(2)

Articles 7, 7a and 7b are replaced by the following: ‘Article 7 1. Member States may maintain or introduce tolls and/or user charges on the trans-European road network or on any section of their road network which customarily carries a significant volume of international transport of goods under the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article and in Articles 7a to 7j. 2. Member States shall not impose within their territory both tolls and user charges ▐. However, a Member State which imposes a user charge on its network may also impose tolls for the use of bridges, tunnels and mountain passes. 3. Tolls and user charges shall not discriminate, directly or indirectly, on the grounds of the nationality of the haulier, the Member State or the third country of establishment of the haulier or of registration of the vehicle, or the origin or destination of the transport operation. 4. Member States may provide for reduced toll rates or user charges or exemptions from the obligation to pay tolls or user charges for vehicles exempted from the requirement to install and use recording equipment under Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 of 20 December 1985 on recording equipment in road transport (12), and in cases covered by, and subject to the conditions contained in, Article 6(2)(a) and (b) of this Directive. 5. Until 31 December 2011, a Member State may choose to apply tolls and/or user charges only to vehicles having a maximum permissible laden weight of not less than 12 tonnes. From 1 January 2012, tolls and/or user charges shall be applied to all vehicles within the meaning of Article 2(d) unless a Member State considers that an extension to vehicles of less than 12 tonnes would (13): ▐ Article 7a 1. User charges shall be in proportion to the duration of the use made of the infrastructure and shall be available for the duration of a day, week, month and a year. In particular, the monthly rate shall be no more than 10 % of the annual rate, the weekly rate shall be no more than 5 % of the annual rate , and the daily rate shall be no more than 2 % of the annual rate. ▐ 2. User charges, including administrative costs, for all vehicle categories shall be set by the Member State concerned at a level which is no higher than the maximum rates laid down in Annex II. Article 7b 1. The infrastructure charge shall be based on the principle of the recovery of infrastructure costs. The weighted average infrastructure charge shall be related to the construction costs and the costs of operating, maintaining, ▐ developing and ensuring safety standards on the infrastructure network concerned. The weighted average infrastructure charge may also include a return on capital or a profit margin based on market conditions. 2. The external cost charge shall be related to the cost of traffic-based air pollution, the cost of traffic-based noise pollution, or both. On road sections subject to congestion the external cost charge may also include the cost of congestion during the periods when these road sections are usually congested. 3. The costs taken into account shall relate to the network or a part of the network on which tolls are levied and to the vehicles that are subject thereto. Member States may choose to recover only a percentage of these costs. Article 7c 1. The external cost charge shall vary according to the type of road and EURO emission class (Annex IIIa, Table 1) , and also according to the time period in cases where the charge includes the cost of congestion or traffic-based noise pollution. 2. The amount of the external cost charge for each combination of class of vehicle, type of road and time period shall be set in accordance with the minimum requirements, the common formulae and the maximum chargeable external costs in Annex IIIa. 3. The external cost charge shall not apply to vehicles which comply with future EURO emissions standards in advance of the dates of applicability laid down in the relevant rules. 4. The amount of the external cost charge shall be set by each Member State . If a Member State designates an authority for this task, that authority shall be legally and financially independent from the body in charge of managing and collecting all or part of the charge. ▐ Article 7d 1. Member States shall calculate the infrastructure charge using a methodology based on the core calculation principles set out in Annex III. 2. For concession tolls, the maximum level of the infrastructure charge shall be equivalent to, or less than, the level that would have resulted from the use of a methodology based on the core calculation principles set out in Annex III. The assessment of such equivalence shall be made on the basis of a reasonably long reference period appropriate to the nature of that concession contract. 