Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No 1107/70 on the granting of aids for transport by rail, road and inland waterway (95/C 318/10) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(95) 199 final - 95/0123(SYN)

(Submitted by the Commission on 15 September 1995)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 75 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

In cooperation with the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 1107/70 (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No . . ., provides in Article 3 (1) that the Member States may grant aid designed to facilitate the development of more economic transport systems and technologies for the community in general, and the development of combined transport;

Whereas the growing problems of road and rail saturation, transport safety, environment, energy saving and quality of life call, in the public interest, for greater development and better use of the transport potential offered by inland waterway, in particular by improving its competitiveness;

Whereas the costs of loading and unloading form a significant part of the total cost of transport by inland waterway; whereas it is essential to the development of inland waterway transport for major investments to be made to render loading and unloading installations more efficient and better suited to the current logistical requirements and thereby help to develop inland waterway transport;

Whereas, to this end, support should be given to investments in equipment, infrastructure and/or machinery for inland waterway terminals which help to create or increase traffic by inland waterway; whereas, consequently, it is important that aid granted by the Member States or through State resources can be made available to the undertakings concerned;

Whereas harmonized conditions should be laid down for the granting of this aid for the development of inland waterway transport; whereas the impact of the aid must be assessed at regular intervals;

Whereas this aid must be granted for a sufficiently long period for the said investment in equipment to have the time to win over the market and bring new traffic to inland waterways; whereas those aid arrangements should remain in force until 31 December 1999; whereas the Council should decide, under the conditions set out in the Treaty, on subsequent arrangements or, where appropriate, on the conditions under which those arrangements will be terminated;

Whereas it is necessary to adjust Community provisions on aid; whereas, as a result Regulation (EEC) No 1107/70 should be amended,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The following letter is added to Article 3 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1107/70:

'(f) up to 31 December 1999, where aid is granted on a temporary basis and is designed to facilitate the development of inland waterway transport, such aid having to be either:

- investments in the infrastructure of inland waterway terminals, or

- investments in the fixed and mobile equipment needed for loading and unloading.

The aid granted may not exceed 50 % of the total amount of investment.

The beneficiaries of this aid shall undertake to provide new or additional transport tonnage on the inland waterway, to be determined with the competent authorities of the Member States, for a period of five years. In the event of failure to honour this undertaking the aid shall be recovered by the competent authority.

Every two years the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a progress report on the implementation of the measures, stating in particular the purpose of the aid, the amount and its impact on inland waterway transport. The Member States shall provide the Commission with the information needed to establish this report.

No later than 31 July 1999 the Council shall decide, on a proposal from the Commission and under the conditions set out in the Treaty, on subsequent arrangements or, where appropriate, on the conditions for terminating those arrangements.`

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

(1) OJ No L 130, 15. 6. 1970, p. 1.