Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 684/92 on common rules for the international carriage of passengers by coach and bus
Date: 1996-05-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: bus, carriage of passengers, international transport, public transport, transport policy

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  10.05.1996 
COM(96)  190 final 

96/0125  (SYN) 

REPORT  ON  THE  APPLICATION  OF 
COUNCIL  REGULATION  (EEC)  No  684/92  OF  16 MARCH  1992 
ON  COMMON  RULES  FOR  THE  INTERNATIONAL  CARRIAGE 
OF PASSENGERS  BY  COACH  AND  BUS 

(Presented  by  the  Commission) 

Proposal  for  a 

COUNCIL  REGULATION  (EC) 

amending  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  684/92  on common  rules  for  the 
international  carriage  of  passengers  by  coach  and  bus 

(presented  by  the  Commission) 

REPORT  ON  THE APPLICATION  OF 
COUNCIL  REGULATION  (EEC)  No 684/92  OF  16 MARCH  1992 
ON  COMMON  RULES  FOR  THE  INTERNATIONAL  CARRIAGE 
OF PASSENGERS  BY  COACH  AND  BUS 

CONTENTS 

A. 

B. 

INTRODUCTION 

CONTENT  OF  REGULATION  684/92 

Types  of  services 
(1)  Regular  services 
(2)  Special  regular  services 
(3)  Shuttle  services 
(4)  Occasional  services 
(5)  Own-account  transport  operations 
(6)  Authorization  procedure 

C. 

PROBLEMS  OF  APPLICATION  AND  INTERPRETATION 

1.  Scope  of  the  Regulation  in relation  to third  countries 
2.  The  concept  of  the  various  services 

(a)  Own-account  transport  operations 
(b)  Urban  carriage  in  frontier  areas  (Article  2(1.2)(d)) 
(c)  Regular  services  and  shuttle  services  without  accommodation 

3.  Procedure  and  time  limits  for  granting  the  authorization 
4.  Reasons  for  rejecting  the  application  (Article  7(4)(a)  and  (b)) 

D. 

ACTION  BY  THE  COMMISSION  - ARBITRATION  (Article  7(6)) 

E. 

F. 

G. 

RELATIONS  WITH  NATIONAL  EXPERTS  AND  THE  TRADE 

EXTERNAL  RELATIONS 

AGREEMENTS  BETWEEN  THE  MEMBER  STATES  (Article  18  of  the 
Regulation) 

H. 

TRANSPORT  DOCUMENTS 

I. 

STATISTICS  ON  THE  NUMBER  OF  AUTHORIZATIONS  GRANTED  BY 
THE  MEMBER  STATES 

A. 

INTRODUCTION 

Council  Regulation  684/92  of  16 March  1992  on  common  rules  for  the  international 
carriage  of passengers  by coach and bus,  which was adopted  in the run-up to completion 
of the internal market,  laid down the conditions  for applying the principle of the  freedom 
to  provide"  services  in  the  field  of  carriage  of  passengers  by  road  and  reduced  to  a 
minimum  the administrative  procedures  involved  for  carriers,  enabling  them to become 
more  competitive. 

Article  20 of  Regulation  684/92  states  that  the  Commission  must  report  to  the  Council 
on  the  application  of  the  Regulation  before  1 July  1995.  Before  1 January  1996,  the 
Commission  must  present  a  proposal  for  a  Regulation  on  the  simplification  of 
procedures,  including  -  in  the  light  of  the  report's  conclusions  -  the  abolition  of 
authorizations.  This  report  gives  effect  to  the  provisions  of  Article  20. 

B. 

CONTENT  OF REGULATION  684/92 

Regulation 684/92 on common rules for the international carriage of passengers  by coach 
and bus constitutes  the general  legal  framework  for  international  carriage  of  passengers 
by  coach  and bus  in all the  Member  States  of  the  Community  and,  following  the  entry 
into  force  of  the  EEA  Agreement,  the  countries  of  the  European  Economic  Area. 
It 
introduced  the principle  of the freedom  to provide  services  in this  sector,  replacing  the 
regulations  that had been in force  since the end of the  1960s and beginning of the  1970s. 
In  practice,  this  means  that  carriers  are  permitted  to  carry  out  international  transport 
services  between  Member  States  without  discrimination  on  grounds  of  nationality  or 
place  of  establishment,  if  they: 

the  conditions  laid  down  in  accordance  with  Community  rules  on 

are  authorized  in the  State  of  establishment  to undertake  carriage  by  coach  and 
bus; 
satisfy 
admission  to  the  occupation  of  road  passenger  transport  operator; 
meet  legal  requirements  on  road  safety  as  far  as  the  standards  for  drivers  and 
vehicles  are  concerned. 