3. Tolling arrangements which were already in place on 10 June 2008 or for which tenders or responses to invitations to negotiate under the negotiated procedure were received pursuant to a public procurement process before 10 June 2008 shall not be subject to the obligations set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 for as long as these arrangements remain in force and provided that they are not substantially amended. Article 7e 1. In exceptional cases concerning infrastructure in mountainous regions and conurbations , and after informing the Commission, a toll mark-up may be added to the infrastructure charge levied on specific road sections which are subject to acute congestion, or the use of which by vehicles is the cause of significant environmental damage, on condition that: (a) the revenue generated from the mark-up is invested in financing ▐ projects designed to promote sustainable mobility and contribute directly to the alleviation of the congestion or environmental damage and which are located in the same corridor as the road section on which the mark-up is applied; (b) the mark-up does not exceed 15 % of the weighted average infrastructure charge calculated in accordance with Article 7b(1) and Article 7d except where the revenue generated is invested in cross-border sections of ▐ projects designed to promote sustainable mobility involving infrastructure in mountainous regions, in which case the mark-up may not exceed 25 %; (c) the application of the mark-up does not result in unfair treatment of commercial traffic compared to other road users; (d) a description of the exact location of the mark-up and proof of a decision to finance the projects referred to in point (a) are submitted to the Commission in advance of the application of the mark-up; and (e) the period for which the mark-up is to apply is defined and limited in advance and is consistent, in terms of the expected revenue to be raised, with the financial plans and cost-benefit analysis for the projects co-financed with the revenue from the mark-up. The first subparagraph shall apply to new cross-border projects subject to the agreement of all Member States involved in that project. 2. After informing the Commission, a mark-up may also be applied to a road section which constitutes an alternative route to that covered by the mark-up referred to in paragraph 1, if: — the application of a mark-up on a road would result in a significant share of traffic being diverted to this alternative route; and — the conditions set out in points (a) to (e) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 are complied with. 3. A mark-up may be applied to an infrastructure charge which has been varied in accordance with Article 7f. 4. When the Commission receives the required information from a Member State intending to apply a mark-up, it shall make this information available to the members of the Committee referred to in Article 9c. If the Commission considers that the planned mark-up does not meet the conditions set out in paragraph 1, or if it considers that the planned mark-up will have significant adverse effects on the economic development of peripheral regions, it may reject or request amendment of the plans for charges submitted by the Member State concerned, in accordance with the consultation procedure referred to in Article 9c(2). 5. On road sections where the criteria for applying a mark-up pursuant to paragraph 1 are met, the Member States may not levy an external cost charge unless a mark-up is applied. ▐ Article 7f 1. Toll rates which comprise only an infrastructure charge shall be varied according to the EURO emission class (Annex IIIa, Table 1) in such a way that no toll is more than 100 % above the toll charged for equivalent vehicles meeting the strictest emission standards. 2. Where a driver is unable to produce the vehicle documents necessary to ascertain the EURO emission class of the vehicle in the event of a check, Member States may apply tolls up to the highest level chargeable, provided that there is a possibility of subsequent rectification to return any excess collected. 3. Tolls which comprise only an infrastructure charge may also be varied for the purpose of reducing congestion, minimising infrastructure damage and optimising the use of the infrastructure concerned or promoting road safety, on condition that: (a) the variation is transparent, openly published and available to all users on equal terms; (b) the variation is applied according to the time of day, type of day or season; and (c) no toll is more than 500 % above the toll charged during the cheapest period of the day, type of day or season. 4. The variations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 are not designed to generate additional toll revenue. Any unintended increase in revenue shall be counterbalanced by changes to the structure of the variation which must be implemented within two years from the end of the accounting year in which the additional revenue is generated. 5. If a toll includes an external cost charge, paragraphs 1 and 3 shall not be applied to the part of the toll consisting of an infrastructure charge. Article 7g 1. At least six months before the implementation of a new infrastructure charge tolling arrangement, Member States shall send to the Commission: (a) for tolling arrangements other than those involving concession tolls: — the unit values and other parameters used in calculating the various infrastructure cost elements, and — clear information on the vehicles covered by the tolling arrangements, the geographic extent of the network, or part of the network, used for each cost calculation, and the percentage of costs that are intended to be recovered; (b) for tolling arrangements involving concession tolls: — the concession contracts or significant changes to such contracts, — the base case on which the grantor has founded the notice of concession, as referred to in Annex VII B to Directive 2004/18/EC; this base case shall include the estimated costs as defined in Article 7b(1) envisaged under the concession, the forecast traffic, broken down by type of vehicle, the levels of toll envisaged and the geographic extent of the network covered by the concession contract. 