No C 124/20 Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 5. 90 
4.2. Article 9.1 
Delete: 'The Commission ... laid down in Article 10.' 
and substitute: 'The Council shall, at the instigation of 
the Commission and having previously obtained the Opinions of the European Parliament and the Economic 
and Social Committee, adopt ...'. 
4.3. Article 10 
Delete Articles 10 (2) and 10 (3). 
Done at Brussels, 28 March 1990. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 84/647/EEC on the use 
of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road (!) 
(90/C 124/08) 
On 28 September 1989 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee 
under Article 75 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Transport and Communications, which was responsible for preparing the 
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 14 March 1990 (Rapporteur: 
Mr Marvier). 
At its 275th plenary session (meeting of 28 March 1990), the Economic and Social Committee 
unanimously adopted the following Opinion. 
The Committee broadly approves of the Commission 
proposal, which steeks to harmonize rules on hired 
vehicles in the Community, and believes that the pro­
posal brings us one step closer to a common transport 
policy. 
1. General comments 
1.1. There is a genuine market demand in all econ­
omic sectors for hired goods, be they computers, storage 
facilities, maintenance equipment or vehicles. Indus­
tries, businesses and services are increasingly opting to 
hire rather than purchase such goods, and require their 
lessors to guarantee both the investment and to under­
take to maintain the goods provided, The carriage of 
goods by road is no exception, and users in all countries 
welcome the possibility of hiring trucks. 
1.2. The Commission's present proposal should 
however be examined as part of a global approach to 
transport policy so that we can assess the interaction 
(0 OJNoC296, 24. 11. 1989, p. 7. of various road transport provisions and their social 
consequences. 
1.3. There is no evidence in any of the seven Member 
States which authorize own-account vehicle hiring that 
this has led to an expansion in the own-account market 
to the detriment of professional hauliers. 
1.4. Although professional hauliers are in theory 
already entitled to hire vehicles in all Member States, 
in practice they cannot do so in Member States which 
apply restrictive clauses. It is virtually impossible to run 
a profitable truck hire firm if your only clients are 
professional hauliers, and the imposition of a minimum 
hire period only makes matters worse. Conversely, the 
total freedom enjoyed by semi-trailer hire operators in 
all Member States has led to considerable expansion in 
the field, benefitting professional hauliers as much as, 
if not more than, own-account carriers. 
21. 5. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 124/21 
1.5. Professional hauliers may also benefit by hiring 
out vehicles themselves, thus diversifying their business 
activities and expanding their market to cover firms 
which, for structural or commercial reasons, choose 
to provide own-account carriage and distribution of 
goods. 
1.6. Hiring vehicles without drivers should in no way 
alter the obligations of driving personnel. Directive 84/ 
647/EEC stipulates that the hired vehicle must be driven 
by personnel of the undertaking using it [Article 2 (4)] 
and that the driver's employment contract must be kept 
on board the vehicle [Article 2 (5) (b)]. The driver is 
therefore subject to exactly the same requirements, 
regardless of whether his employer owns the vehicle or 
is hiring it. The Committee stresses the importance of 
this provision and, in particular, the need to ensure that 
hiring vehicles without a driver does not lead to an 
increase in casual and undeclared employment etc. 
1.7. A user will only be interested in hiring vehicles if 
they can be operated more efficiently and economically. 
Vehicles therefore tend to be better suited to the needs 
of the user and there are fewer vehicles in use. 
Moreover, hired vehicles and their equipment are by 
and large of higher quality and tend to be replaced 
more frequently, which means that they are more likely 
Done at Brussels, 28 March 1990. to incorporate the latest design improvements in terms 
of reliability, safety and environmental protection. 
1.8. If the restrictive clauses (representing an insur­
mountable obstacle to the creation of a Europe-wide 
vehicle hire industry) are maintained, there is a danger 
that purely financial arrangements will become increas­
ingly common (e.g. leasing contracts, including a main­
tenance clause). 
1.9. Maintaining these restrictive clauses would also 
create distortions in competition between the Member 
States: whereas a non-resident performing cabotage 
operations in a Member State where vehicle hire is not 
subject to restrictions would be able to use a hired 
vehicle for this purpose, a non-resident in a Member 
State where restrictions are in force would not. 
2. Detailed comment 
The Commission's report to the Council advises against 
extending the scope of the Directive to vehicles hired 
with drivers. The arguments put forward by the Com­
mission are not very convincing. 
The Committee feels that the question of vehicles hired 
with drivers should be reexamined in the context of the 
freedom to provide transport services and with drivers' 
interests in mind. This should not, however, delay 
adoption of the present draft Directive on vehicles hired 
without drivers. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE