No C 152/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 20. 6. 89 
Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on the fixing of rates for the carriage of goods by 
road between Member States 
COM(89) 189 final 
(Submitted by the Commission on 28 May 1988) 
(89/C 152/06) 
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 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas a policy in respect of transport rates constitutes 
an important aspect of the common transport policy, 
which the Treaty provides for the Council to establish; 
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 ('), as amended 
by Regulation (EEC) No 1991/88 of 30 June 1988 (2), 
expires on 31 December 1989 but stipulates, in Article 
20, that the Council must decide, on the basis of a 
proposal from the Commission and by 31 December 
1988, on the subsequent arrangements applicable to the 
rates for such services; 
Whereas steps must be taken to maintain the continuity 
of the Community policy on tariffs; 
Whereas free fixing of road haulage rates is the tariff 
system best suited to the completion of the free transport 
market decided upon by the Council, to the internal 
market objectives and to the need for a tariff system 
applied uniformly throughout the Community; whereas 
this tariff system is also well suited to the specific 
situation of the industry; 
Whereas, however, the trade organizations representing 
road haulage undertakings should be allowed, if they 
wish, to establish unilateral, bilateral or multilateral cost 
indices; whereas the advantage of such cost indices is 
that they provide very useful data for calculating 
transport rates, particularly for small undertakings, yet 
leave the final decision on the rates charged for specific 
services to the carriers and users; 
O OJ No L 359, 22. 12. 1983, p. 1. 
(2) OJ No L 176, 7. 7. 1988, p. 5. Whereas, however, the abovementioned trade associ­
ations may compile and publish these cost indices only in 
full compliance with Community law; 
Whereas, consequently, certain particulars of these cost 
indices need to be defined; 
Whereas it must be possible to monitor haulage rate 
trends, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
This Regulation shall apply to the carriage of goods by 
road between the Member States for hire or reward even 
if part of the journey is performed: 
— in transit through a third country, or 
— by a road vehicle which is carried by another means 
of transport, without intermediate reloading of the 
goods. 
Article 2 
With effect from 1 January 1990 the rates for the 
carriage operations referred to in Article 1 shall be 
governed by a system of rate-fixing by free agreement 
between the parties to the haulage contract. 
Article 3 
The trade associations representing road haulage under­
takings in each Member State may establish, in consul­
tation with their national statistical organizations, cost 
indices for the purposes of calculation of the rates 
referred to in Article 1 by the haulage undertakings 
which they represent. 
These associations may also establish bilateral or multi­
lateral cost indices for the carriage operations referred to 
in Article 1 by joint agreement with similar oganizations 
from other Member States. 
Article 4 
The cost indices may take the form either of general 
indices or of special indices. 
They may include information on the payment for 
certain services provided by the haulage undertaking in 
commection with the carriage operation itself. 
20. 6. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 152/9 
Article 5 
Transport undertakings shall be required, upon request, 
to communicate any information concerning the rates 
charged for the international carriage of goods by road 
to the competent authorities of the Member States and 
to the Commission. 
Article 6 
1. The Member States shall in due course adopt the 
laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary for the implementation of this Regulation and shall 
inform the Commission thereof. 
2. The Member States shall assist one another and the 
Commission in applying this Regulation. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States.