An undertaking  established  in one  Member  State  may  thus  carry  out  transport  services 
between  other  Member  States. 

Types  of  services 

The Regulation defines  the various  passenger  transport  services  as follows  and  specifies 
for  each  of  them  the  conditions  of  market  access: 

(1) 

Regular  services 

Regular  services  are  services  which  provide  for  the  carriage  of passengers  at  specified 
intervals along specified  routes, passengers being taken up and set down at predetermined 
stopping  points.  This  type  of  service  is  open  to  all,  subject,  where  appropriate,  to 
compulsory  reservation.  Regular  services are subject to authorization in accordance  with 
a procedure  laid down in Article  7 of the Regulation.  This procedure  is much faster  and 

more flexible than the arrangements under the previous rules.  The authorization of the 
country  of transit (whose territory  is crossed without passengers being picked up or set 
down) was abolished  and replaced  by a simple notification  of the application,  with the 
possibility  for the authorities of the country of transit to submit comments.  In addition, 
the  Regulation  sets  out  in  Article 7(4)  six  reasons  for  which  an  application  for 
authorization may be rejected.  However, the application of the provisions of Article 7(4) 
has given rise to a number of interpretation problems,  which are dealt with in a special 
section below. 

(2) 

Special regular  services 

Special regular  services are regular services which provide for the carriage of  specified 
categories  of  passengers  to the  exclusion  of  other  passengers,  notably  the  carriage  of 
workers  between  home  and  work,  school  pupils  and  students  to  and  from  their 
educational  institution,  soldiers  and their families  between their  state of origin and the 
area  of  their  barracks  and urban  carriage  in frontier  areas.  All these cases  of  special 
regular  services  are  exempt  from  authorization  provided  that  they  are  covered  by  a 
contract  concluded between the organizer  and the carrier. 

(3) 

Shuttle services 

Shuttle  services  as  defined  in  Article 2(2)  are  services  organized  to  carry  groups  of 
passengers assembled in advance by means of repeated outward and return journeys from 
a  single  area  of  departure  to a single  area  of destination.  These  groups,  made up of 
passengers  who have completed  the outward journey,  are  carried  back to the place of 
departure  in  the  course  of  a  subsequent  journey.  . "Area  of  departure"  and  "area  of 
destination"  mean the place where the journey  begins and the place where the journey 
ends together  with localities  within a radius  of  50 km.  Outside the areas  of departure 
and  destination,  groups  may  be  picked  up  and  set  down  respectively  at  up  to  three 
different  places.  The  conditions  of  market  access  differ  according  to  whether  or  not 
these  services  include  accommodation:  shuttle  services  without  accommodation  are 
subject to authorization, while those with accommodation are exempt from authorization. 

(4) 

Occasional  services 

Occasional services are services falling neither within the definition of a regular  service 
nor of  a shuttle  service.  These  services  are described  in Article 2(3.1)  and the Annex 
to  the  Regulation.  The  same  Article  provides  for  the  category  of  residual  occasional 
services,  namely  any  service  which  does  not  fall  within  the  definition  of  occasional 
services contained in the Regulation. Only this latter category is subject to authorization. 

(5) 

Own-account transport  operations 

Article 2(4) of the Regulation also determines the conditions applicable to own-account 
transport  operations.  These  operations,  which an undertaking  carries  out  for  its own 
employees  or  a non-profit-making  body  for  its  members  in connection  with  its  social 
objective,  are exempt from  authorization  and subject  instead to a system  of  certificates 
in accordance  with models determined  by the Commission provided  that: 

the  transport  activity  is  only  an ancillary  activity  for  the undertaking  or  body; 
the  vehicles  used  are  the  property  of  that  undertaking  or  body  or  have  been 
obtained  on  deferred  terms  by  them  or  have  been  the  subject  of  a  long-term 
leasing  contract  and are driven by a member  of staff  of the undertaking  or  body. 

