PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) AMENDING REGULATION ( EEC ) NO 4060/89 ON THE ELIMINATION OF CONTROLS PERFORMED AT THE FRONTIERS OF MEMBER STATES IN THE FIELD OF ROAD AND INLAND WATERWAY TRANSPORT
Date: 1991-04-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: carriage of goods, cross-border transport, customs formalities

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

C0MC91) 105 final 

Brussels, 4 Apr 11 1991 

Proposal  for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) 

amending Regulation  (EEC) No 4060/89 

on the elimination of controls performed at the frontiers 

of Member  States  in the field of road 

and  inland waterway  transport 

(presented by the Commission) 

-  2 -

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

1.  The  Council  adopted  Regulation  (EEC) No 4060/89  on  the  elimination  of 

controls  performed  at  the  frontiers  of  Member  States  in  the  field  of  road 

and  inland  waterway  transport1  in December  1989.  The  Regulation  lays down 

that  controls  on  road  vehicles  and  inland  waterway  craft,  and  on  the 

various documents  relating  to their operation, must  form part  of  the normal 

controls 

applied 

in  a  non-discriminatory 

fashion 

throughout 

a 

Member  State's  territory.  This  is  to  apply  to  all  means  of  transport 

registered or put  into circulation  in a Member  State. 

The  controls  and  formalities  to  which  the  Regulation  refers  are  those 

performed  under  Community  or  national  law  in the  fields of  road  and  inland 

waterway  transport, and are  listed  in the Annex  to the Regulation. 

2.  In  the  absence,  however,  of  appropriate  Community  law  some  types  of 

transport  between Member  States are performed  on  the basis of  international 

conventions  or  agreements  adopted  under  the  United  Nations  Economic 

Commission  for  Europe. 

The  types  of  transport  in question  include  in particular  the  carriage  of 

dangerous  goods,  covered  by  the  European  Agreement  concerning  the 

international  Carriage  of  Dangerous  Goods  by  Road  (ADR),  and  the  carriage 

of  foodstuffs,  covered  by  the  European  Agreement  on  the  International 

Carriage  of  Perishable  Foodstuffs  and  on  the  Special  Equipment  to  be  used 

for such Carriage  (ATP). 

Although  two Member  States  are not  yet  contracting  parties  to one of  these 

agreements  (Ireland  in the case of  the ADR, Greece  in the case of  the ATP) 

all  Member  States  do  in practice  apply  the  provisions  of  these  agreements 

on  the basis of  their domestic  law. 

1  OJ  No L 390, 30.12.1989, p. 18. 

3 -

The  ADR  and  the ATP  determine,  among  other  things  the  technical  compliance 

of  road  vehicles  used  to  carry  dangerous  and  perishable  goods,  the 

equipment  to  be  fitted  on  those  vehicles,  and  the  various  documents 

(certificates, etc.) to be carried on  them. 

As with Community  legal  instruments, the ADR  and ATP  do not  lay down  how or 

where  controls  and  verifications  on  vehicles  and  their  documents  should 

take  place;  as  a  result,  the  decision  on  these matters  is  implicitly  left 

to the contracting  parties. 

This  has  led  to  a  situation  in  which  most  Member  States  carry  out  these 

controls  at  their  frontiers. 

Certain  technical  characteristics  (e.g.  weights  and  dimensions)  of  road 

vehicles  intended  for  intra-Community  transport  -  including  the carriage of 

dangerous  and  perishable  goods - are  laid  down  by  Community  Directives 

(Directive 85/3/EEC,  as  amended  by  Directives 86/360/EEC,  86/364/EEC  and 

88/218/EEC).  These  are  among  the  Community  instruments  referred  to  in 

Regulation  No 4060/89  and  the  controls  provided  for  are  already  performed 

in the same way  as  for  national  transport  operations. 

It  is therefore entirely  consistent  to act  in such  a way  that  all  technical 

checks  and  controls  on  the  documents  in  respect  of  these  vehicles 

(including  those  relating  to  vehicles  carrying  dangerous  or  perishable 

goods),  should  be  carried  out  in  the  same  way  within  Member  States' 

territory,  even  if  they  do  not  all  arise  from  the  implementation  of 

Community  rules. 

- 4 -

The controls  in question  relate specifically to: 

-  identification of  the panel,  label  and plate affixed  to the vehicle; 

-  its equipment  (e.g. the supplementary  fire extinguisher  where  dangerous 

goods are being  carried); 

-  documents  (approval  certificate,  etc.); 

-  loading of  tanks;  and 

-  the  temperature  in equipment  to be used  for  the  carriage  of  perishable 

goods. 

In  this  regard,  there  are  no  valid  grounds,  from  the  standpoint  of  road 

safety  or  the  protection  of  the  public, which  might  warrant  the  choice of 

frontiers as the best  place  for performing  these controls. 

3.  The Commission  is of  the opinion  that,  in view of  the  approach  of  1993 

and  the  complete  abolition  of  controls  at  the  Community's  internal 

frontiers,  steps  must  be  taken  to eliminate  the  various  frontier  controls 

mentioned  above  and  to ensure  that  they  are  performed  in  the  same  fashion 

as controls  relating  to domestic  transport  operations. 

it  is therefore  proposed  that  Regulation No 4060/89  should  be  amended  and 

its scope extended  to take account  of controls which  are carried  out on the 

basis of  national  law  incorporating  the provisions of  the ADR  and  the ATP. 

