No C 14/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 16. 1. 85 
Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No 3568/83 as regards 
the liberalizing of the rate-fixing system for carriage to or from a Community seaport of 
goods imported or exported by sea 
COM(84) 688 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 13 December 1984) 
(85/C 14/11) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 75 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas, in order to ensure that the conditions of 
competition between Community seaports are not 
distorted, the carriage of goods by road between 
Member States to or from such ports should be 
subject to uniform rules governing rate-fixing; 
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 3568/83 of 
1 December 1983 on the fixing of rates for the 
carriage of goods by road between Member States (l) 
provides for the possibility of introducing different 
types of tariff systems depending on the transport link 
in question; whereas, however, that Regulation also 
lists, in an Annex, the types of carriage for which 
rates can be freely fixed; 
Whereas the present differences, from one transport 
link to another, between the systems governing the 
fixing of road haulage rates are a permanent source 
of distortions of competition both between industrial 
and commercial undertakings and between 
Community seaports; 
Whereas the markets for the types of carriage in 
question should be organized in such a way as to 
avoid these adverse effects, to meet the essential 
requirements and vital interests of the Community, 
and to uphold the principle of free fixing of rates; 
Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 3568/83 should be 
amended by adding carriage to or from seaports to 
the list contained in the Annex thereto; Whereas the nature of the exceptions provided for in 
the Annex to the Regulation in force may give rise to 
different interpretations and should therefore be 
specified by a text indicating its scope precisely, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
Regulation (EEC) No 3568/83 is hereby amended as 
follows: 
1. Article 1 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 1 
1. This Regulation shall apply to the carriage of 
goods by road between the Member States for hire 
or reward, including goods covered by the Treaty 
establishing the European Coal and Steel 
Community. It shall apply even if carriage involves 
transit across a third country for part of the 
journey, or if the vehicle containing the goods is 
carried by sea without intermediate reloading. 
2. This Regulation shall not apply to the types 
of carriage listed in the Annex hereto which shall 
be exempted from any system of compulsory tariffs 
or of reference tariffs.' 
2. The following indent is added to the Annex: 
'— carriage to or from a Community seaport of 
goods imported or exported by sea.' 
Article 2 
Member States shall forthwith inform the Com­
mission of the laws, regulations and administrative 
provisions relating to the implementation of this 
Regulation. 
Article 3 
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 July 1986. 
(') OJ No L 359, 22. 12. 1983, p. 1. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States.