(6) 

Authorization  procedure 

Article  7 of  the  Regulation  lays  down the  authorization  procedure.  Authorizations  are 
issued  in  agreement  with  the  competent  authorities  of  all  the  Member  States  in  whose 
territories  passengers  are  picked  up  or  set  down.  However,  the  actual  authorization 
document  is  issued  by  the  authorizing  authority,  i.e.  the  competent  authority  of  the 
Member  State  in whose territory  the place of departure  is situated  (one of the termini of 
the  service)  and  where  the  application  was  submitted,  unlike  the  system  under  the 
previous  rules  according  to  which  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  States 
concerned  issued  an authorization  to each undertaking  of  its  nationality  participating  in 
the  pool. 

C. 

PROBLEMS  OF APPLICATION  AND  INTERPRETATION 

The  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  States  are  responsible  for  the  practical 
application  of  the  Regulation.  In  this  context,  the  national  authorities  have  sometimes 
encountered  difficulties  in  interpreting  several  of  its  provisions.  As  a  result,  since 
Regulation  684/92  was  adopted  and  entered  into  force,  the  competent  authorities  of 
several Member States and the representatives  of the professional  associations have asked 
the  Commission  departments  for  clarification  of  certain  provisions.  The  Commission 
departments  gave  their  legal  interpretation  of  the  questions  raised  without  prejudice  to 
any  other  future  position  of  the Commission,  stating  that  it was  for  the Court  of  Justice 
to  give  binding  legal  interpretations  of  Community  law  pursuant  to  Article  177  of  the 
EC  Treaty. 

The following  are the main problems of application and interpretation  of the Regulation: 

1. 

Scope  of  the  Regulation  in  relation  to  third  countries 

The  question  of  the  scope  of  the  Regulation  has  arisen  in  connection  with  the 
authorization  of  coach  services  to  third  countries.  Article  1(2)  states:  "In  the  event  of 
carriage  from  a  Member  State  to  a third  country  and  vice-versa,  this  Regulation  shall 
apply  to  the  part  of  the journey  on  the  territory  of  the  Member  State  of  picking  up  or 
setting  down,  after  conclusion  of  the necessary  agreement  between the  Community  and 
the  third  country  concerned".  The  Commission  departments  considered  that  this 
provision  could  be  interpreted  a  contrario  as  meaning  that  the  Regulation  applies  to 
transit  through  Member  States  to a third  country  in the event that  there  is no picking  up 
or  setting  down  of  passengers. 

The  problem  arose  in this context of the transit  authorization  required  by the  authorities 
of  certain  Member  States  whose  territory  is crossed  with no picking  up or  setting  down 
of  passengers  in  the  case  of  a  regular  service  to  a  third  country.  Such  transit 
authorizations  may be required only from  non-Community  operators or where the service 
is provided  by  an undertaking  established  in the  Community  in conjunction  with  a  firm 

located  in  a  third  country.  The  Commission  departments  considered  that  Regulation 
684/92  does  not  apply  in  such  a  case  according  to  Article  1(1)  and  (2),  and  the 
competent  authorities  of  the  Member  States  of  transit  could  require  a  transit 
authorization,  in conformity  with the  general  principles  of  the  Treaty. 

The  Commission  departments  also  interpreted  Regulation  684/92  as  meaning  that 
passenger  transport  services  between  two  Member  States  which  involve  transit  on  a 
closed-door  basis  through  a third  country,  i.e.  with  no  scope  for  picking  up  or  setting 
down passengers,  are  to be considered  as  intra-Community  transport  and  hence  subject 
to  the provisions  of  Regulation  684/92. 

If transit  via  a third  country  is on an open-door  basis,  i.e.  passengers  can be picked  up 
or  set  down,  this  service  is both intra-Community,  since  the place of  departure  and  the 
final destination are within the European Community,  and a service from  a Member  State 
to  a  third  country  and  vice-versa  (given  the  intermediate  destinations  and  stops  in  the 
country  of  transit)  within  the  meaning  of  Article  1(2)  of  Regulation  684/92.  In  this 
case,  Community  legislation  applies  to  the  intra-Community  part  of  the  service,  and 
bilateral  agreements  between  the Member  States  and the transit  country  plus  the ASOR 
Agreement apply (if an occasional service is involved) to the picking up and setting down 
of passengers  going  to or coming  from  the third  country,  pending  the  conclusion  of  the 
necessary  agreement  between  the  Community  and  the  third  country  in  question. 
However,  the  application  of  Community  rules  and  the ASOR  Agreement  to  occasional 
services  between two  Member  States  involving  transit  on an open-door  basis  through  a 
third  country  may  give  rise  to problems,  since  the two  sets  of  rules  are  not  liberalized 
to the same degree.  If the service  in question has not been deregulated  under  the ASOR 
Agreement,  an authorization  from  the third  country  of transit  could be necessary  for  the 
part  of  the journey  made  on  its  territory. 

