NoC313/16 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 30.11.92
Opinionon:
—theagreementbetweentheEuropeanEconomicCommunityandtheRepublicofAustria
onthetransitofgoodsbyroadandrail,and
—theagreementbetweentheEuropeanEconomicCommunityandtheSwissConfederation
onthecarriageofgoodsbyroadandrail
(92/C313/07)
On19May1992theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle75oftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity,onthe
abovementioned proposals.
TheSectionforTransportandCommunications ,whichwasresponsibleforpreparingthe
Committee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon9September1992.TheRapporteur
wasMrTukker.
Atits299thPlenarySession(meetingof23September1992),theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionbyaunanimousvote.
I.INTRODUCTION
1.On2May1992theAgreementsonthetrans­
Alpinetransportofgoodsbyroadweresignedbythe
EC,ontheonehand,andAustriaandSwitzerland,on
theotherhand.
2.TheseTransitAgreementstakeaccountofthe
guidelinessetoutbytheCommitteeinitsOpinions(see
OJs88/C134/09and89/C23/14)onECtransittraffic
throughSwitzerland,AustriaandYugoslavia .
GiventhefactthattheseAgreementshavebeensigned
andneedonlytoberatifiedbytheParliamentsof
theStatesconcerned,theCommittee'sOpinioncannot
influencetheircontents.5.ECstandardswithregardtodimensionsare
acceptedinbothAgreements,althoughAustriaisto
retainits38tonneslimitandSwitzerlandits28tonnes
limit.
6.BothAgreementsprovideforthecreationofa
JointCommitteewhichwill,interalia,overseeappli­
cationoftheAgreements .
7.ThetwoAgreementshavedifferentapproaches,
eventhoughtheyhaveacommongoal.
III.AUSTRIA
1.Thebilateralagreementswithregardtotransit
authorizations aretobereplacedbyan'Ecopoints'
system.ThenumberofEcopointsarecalculatedon
thebasisofthenumberofjourneysmadein1991.This
appliesbothtohaulagecarriedoutbyprofessional
carriersandown-accounthaulage.Onthisbasisthe
totalnumberofjourneys(bothladenandempty)has
beensetat1264000peryear.Thisfiguremaybe
increasedby8%eachyear,onanon-cumulative basis,
ifthenitrogenoxide(NOx)emissionsarereducedata
fasterrate(i.e.morethan5%peryear).Ifthenumber
ofjourneysincreasesbymorethan8%inagivenyear,
themaximumauthorizedincreaseforthefollowing
yearwillbelimitedto4%,irrespectiveoftheextent
oftheovershootoftheauthorized8%increase.
2.Austriaisretainingits38tonnesoverallweight
limitbutistoacceptECdimensions .
3.InviewofthefactthatAustriaintendstopasson
thecostsincurredinissuingtheEcopointcardandall
therelatedmeasures,carrierswillclearlyfaceincreased
costsasaresultofthesemeasures.
4.AsArticle14oftheAgreementwithAustriapro­
videsforthechargingofroadinfrastructurecosts,there
willclearlyhavetobeconsiderabledebatebeforeII.GENERALCOMMENTS
1.BothAgreementsarevalidfor12years,thus
ensuringclear-cutrelationsoveralongperiod.This
willpreventthedisagreements ,unilateralmeasuresand
countermeasuresseeninthepast.
2.BothAgreementsaredesignedtopromotecom­
binedtransport.
3.Althoughwithdifferenttimetables,bothAgree­
mentsenvisagemajormediumandlong-terminfra­
structureprojects.
4.BothAgreementsmakeprovisionforpromoting
theuseofenvironmentally-friendly vehicles.

30.11.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunitiesNoC313/17
agreementcanbereachedonthematterandroad
transportwillundoubtedlyhavetoreckonwithahefty
increaseincosts.
5.CombinedtransportthroughAustriaisnot
coveredbytheEcopointsystem.
6.Inanyyearinwhichtheincreaseinthenumber
ofjourneysislimitedto4%ratherthan8%,the
CommissionmustensurethatitistheMemberState
orMemberStateswhichhavenotcontributedtothe
reductioninNOxemissionsonwhichtheburdenof
thereducedpercentageincreasefalls.
IV.SWITZERLAND
1.Switzerlandisseekingtointroducethemaximum
levelofcombinedtransportthroughoutitsterritory.
2.WiththataiminviewtheSwissGovernment has
drawnupplansforboththeshorttomediumtermand
thelongterm.Theshorttomediumtermplansprovide
forimprovements intheexistingrailconnections,
includingconversionworkontunnels.Thelong-term
plansprovideforentirelynewrailconnectionsandthe
constructionofnewtunnels(NEATproject).
3.Switzerlandismaintainingits28tonneslimitin
respectofthetotalweightofHGVs,buthasmadethe
followingprovisions :
a)ECvehicledimensionsareaccepted;
b)ifrailfacilitiesarenotavailableintheshortterm,
alimitednumberofHGVshavingatotalweightof
nomorethan40tonnesmaytravelbyroadonthe
followingconditions :
a)amaximumof50HGVswillbepermittedto
travelbydayineachdirection(30000peryear),
b)prioritywillbegiveninthiscasetovehicles
transportingperishableandurgentdeliveries
(thebanonnight-timeandSundaytravelling
mustberespected),
c)onlyHGVshavingcleanburningenginesand
nomorethan2yearsoldwillbeauthorizedto
usetheroads.4.Therulesgoverningthe50journeysperdayby
HGVsofupto40tonnestotalweightaresocomplex
thatthereisarealfearthatinpracticeverylittleuse
willbemadeofthisarrangement .
5.IntheCommittee'sviewamoderncleanburning
enginefittedtoanHGVcanstillbeclassifiedasclean
burningevenafterthevehicleis2yearsoldandthe
enginecertainlydoesnotbecomeanymorepolluting
afterthelapseofsuchaperiod.
V.OBSERVATIONS
1.BothAgreementsareclearlydesignedtomake
maximumuseofcombinedtransport.
2.BothAgreementshaveadurationof12years.The
positiveaspectreferredtoinII.1.isoffsetbythefact
thattheAgreementshavetobeacceptedasapackage.
Modifications ,e.g.totheEcopointsysteminthecase
oftheAgreementwithAustria,cannotthereforebe
made.
3.Onequestionwhicharisesiswhatwillhappento
theseAgreementintheeventoftheaccessionofAustria
and/orSwitzerlandtotheEC.
WilltheAgreementsremainapplicableorwillthenew
ECMemberStateshavetobringthemselvesintoline
withexistingECtransportlaws?
4.Asindicatedinpoint1.3above,theAgreements
willcomeintoforceassoonastheyhavebeenratified
bytheparliamentsofthestatesconcerned.Inthecase
ofSwitzerland,however,ratificationisdependenton
theoutcomeoftworeferenda—oneontheaccession
ofSwitzerlandtotheEuropeanEconomicArea(EEA)
(provisionallyscheduledfor6December1992)andthe
otherontheNEATProject(infrastructure )(September
1992).
5.BothAgreementsarecompromises .
6.Ifcombinedtransportistobeincreaseditis
importantthatimprovements bemadebothtothe
feederroadsandtheloadingstationsintheneighbour­
ingMemberStates.Thereisalsoaneedforbetter
internationalcooperationandplanningbetweenrail­
waynetworks.
DoneatBrussels,23September1992.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
MichaelGEUENICH