WRITTEN QUESTION E-0213/00

by Gérard Caudron (PSE) to the Commission

(4 February 2000)

Subject: Harmonisation of rules on the transport of dangerous goods by road

A directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning the transport of dangerous goods by road came into force on 1 January 1997, containing a number of transitional provisions valid until 1 January 1999. After that date, Parliament should have been asked for its opinion on a Commission proposal to end these derogations.

Under the usual procedure, it is the European Committee for Standardisation (ECS) which proposes rules in this field. The ECS was not able to complete its work in the time available. As a result, the Commission has proposed a directive designed to amend the existing directive, providing a short-term solution to the problems rather than ending the transitional arrangements, as it was supposed to do. This is exactly what happened in the case of the transport of dangerous goods by rail, except for the fact that a deadline was fixed.

Is the Commission able to say when the ECS will submit the results of its work to Parliament?

Until that happens, it is pointless for the Member States to amend their national rules. A certain amount of flexibility has therefore been introduced with the Member States being given the option of adopting or applying different rules.

The Member States may also continue to apply their own rules for certain types of transportable pressure equipment for which there are no European rules. They may also adopt different provisions for local transport or ad hoc shipments.

How does the Commission plan to ensure a minimum level of coordination at European level? In any case, it is deplorable that in a field as crucial as the transport of dangerous goods the Commission continues to put off the adoption of harmonised rules, thereby jeopardising human safety and the environment?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(27 March 2000)

As stressed by the Honourable Member the transitional arrangements under Council Directive 94/55/EC of 21 November 1994 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the transport of dangerous goods by road are linked to the progress made in the activities of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN/ECS)(1).

The majority of the CEN standards applying to the vessels and tanks used to transport gases should be finalised, and thus incorporated in those annexes, during the next adaptation to technical process of the annexes to Directive 94/55/EC, planned for 1 July 2001.

In the meantime the Commission will continue to ensure that the laws in force are consistent, and to that end is proposing an amendment to the provisions on the carriage of dangerous goods in order to bring this in line with Council Directive 1999/36/EC of 29 April 1999 on transportable pressure equipment(2). Parliament gave a favourable reception to that proposal on first reading.

Member States requests regarding the possibility of adopting different provisions applying to local transport are subject to acceptance by a committee consisting of all the Member States and chaired by the Commission. This would enable the maximum of coordination needed at European level to be provided.

(1) OJ L 319, 12.12.1994.

(2) OJ L 138, 1.6.1999.