For  example,  an  occasional  service  between  Germany  and  Italy  liberalized  under  the 
terms  of Regulation  684/92 which picks up or  sets down passengers  in Switzerland  will 
require authorization from  the latter,  since such picking up or setting down of passengers 
has  not  been  not  liberalized  under  the  terms  of  the  ASOR  Agreement. 

To sum  up,  the bilateral  agreements  continue  to apply  in relations  between  Community 
countries  and  third  countries,  albeit  subject  to the obligation  pursuant  to Article  1(3) of 
Regulation 684/92 that Member States must endeavour to adapt such bilateral  agreements 
with 
the  principle  of 
non-discrimination  between  Community  carriers. 

to  ensure  compliance  with 

third  countries 

in  order 

Finally, the ASOR Agreement applies between the Community, Turkey  and Switzerland, 
since  the  remaining  contracting  parties  have  become  members  of  the  Community  or 
parties  to  the  EEA  Agreement. 

2. 

The  concept  of  the  various  services 

(a) 

Own-account  transport  operations 

Own-account transport  operations  are  regulated  in Article  2(4) and Article  13 of 
Regulation  684/92. 

In  response  to  a  request  from  the  authorities  of  one  Member  State,  the 
Commission  departments  considered  the case of a private  individual using  his  or 
her own bus for  a family  holiday  in another  Member  State.  They  found  that this 
does  not  in  principle  comply  with  the  definition  of  "own-account  transport 
operation"  within the meaning of the Regulation and consequently  the exemption 
from  authorization  is  not  applicable.  However,  this  would  clearly  be  a 
disproportionate,  excessively  bureaucratic  approach.  A  solution  has  been 
considered;  the journey  in question,  which is entirely unconnected  with any  form 
of  economic  activity,  does  not  come  within  the  scope  of  the  Regulation.  The 
individual  in question  is neither  an own-account  carrier  nor  a carrier  for  hire  or 
reward  (Article  1).  Hence  this  transport  operation  is  governed  solely  by  the 
provisions  of  the  Member  States  applicable  to  the  carriage  of  passengers. 

After  consultation,  the Commission departments decided that transport  operations 
by a public  transport  undertaking  which,  on the occasion  of  a study  trip,  carries 
its own employees,  should  be considered  as an own-account  transport  operation, 
since in this case the carriage of its own employees  is merely a one-off,  ancillary, 
non-profit-making  activity  which  meets  the  conditions  of  Article  2(4)  of 
Regulation  684/92. 

The  concept  of  a  non-profit-making  body  also  covers  non-commercial 
organizations  using  vehicles  for  social  objectives  manned  by  volunteer  drivers.1 

(b) 

Urban  carnage  in  frontier  areas  (Article  2(1.2)(d)  ) 

The  Regulation  regards  urban  carriage  in  frontier  areas  as  a  special  regular 
service,  the  latter  being  defined  as  a  service  which  provides  for  the  carriage  of 
specified  categories  of passengers  to the exclusion  of other  passengers,  in so  far 
as  such  services  are  operated  under  the  conditions  specified  in  Article  2(1.1). 
Urban  carriage  in  frontier  areas  is  thus  characterized  by  its  "urban",  "frontier" 
nature,  and  by  the  fact  that  certain  categories  of  passengers  are  carried  to  the 
exclusion  of  others. 

The  Regulation  does  not  define  urban  carriage  in  frontier  areas.  It  merely 
provides  that the competent  authorities  of the Member  States concerned  must  act 
together  to  smooth  the  way  for  such  services  since,  under  Article  4(2)  of  the 
Regulation,  they are  exempt  from  authorization  if they  are covered  by a contract 
concluded  between  the  organizer  and  the  carrier. 

The  Commission  departments  therefore  considered  that  a transport  service  is  to 
be  regarded  as urban  carriage  in frontier  areas  if  it meets  the conditions  set  out 
above and is carried  out in a conurbation  situated  in two or more Member  States. 