2. The Commission shall, within six months of receiving all the necessary information in accordance with paragraph 1, give an opinion as to whether the obligations of Article 7d are complied with. The opinions of the Commission shall be made available to the Committee referred to in Article 9c and to the European Parliament. 3. At least six months before the implementation of a new external cost charge tolling arrangement, Member States shall send the Commission: (a) precise information indicating the road sections where the external cost charge is to be levied and describing the class of vehicles, type of roads and the exact time periods according to which the external cost charge will vary; (b) the envisaged weighted average external cost charge and the envisaged total revenue; (c) the name of the authority designated in accordance with Article 7c(4) to set the amount of the charge, and of its representative; and (d) the parameters, data and information necessary to demonstrate how the calculation method set out in Annex IIIa will be applied; (e) the envisaged earmarking of the external cost charge; (f) a specific plan indicating how additional revenue from external cost charges is to be used to reduce the negative impacts of transport. 4. The Commission may, within six months of receiving the information in accordance with paragraph 3, decide to ask the Member State concerned to adapt the proposed external cost charge, if it considers that the obligations laid down in Articles 7b, 7c, 7i or 9(2) are not complied with. The decision of the Commission shall be made available to the Committee referred to in Article 9c and to the European Parliament. Article 7h 1. Member States shall not provide for discounts or reductions for any users in relation to the external cost charge element of a toll. 2. Member States may provide for discounts or reductions to the infrastructure charge on condition that: (a) the resulting charging structure is proportionate, openly published and available to all users on equal terms and does not lead to additional costs being passed on to other users in the form of higher tolls; and (b) such discounts or reductions lead to actual savings in administrative costs and do not exceed 13 % of the infrastructure charge paid by equivalent vehicles not eligible for the discount or reduction. 3. Subject to the conditions provided for in Article 7f(3)(b) and in Article 7f(4), toll rates may, in exceptional cases, namely specific projects of high European interest in the field of freight transport , be subject to other forms of variation in order to secure the commercial viability of such projects where they are exposed to direct competition with other modes of vehicle transport. The resulting charging structure shall be linear, proportionate, openly published, and available to all users on equal terms and shall not lead to additional costs being passed on to other users in the form of higher tolls. The Commission shall verify compliance with these conditions prior to the implementation of the charging structure in question. Article 7i 1. Tolls and user charges shall be applied and collected and their payment monitored in such a way as to cause as little hindrance as possible to the free flow of traffic and to avoid any mandatory controls or checks at the Community’s internal borders. To this end, Member States shall cooperate in establishing methods for enabling hauliers to pay user charges 24 hours a day, at least at the major sales outlets, using all common means of payment, inside and outside the Member States in which they are applied. Member States shall provide adequate facilities at the points of payment for tolls and user charges so as to maintain normal road safety standards. 2. The arrangements for collecting tolls and user charges shall not, financially or otherwise, place non-regular users of the road network at an unjustified disadvantage compared to those who use alternative forms of payment . In particular, where a Member State collects tolls or user charges exclusively by means of a system that requires the use of a vehicle on-board unit, it shall ensure that appropriate on-board units compliant with the requirements of Directive 2004/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (14) can be obtained by all users under reasonable administrative and economic arrangements. 3. If a Member State levies a toll on a vehicle, the total amount of the toll, the amount of the infrastructure charge and the amount of the external cost charge ▐ shall be indicated in a document provided to the haulier , if possible by electronic means. 4. An external cost charge shall be levied and collected by means of an electronic system which complies with the requirements of Article 2(1) of Directive 2004/52/EC. Member States shall also cooperate to ensure that they use interoperable electronic systems which can be used on one another's territory, with the provision that, if necessary, the rates can be adjusted. 5. As soon as the operability of toll collecting services based on the Galileo satellite positioning system is technically worked out, external cost charges shall be levied and collected by an interoperable European electronic toll collecting system as specified in Directive 2004/52/EC. Article 7j This Directive does not affect the freedom of Member States which introduce a system of tolls and/or user charges for infrastructure to provide, without prejudice to Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty, appropriate compensation for these charges , even where the resulting amounts collected fall below the minimum rates set out in Annex I.