Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on common rules applicable to the transport of goods or passengers by inland waterway between Member States with a view to establishing freedom to provide such transport services (95/C 164/06) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(95) 167 final - 95/0106(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 10 May 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 the establishment of a common transport policy involves, inter alia, laying down common rules applicable to access to the market in the international transport of goods and passengers by inland waterway within the territory of the Community; whereas those rules must be laid down in such a way as to contribute to the completion of the internal transport market;

Whereas these uniform arrangements for market access also involve introducing the freedom to provide services by eliminating all restrictions imposed on the provider of services because of his nationality or the fact that he is established in a Member State other than that in which the service is to be provided;

Whereas, following the accession of new Member States, different arrangements exist between Member States for international transport and transit by inland waterway because of bilateral agreements concluded between Member States and a new acceding State; whereas it is therefore necessary to lay down common rules to ensure the proper functioning of the internal transport market and more particularly to avoid distortions of competition and disturbances of the organization of the market concerned;

Whereas this action is within the Community's exclusive field of competence; whereas the objective can only be attained by the establishment of uniform rules and obligations,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

This Regulation applies to the transport of goods or passengers by inland waterway for journeys between Member States and in transit through them.

Article 2

Any operator transporting goods or passengers by inland waterway shall be allowed to carry out the transport operations referred to in Article 1 without discrimination on grounds of his nationality or place of establishment, provided that:

- he is established in a Member State in accordance with the laws of that Member State,

- he is entitled in that Member State to carry out the international transport of goods or passengers by inland waterway, and

- he uses for such transport operations vessels which are registered in a Member State or, in the absence of registration, are covered by a certificate of membership of a fleet of a Member State.

Article 3

This Regulation shall not affect the rights for operators from third countries existing under the Revised Convention for the Navigation of the Rhine (Convention of Mannheim), the Convention on Navigation on the Danube (Belgrade Convention) or the rights arising from the European Comunity's international obligations, in particular those arising from association or partnership and cooperation agreements concluded with associated or third countries in central and eastern Europe.

Article 4

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following the date of 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.