(c) 

Regular  services  and  shuttle  services  without  accommodation 

Declaration  of the  Council  and  the  Commission  entered  in the  minutes  of the  meeting  at  which 
Regulation  684/92  was  adopted. 

Regulation  684/92 defined  several conditions for international passenger  services 
by  coach  and  bus,  in particular  regular  services  and  shuttle  services. 

The  main  differences  between  the two  categories  of  service  are  the  following: 

- 

- 

regular  services transport  individual travellers,  whereas shuttle services  carry 
previously  assembled  groups  of  passengers; 

in  the  case  of  shuttle  services  without  accommodation,  the  groups  of 
passengers  must  be brought  back to the place  of departure  in the course  of a 
subsequent  journey,  although  in  the  framework  of  regular  services  the 
passengers  are  not  obliged  to purchase  the  return  ticket. 

There  are,  therefore,  a  number  of  similarities  between  shuttle  services  and 
regular  services,  such  as the relative  regularity  of  shuttle  services  (...  by means 
of  repeated  outward  and  return journeys  ... )  and  the  fact  that  the  stops  and 
timetables  are  determined  in  advance. 
It  is  because  of  these  similarities  that 
Article  4 of the Regulation has specified  the same conditions of market access  for 
shuttle  services  without accommodation and regular  services.  The  authorization 
procedure  is  also  the  same  for  the two  services,  as are  the  reasons  for  rejection 
of  an  application  for  authorization  set  out  in Article  7(4). 

3. 

Procedure  and time  limits  for  granting  authorization 

(a) 

The  case  of  "undertakings  associated"  for  the  purpose  of  operating  a  regular 
service  or  a  shuttle  service  without  accommodation 

the  Regulation  revealed  a  problem  concerning 

The  application  of 
the 
determination  of  the  authorizing  authority  in  the  case  of  an  association  of 
undertakings  for  the operation of a regular  passenger  transport  service by  coach. 
Article  6(1)  states  very  clearly  that  "applications  for  authorization  shall  be 
submitted to the competent authorities of the Member  State in whose territory  the 
place  of  departure  is  situated,  hereinafter  referred 
to  as  the  "authorizing 
authority".  In  the case  of regular  services,  the  "place  of  departure"  shall  mean 
one  of  the  termini". 
It  is  clear  that  regular  services  have  two  termini.  The 
Regulation does not give any other  indication to the effect  that one of the termini 
of  regular  services  takes  precedence  over  the  other  from  the  point  of  view  of 
submission  and issue  of the authorization.  In practice,  the decision to  submit  an 
application for  a regular  passenger  service by coach in the one or other  terminus 
is  at the  discretion  of  the undertakings  concerned. 

In  those  circumstances,  the  Commission  departments  took  the  view  that  they 
could  not  accept  the  interpretation  given  by  certain  Member  States  and  certain 
undertakings  according  to  which  the  Member  State  on  whose  territory  the 
undertaking  "that  manages"  is  established  or  the  Member  State  in  which  the 
service  originates  is to be  considered  as the place  of  departure. 

The  Regulation  does  not define  the concept  of  "association  of undertakings",  so 
a number  of approaches  could be envisaged  according  to the possibilities  offered 

by  the  various  legal  systems  of  the  Member  States.  The  Regulation  does  not 
require  an association  to be  constituted  formally,  in the  legal  sense  of  the  term. 
However,  an agreement between all the enterprises  in the association  on the joint 
operation  of  the  regular  service  is  a minimum  requirement. 

As-regards  the method of designating  the undertaking  managing  the operation  of 
a  regular  service  or  a shuttle  service  without  accommodation  in  the  case  of  an 
association  of  undertakings  where  there  is  no  agreement  between  the  various 
members  of  the  association,  it  is  the  responsibility  of  the  association  to  reach 
agreement  on designating the managing party.  Authorization of the service  could 
be  delayed  until  such  time  as  the  managing  undertaking  is  designated. 

The  Commission  departments  were  asked  to  comment  on  the  interpretation  that 
each undertaking belonging to the association is its  "own managing party",  which 
they rejected  as being in conflict  with the wording and the objective of the second 
paragraph  of  Article  5(1). 

The second paragraph of Article  5(1) of Regulation  684/92 states that  "In the case 
of  undertakings  associated  for  the  purpose  of  operating  a  regular  service  or  a 
shuttle  service,  the  authorization  shall  be  issued  in  the  names  of  all  the 
undertakings.  It shall be given to the undertaking  that manages the operation  and 
copies  shall be given to the others.  The authorization  shall  state the names  of all 
the  operators". 