Specifically, where a Member  State  is not  yet  a contracting  party  to either 

of  those Agreements,  the provisions of  the Regulation  have  the  same effect 

in  view  of  the  fact  that  those  States  provide  in  their  national  law  that 

means  of  transport  used  for  the  intra-Community  carriage  of  dangerous 

foodstuffs  and  perishable  foodstuffs  must  comply  with  the  technical  rules 

for  international  traffic. 

- 5 -

Proposal  for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) 

amending Regulation  (EEC) No 4060/89 

on the elimination of controls performed  at the frontiers 

of Member  States  in the field of road 

and  inland waterway  transport 

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,1 

Having regard  to the opinion of  the European Parliament,2 

Having regard  to the opinion of the Economic and Social  Committee,3 

Whereas  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No 4060/894  lays  down  that  controls  on 

means  of  transport  and  the  related  documents  in  the  course  of  transport 

between  Member  States  must  form  part  of  the  normal  controls  applied  in a 

non-discriminatory  fashion  throughout  the territory of a Member State; 

Whereas,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  European Agreement 

concerning  the  International  Carriage  of  Dangerous  Goods  by  Road  ("ADR") 

and  the  European Agreement  on  the  International  Carriage  of  Perishable 

Foodstuffs  and  on  the  Special  Equipment  to  be  used  for  such  Carriage 

("ATP"),  Member  States  are  free  to  organize  and  carry  out  controls  and 

verifications  on  means  of  transport  and  the  documents  relating  thereto 

wherever  they  wish;  and  whereas 

in  practice,  under  their 

laws 

incorporating  the  provisions  of  those  Agreements  into  national  law  or, 

where  they  are  not  contracting  parties  to  either  Agreement,  under  their 

national  law governing  these types of  international  carriage, they normally 

perform  them at  their frontiers; 

1 

2 

3 

4  0J No L 390, 30.12.1989, p. 18. 

- 6 -

Whereas,  with  the  prospect  of  the  establishment  of  a  single  transport 

market,  it  is necessary  to do more  to  improve  the  fluidity  of  movement  of 

means of  transport  between Member  States; 

Whereas Part  2, "National  law", of  the Annex  to Regulation  (EEC) No 4060/89 

must  be amended  in order  to take account  of  controls on means of  transport 

(and  the documents relating  thereto)  intended  for  the carriage of  dangerous 

goods and perishable foodstuffs» 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Part  2  of  the  Annex  to  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No 4060/89  is  hereby 

replaced  by  the Annex  hereto: 

Article 2 

This Regulation  shall  enter  into force on  1 September  1991. 

This Regulation  shall  be binding  in  its entirety  and directly  applicable in 

a 11 Member  States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For  the Council 

The President 

- 7 -

ANNEX 

•PART 2 

NATIONAL LAW 

(a) 

Controls  on  the  driving  licences  of  persons  driving  vehicles  for 

the carriage of goods and persons; 

(b) 

Controls relating to the carriage of dangerous goods: 

(I) 

Documents 

. Driver's training certificate 

. Safety  instructions 

. Approval  certificate  (ADR or equivalent  standards) 

. Copy of  the derogation,  if applicable  (ADR or equivalent 

standards) 

(Ii) 

Identification of the vehicle carrying  the dangerous goods 

. Orange panel 

- comp11ance 

- placing on the vehicle 

. Danger  label on the vehicle 

- compIi ance 

- placing on the vehicle 

.  Tank  identification  plate  (for  fixed,  demountable  or 

container  tanks) 

- presence and  legibility 

- date of  last  inspection 

-  stamp of  inspecting body 

-  8  -

(ill) 

Vehicle  equipment  (APR or  eouivalent  standards) 

. Additional  fire extinguisher 

. Special  equipment 

(iv) 

Vehicle  loading, 

. Overload  (according  to tank  capacity) 

. Securing of  packages 

. Prohibition  of mixed  loading 

(c) 

Controls  relating  to the carriage of  perishable  foodstuffs: 

(I) 

Documents 

. Certificate of  compliance  for  the  equipment. 

(ii) 

Special  equipment  used  for  the  carriage  of  perishable 

foodstuffs 

. CompIiance  plate 

.  Identification marks 

(III) 

Operation of  special  equipment 

. Temperature  conditions" 

FICHE FINANCIERE 

L'application de la présente proposition de Règlement n'aura pas 

d'incidence  financière. 

- 10 -

FICHE D'IMPACT  SUR LES PME ET L'EMPLOI 

La  présente  proposition  de  règlement  s'inscrit  dans  le  cadre  G; 
l'abolition  des  frontières  intérieures  de  la  Communauté  e-
s'intègre  dans l'ensemble  des mesures prises pour l'achèvement d\ 
marché intérieur. 

I. 

Obligations  administratives  découlant  de  l'application  à: 
présent règlement pour les entreprises : 
-néant. 

II. 

Quels sont les avantages pour les entreprises? 
-Pas de retards aux  frontières dus aux  contrôles de moyens 
de transports et leurs documents de bord. 

III.  Y  a-t-il des  inconvénients  pour  les  entreprises  en  termes 

de coûts supplémentaires? 

-le présent  règlement  n'implique  aucun  coût  supplémentaire 
pour les entreprises. 

IV. 

Effets sur l'emploi : 
-néant. 

V. 

Les partenaires sociaux n'ont pas été consultés. 

-  11  -

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