EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 28.7.2022 COM(2022) 363 final 2022/0228(NLE) Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Specialised Committee on Road Transport as regards the technical and procedural specifications of the use of the Internal Market Information System (‘IMI’) by the United Kingdom and the contribution to its costs



EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 1.Subject matter of the proposal The Commission proposes that the Council establishes the position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the Specialised Committee on Road Transport, established by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, as regards the participation of the United Kingdom in the administrative cooperation under Art. 6 of Section 2 of Part A of Annex 31 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and the amount and modalities of the financial contribution to be made by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the general budget of the Union in respect of the cost generated by its participation in the Internal Market Information System. 2.Context of the proposal The Internal Market Information System (IMI) was established by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012. One of its functionalities allows the processing of posting declarations under the rules of Directive 96/71/EC, Directive 2014/67/EU and Directive (EU) 2020/1057. These rules aim at establishing a list of working conditions which posted workers must be granted in the host country. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom (TCA) foresees in its Annex 31 (Article 6(1) point (a) of Section 2 of Part A of that Annex) that operators established in one of the parties to the TCA should submit a posting declaration to the national competent authorities of the other Party or, in the case of the European Union, of the Member State to which the driver is posted. For this purpose, from 2 February 2022 a multilingual standard form of the public interface connected to the IMI has to be used. Pursuant to Article 7(5) of Section 2 of Part A of Annex 31 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the Specialised Committee on Road Transport should set the technical and procedural specifications of the use of the Internal Market Information System (IMI) by the United Kingdom. The proposed Decision of the Specialised Committee contains the necessary specifications in order to allow the connection of road operators and national authorities to the IMI. This will allow the operators to submit their posting declarations via the IMI and national authorities to take part in the administrative cooperation, which is necessary to reach the objectives of the rules on posting of drivers. These specifications have been adapted from Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2179 to the TCA framework. 3.Position to be taken on the Union's behalf The position of the Union should therefore be to support the adoption of a decision by the Specialised Committee on Road Transport, in line with the draft decision attached to this proposal. 4.Legal basis Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for Council decisions establishing ‘the positions to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in a body set up by an agreement, when that body is called upon to adopt acts having legal effects, with the exception of acts supplementing or amending the institutional framework of the agreement.’ The decision, which the Specialised Committee on Road Transport is called upon to adopt, constitutes an act having legal effects. The envisaged act does not supplement or amend the institutional framework of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed decision is Article 218(9) TFEU. 5.Publication of the envisaged act It is appropriate to publish the decision of the Specialised Committee on Road Transport in the Official Journal of the European Union after its adoption. 2022/0228 (NLE) Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Specialised Committee on Road Transport as regards the technical and procedural specifications of the use of the Internal Market Information System (‘IMI’) by the United Kingdom and the contribution to its costs THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 218(9) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, Whereas: (1)As set out in Article 6(1) point (a) of Section 2 of Part A of Annex 31 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, operators established in the other party should submit a posting declaration to the competent authorities of the Party or, in the case of the European Union, of the Member State to which the driver is posted, using from 2 February 2022 a multilingual standard form of the public interface connected to the Internal Market Information system (‘IMI’) established by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council. A competent authority can be any body established at either national, regional or local level and registered in the IMI with specific responsibilities relating to the application of certain legal provisions. (2)As set out in Article 6(1) point (c) second subparagraph of Section 2 of Part A of Annex 31 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the IMI the assistance of the competent authorities of the Party of establishment or, in the case of the Union, the Member State of establishment, when the operator fails to submit the requested documentation within eight weeks from the date of the request. (3)The IMI may be used by third countries if the conditions laid down in Article 23 of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 are met and provided that the third country which is given access to the IMI participates in the operating costs of the IMI. (4)As set out in Article 7(5) of Section 2 of Part A of Annex 31 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the Specialised Committee on Road Transport should set the technical and procedural specifications of the use of the IMI by the United Kingdom. These specifications are necessary in order to allow the connection of road operators and national authorities to the IMI, and thereby allow the operators to submit their posting declarations and national authorities to take part in the administrative cooperation described in recitals 1 to 3e. The European Union has implemented these specifications through Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2179. (5)As set out in Article 7(6) of Section 2 of Part A of Annex 31 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, each party should participate in the operating costs of the IMI. The Specialised Committee on Road Transport should determine the costs to be borne by each party. It is therefore necessary to determine the amount and the modalities of the financial contribution to be made by the United Kingdom to the general budget of the Union in respect of the cost generated by its participation in the IMI. The financial contribution will consist of two parts: development costs (one-off payment) and annual maintenance costs (yearly contribution). (6)It is therefore appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the Specialised Committee on Road Transport. (7)In order to allow for the prompt application of the measures provided for in this Decision, this Decision should enter into force on the date of its adoption, HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: Article 1 The position to be adopted on the Union's behalf in the Specialised Committee on Road Transport, established by Article 8(1), point (o) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, as regards the technical and procedural specifications of the use of the Internal Market Information System (IMI) by the United Kingdom and the determination of the costs to be borne by the United Kingdom shall be based on the draft decision of the Specialised Committee on Road Transport attached to this Decision. Article 2 The decision of the Specialised Committee shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Article 3 This Decision is addressed to the Commission. Done at Brussels, For the Council The President LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT

1.1.NAME OF THE PROPOSAL: Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Specialised Committee on Road Transport on technical and procedural specifications of the use of the Internal Market Information System (IMI) by the United Kingdom. 2.BUDGET LINES: Revenue line (Chapter/Article/Item): 6 6 3 “Pilot projects, preparatory actions, prerogatives and other actions” (DG MOVE); Amount budgeted for the year concerned: EUR 319 039.00 (only in case of assigned revenues): The revenues will be assigned to the following expenditure line: 02 20 04 01 “Support activities to the European transport policy, transport security and passenger rights including communication activities” (DG MOVE) 3.FINANCIAL IMPACT ◻ Proposal has no financial implications X Proposal has no financial impact on expenditure but has a financial impact on revenue X Proposal has a financial impact on assigned revenue The effect is as follows: (EUR million to one decimal place) Revenue line Impact on revenue XX months period starting dd/mm/yyyy (if applicable) 2022 6 6 3 Yes 0.32 Situation following action Revenue line 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 6 6 3 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.1 0.1 (Only in case of assigned revenues, under the condition that the budget line is already known):