Consequently  Regulation  684/92  is  based  on  the  criteria  of  "one  service,  one 
authorization"  or  "one authorization  for  each  service". 

They  also considered  that there  was nothing  to support  the  idea  of the  managing 
party  having  additional  rights  or  advantages  compared  with the other  holders  of 
the  authorization  in  the  association. 

The  Commission  departments  found  that  the  procedure  according  to  which 
undertakings  applying  for  authorization  to  operate  a  service  in association  with 
others  submit  their  application  in parallel  in their  respective  Member  States  and 
authorization  is  granted  to  each  member  of  the  association  by  its  own  national 
administration  after  the  details  have  been jointly  agreed,  is  incompatible  with 
Articles  5 and  7 of  the  Regulation. 

(b) 

Article  7(2) of the Regulation states that the competent authorities of the Member 
States  whose  agreement  has  been  requested  for  the  authorization  of  a  regular 
service  have a period  of two months  within which to notify  their  decision.  This 
period  is calculated  from  the date of receipt  of the request  for  an opinion.  These 
authorities  alone  are  aware  of  the  exact  date  of  receipt  of  the  request.  Efficient 
administration  requires  that this date should  not be unduly  far  removed  from  the 
date  in the  request  for  an  opinion. 

The  solution  proposed  by  the  Commission  departments  is  to  send  immediately, 
on receipt of the request  for  an opinion,  an acknowledgement  of receipt  showing 

the exact date on which the request  was received.  The two-month period  would 
be  calculated  from  that  date. 

(c) 

The competent authorities of Member States whose agreement is requested for the 
establishment  of a regular  coach  service  must notify  the authorizing  authority  of 
their  decision  within  two  months  from  the  date  of  receipt  of  the  request  for  an 
opinion.  If,  after  this  time  limit expires,  the  authorizing  authority  has  received 
no reply,  the authorities  consulted  are deemed to have given their  agreement  and 
the authorizing  authority  may then grant the authorization.  Article  7(1)  requires 
the  authorizing  authority  to  forward  to  the  competent  authorities  of  all  the 
Member  States  in whose territories  passengers  are picked up or  set down a copy 
of  the  application  and  of  any  other  relevant  documentation.  It  is  often  the  case 
that  the  authorities  of  the  Member  States  in which  passengers  are  picked  up  or 
set  down  request  additional  information  and  that  the  two-month  time  limit 
referred  to  above expires  before  such  information  is  provided. 

The Commission departments  suggested on the basis of consultations with certain 
Member  States  that  the  authorizing  authority  should: 

- 

forward  all  the  relevant  information  and  documentation  together  as  soon  as 
the  matter  is  referred  to  the  authorities  of  the  other  Member  States  in 
accordance  with  Article  7(1); 

supply  the  additional  information  requested  without  delay,  provided  that  the 
request  for  such  information  is justified  and  not  merely  a delaying  tactic. 

The  checks  necessary  for  applying  this  Regulation  (e.g.  Article  7(4)(a)  and  (b)) 
must be carried  out within the time limits laid down in Article  7(2) and (3).  The 
Commission  departments  considered  that,  if  the  authorizing  authority  fails  to 
forward  the  documents  in good  time  or  if  an unjustified  request  is  made  by  the 
authorities whose agreement is needed, the procedure  for reaching agreement  laid 
down  in Article  7(1)  and  (2) has  not enabled  the  authorizing  authority  to  decide 
on  the  application  and  the  matter  may  be  referred  to  the  Commission  in 
accordance  with  Article  7(6). 

(d) 

Finally,  in  accordance  with  Article  7(6),  if  the  procedure  for  reaching  the 
agreement  referred  to in paragraph  1 does  not enable  a decision  to be taken,  the 
matter  may  be  referred  to  the  Commission  within  three  months  of  the  date  of 
submission  of  the  application  by  the  transport  undertaking.  The  matter  may  no 
longer  be  validly  referred  to  the  Commission  on  expiry  of  this  period,  as  has 
been the case  on  several  occasions. 

4. 

