension of training arrangements: the common position provides for the additional possibility of fulfilling the full basic training requirements by means of an alternative system which involves only examinations and does not require a period of course attendance; to this effect, Articles 3 and 6 in particular of the common position were amended significantly in comparison with Articles 4 and 7 of the amended proposal, as well as Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Annex; the common position therefore provides for two "options" (Article 3) allowing for the requirements of the full basic training to be met, the first option being course attendance and an examination as in the Commission's initial and amended proposals and the second option involving only examinations; the Commission considers that this extension of the training arrangements does not distort the essence of its proposal in any way; the option involving only examinations has been described in detail in the Annex (Section 2.2), offering sufficient guarantees that it is equivalent to the option involving course attendance and an examination (Section 2.1).

- terminology used: following the changes in the arrangements described above, the common position no longer uses the term full basic training, but rather the term "initial qualification"; the minimum basic training, which always involves course attendance, is now referred to as "accelerated initial qualification"; the terminology did not change for continuous training; the Commission can approve this change which is more a change in style rather than in substance;

- Community model for a driver training and qualification card: following the extension of the scope of the Commission's proposal (amendment 1), a new Annex II was added to the common position which provides for a Community model for a driver training and qualification card; the Member States can mark the Community code provided for (Article 10) either on the driving licence of the professional driver or on the driver training and qualification card; these two options mean that drivers from third countries undertaking the carriage of passengers by road can be covered and also offer the flexibility of driving licences and driver training and qualification cards having different periods of validity; the Commission can approve this addition in view of the high level of anti-fraud protection and personal information and the fact that mutual recognition is facilitated by a Community model;

- definitions: compared with the amended proposal, the common position removed Article 2 which largely duplicates Article 1, except for the definition of normal residence which is in Article 9 of the common position; as this change is a logical consequence of the insertion of amendment 1 of the European Parliament, this amendment is acceptable to the Commission;

- exemptions: the common position added two exemptions in comparison with the amended proposal, one for vehicles used in states of emergency or assigned to rescue missions and another for vehicles used in the course of driving lessons for any person wishing to obtain a driving licence or in the context of this proposal; the Commission considers that these two new exemptions are useful and do not distort the objectives of the proposal; at the same time, the common position amended the wording of exemptions d) and e) of the amended proposal; the common position added the non-commercial carriage of passengers and removed the possibility of an individual authorisation scheme; these amendments are consistent with the proposal and are acceptable to the Commission;

- transposition date, application date and acquired rights: the common position provides for a date for transposition into national law three years after entry into force of the proposed Directive; another two years later, the Directive should be applied to coach or bus drivers and three years later to HGV drivers (Article 14); the same applies for all existing drivers in terms of continuous training (Articles 4 and 8); the wording of the common position means that the Directive can be applied gradually; the Commission approves these amendments in view of the very high number of HGV and bus drivers, the number of training courses to be set up and the amount of training currently offered in the Member States;

- repeal: the common position brought the repeal of Directive 76/914/EEC and paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 of Article 5 of Regulation (EEC) 3820/85 into line with Article 15 with the dates of transposition and application in Articles 4 and 14; the Commission can approve these amendments for the reasons set out above;

- minimum age for driving vehicles intended for the carriage of passengers: in Article 6.3, the minimum age provided for by the common position for driving a bus or coach with an accelerated initial qualification is 23, compared with 24 in the initial and amended proposals; in addition, the common position provides that a Member State can reduce the minimum age for these vehicles with an initial qualification from 21 to 20 for driving such vehicles on their territory and even to 18 for driving such vehicles without passengers; however, the common position is stricter with regard to the minimum age for driving minibuses or buses on regular services where the route does not exceed 50 kilometres which is fixed at 21 with an accelerated initial qualification; this age can be reduced to 18 subject to an initial qualification but only on the territory of the Member State making use of this option; the Commission considers that the result of these amendments is balanced and is acceptable within the meaning of the proposal;

- returning to work after a period of not working: the common position provides that drivers who have ceased pursuit of the occupation and do not meet the requirements of the Directive, shall undergo a course of continuous training before resuming pursuit of the occupation (Article 8.4); the Commission considers that this is a useful piece of additional information and therefore approves this addition;

- conditions for exemption from continuous training: the common position provides that a driver who has already undergone courses of continuous training for the carriage of goods can be exempt from undergoing further continuous training if he also undertakes the carriage of passengers or vice versa; the Commission considers that this addition improves the text within the meaning of the Directive;

- the recitals were reviewed in the common position in order to reflect all the changes described above; the Commission can accept these new recitals which largely repeat the recitals of the amended proposal and which are consistent with the Commission's initial and amended proposals.

3.4 Legal basis

Only one delegation contested the legal basis of the proposal when the common position was adopted. This delegation maintained that the proposed Directive should be based on Article 150 instead of on Article 71. This delegation's point of view was contested by the Council's legal service, the Commission representative and the other delegations.

4- CONCLUSION

The Commission approves the common position, which represents an important step for the qualification and training of professional drivers, road safety and fair competition in the European Union.