EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 70/104

(2004/C 70 E/105)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2469/03

by Catherine Stihler (PSE) to the Commission

(24 July 2003)

Subject: Digital tachographs: revised introduction timescales

Regulation (EC) 2135/98 (1), Article 2, paragraph 3 states:

In the event that 12 months after the date of publication of the act referred to in paragraph 1, EC type-approval has not been granted to any item of recording equipment which conforms to the requirements of Annex IB to Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85, the Commission shall submit a proposal to the Council for an extension of the deadline laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2.

Assuming confirmation as requested in Question E-2468/03, ‘the act referred to in paragraph 1’ refers to Regulation (EC) 1360/2002 (2). '12 months after the publication of the act referred to in paragraph 1' is then 5 August 2003.

According to Annex 1B requirement 291, a minimum period of at least four months is required between issue of a provisional interoperability certificate and subsequent issue of a definitive certificate. If (as was originally intended) the interoperability certificate needed according to Requirement 271 of Annex 1B is a definitive certificate (Requirement 292), then such a certificate could only be issued by 5 August 2003 if a provisional certificate had been issued prior to 5 April 2003. It is very clear that such a provisional interoperability certificate had not been issued prior to 5 July 2003, let alone prior to 5 April.

The primary purpose of tachographs, be they digital or analogue, is to maintain legal records of the activities of drivers. It is surely inconceivable that the legal standing of the records made by digital tachographs would be jeopardised by failure to follow the correct legal processes leading to their introduction.

Will the Commission please confirm that they will comply with the requirements of Regulation (EC) 2135/98, Article 2, paragraph 3? Will they please state when they will ‘submit a proposal to the Council for an extension of the deadline laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2 [of Regulation (EC) 2135/98]’?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(26 September 2003)

Recent accidents with buses and tracks have demonstrated that in an increasingly competitive road transport market, there is an urgent need for reliable and tamperproof equipment to check driving times and rest periods in road transport. Therefore, the Commission attaches great value to the quick introduction of the digital tachograph.

Although there were no type approved digital tachographs and smart cards before 5 August 2003, the first type approvals are expected later this year (2003).

Given a delay of the type approvals by only a few months, the submission by the Commission of a proposal for an extension of the implementation deadlines through the co-decision procedure, would in all likelihood considerably delay the introduction of the digital tachograph. However, in the light of widespread abuses of the current analogue tachograph with its negative consequences for road safety, the digital tachograph should be introduced as soon as possible. Therefore, the Commission intends to assess the situation later this year (2003), when the first type approval is expected to be granted.

Meanwhile, the current implementation deadlines for taking the necessary measures to ensure the issuing of tachograph cards and for fitting new tracks and buses with the digital tachograph, as described in Council Regulation (EC) No 2135/98 (3), shall remain unchanged.

(1) OJ L 274, 9.10.1998, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 207, 5.8.2002, p. 1.

(3) Council Regulation (EC) No 2135/98 of 24 September 1998 amending Regulation 3821/85 on recording equipment in road transport and Directive 88/599/EEC concerning the application of Regulations (EEC) No 3820/85 and (EEC) No 3821/85.