Reasons  for  rejecting  the  application  (Article  7(4)(a)  and  (b) 

(a) 

The  competent  authorities  of  one  Member  State  raised  a  problem  concerning 
Article  7(4)(a),  first  indent,  which  states  that  the  application  for  authorization 
may be rejected  if the applicant is unable to provide the service  that is the  subject 
the 
of 

the  application  with  equipment  directly  available 

to  him,  since 

Regulation  does  not require  the applicant  to give  an account  of the equipment  at 
his  direct  disposal. 

Article  6(3) of the Regulation  states  that persons  applying  for  authorization  shall 
provide  any  further 
information  which  they  consider  relevant  or  which  is 
requested  by  the  authorizing  authority. 

In  this  context,  the  Commission  departments  suggested  to  applicants  for 
authorization  that they should  supply  the authorizing  authority  motu proprio  with 
all  necessary  information  to  enable  it  to judge  whether  the  equipment  directly 
available  is  sufficient  to  perform  the  service  which  is  the  subject  of  the 
application. 

(b) 

Article  7(4)(b)(i)  states  that the  application  for  a new  authorization  may  also  be 
rejected  "if it is shown that the service in question would directly compromise  the 
existence  of  regular  services  already  authorized,  except  in  cases  in  which  the 
regular  services  in question  are  carried  out  only  by  a  single  carrier  or  group  of 
carriers". 

Consequently,  the  request  for  new  authorizations  may  be  refused  if  there  are 
already two other services operating on this'route, but proof must still be supplied 
that  the  new  service  would  directly  compromise  the  existence  of  the  regular 
services  already  authorized.  It  is up to the competent  authorities  to provide  this 
proof,  rather  than  for  the  undertaking  making  the  application  to  prove  the 
existence  of  a new  clientele.  Consequently,  the  grounds  for  rejection  laid  down 
in  Article  7(4)(b)(i)  of  Regulation  684/92  cannot  be  automatically  and 
systematically  invoked  whenever  it  is discovered  that  two  services  have  already 
been  authorized  for  a given  link. 

(c) 

The  refusal  of  authorization  on  the  grounds  that  the  new  service  might  directly 
compromise  the  existence  of  regular  services  already  authorized  pursuant  to 
Article  7(4)(b)(i) has posed  one of the thorniest  problems  of  interpretation,  since 
the  Regulation  does  not provide  clear  criteria  for  deciding  what  it  means.  The 
Commission  departments  stressed  that,  for  the purposes  of defining  this  concept, 
account had to be taken of the principle of maintaining the economic and  financial 
balance  of  regular  services  already  authorized,  so  that  it  was  necessary  to 
ascertain whether the entry  into the market of a similar  new service would disturb 
the  economic  and  financial  balance  of  the  undertakings  in  relation  to  the 
investments  in the operation of the regular service  in question, putting in jeopardy 
the  very  existence  or  economic  survival  of  the  services  already  authorized. 

(d) 

According  to  the  information  available  to  the  Commission,  no  request  for 
authorization  has  ever  been  rejected  on  the  grounds  stated  in  (b)(ii)  of 
Article  7(4).2  However,  the  concept  of  a  "comparable  rail  service  on the  direct 

10 

sections concerned"  in that provision  was the subject  of a joint declaration by the 
Council  and  Commission  entered  in the  minutes  of  the Council  meeting  which 
finally  adopted Regulation 684/92.  According to this declaration,  a  "comparable 
rail service on the direct  sections  concerned"  may be interpreted  as a comparable 
service  in  terms  of  fares,  frequency  and  duration  of journey.  The  expression 
"direct  sections"  must  be construed  in  the  geographical  sense  and,  in  keeping 
with the criteria  concerning  comparability  with  rail  services,  does  not exclude a 
change  of  vehicles  or possible  connections  involving  changes  of platform.  The 
request for new authorizations  may be rejected  if a comparable  rail service  would 
be  seriously  affected  by  the establishment  of  the  new  coach  service,  but  it  is 
necessary  to provide  actual proof.  It is for  the competent  authorities  to provide 
this  proof,  rather  than  for  the undertaking  making  the application  to prove  the 
existence  of a new clientele.  Consequently,  the mere  fact  that  a comparable  rail 
service  exists  for  a given  link  cannot  automatically  and  systematically  be  taken 
as justification  for  rejecting  an  authorization. 

D. 

ACTION  BY THE COMMISSION  -  ARBITRATION 

Article 7(6) 

Article  7(6) of Regulation  684/92 provides  that,  if the procedure for reaching  agreement 
between  the  competent  authorities  of  all  the  Member  States  in  whose  territories 
passengers  are picked up or set down does not enable the authorizing  authority  to decide 
on an application,  the mattermay  be referred  to the Commission  within three months of 
the date of submission of the application.  After  consulting the Member  States concerned, 
the  Commission  has  to  take  a  decision  within  six  weeks,  which  takes  effect  within 
30 days  of  its notification  to the Member  States  concerned. 

Article  14 of  Regulation  517/72  already  provided  for  the possibility  of  referral  to the 
Commission  in the event  of  disagreement  between  the competent  authorities,  although 
it  did  not  specify  any  time  limit  for  this  procedure.  The  Commission  took  several 
decisions  in the framework  of that  Regulation. 

Regulation  684/92, by contrast,  sets very strict,  short time limits.  The Commission was 
asked  to intervene  officially  on three  occasions,  but was obliged  to refrain  from  taking 
a formal  decision  since referral  in all cases  was made outside the period  of three  months 
from  the date  of  submission  of the application  for  authorization. 

In  spite  of this,  the Commission  departments  have  always  been  willing,  in the spirit of 
Article  7(6) of  Regulation  684/92,  to examine  together  with  the parties  concerned  how 
an  agreement  might  be  reached,  notably  by  organizing  meetings  with  the  responsible 
officials  of  the  national  administrations  of  the  parties  concerned. 
In  some  cases  the 
Commission  proposed  a course of action which was accepted  by the parties.  Two cases 
referred  to the Commission  were satisfactorily  solved,  leading to an authorization  issued 

11 

by  the  authorizing  authority.  In  one  case  only  which  was  still  outstanding  when  this 
report  was  drafted,  the  Commission's  good  offices  did  not  lead  to  an  arrangement 
between  the parties.  The future  amendment  of the Regulation  should  allow  longer  time 
limits  for  referral  to  the  Commission  pursuant  to  Article  7(6). 

The  Commission  departments  also  received  complaints  regarding  unsatisfactory 
application of the Regulation owing to interpretation  problems on the part of the national 
administrations. 

E.  RELATIONS WITH NATIONAL EXPERTS AND THE TRADE 

The  Commission  departments  attach  great  importance  to  relations  with  the  national 
experts  responsible  for  applying  the  Regulation  to  international  transport  by  coach  and 
bus  and  with  the  trade. 

Meetings  with  the  national  experts  have  been  organized  annually  since  the  entry  into 
force of the Regulation, in July  1992, July  1993, September  1994 and in June  1995.  The 
aim of these  meetings  was  to gain first-hand  knowledge  of the problems  and  difficulties 
encountered  by  the  national  authorities  responsible  for  implementing  the  Regulation  in 
practice,  and  to  notify  all  the  Member  States  of  the  interpretations  of  the  various 
provisions  of  the  Regulation  by  the  Commission  departments. 

These exchanges of view were considered  fruitful  by both sides and the suggestions  made 
by the experts have been taken into account for  the purposes  of amending the Regulation, 
particularly  as  regards  the  simplification  of  procedures. 

In  addition,  relations  with  all  the  national  and  European  professional  associations  have 
been  intensified; 
two  meetings  were  organized  with  the  representatives  of  these 
associations  in  January  1994  and  September  1994  with  a  view  to  finding  out  the 
operators'  problems  in connection  with  implementation  of  the  Regulation. 

The  trade  was also consulted  at European  level  in September  1995 on the  subject  of  the 
proposal  for  amendments  to  the  Regulation. 

F. 

EXTERNAL  RELATIONS 

As  already  discussed  in  connection  with  the  scope  of  the  Regulation  vis-à-vis  third 
countries,  Regulation  684/92  applies  in the event  of  carriage  from  a Member  State  to a 
third  country  and  vice  versa,  to  the  part  of  the  journey  on  the  territory  of  the 
Member  State  of  picking  up  and  setting  down,  after  conclusion  of  the  necessary 
agreement between the Community  and the third country  in question.  Article  1(3) states 
that  "pending  the  conclusion  of  agreements  between  the  Community  and  the  third 
countries  concerned,  this  Regulation  shall  not  affect  provisions  relating  to  the  carriage 
referred  to in paragraph  2 contained in bilateral agreements concluded by Member  States 
with  those  third  countries.  However,  Member  States  shall  endeavour  to  adapt  those 
agreements  to  ensure  compliance  with  the  principle  of  non-discrimination  between 
Community  carriers". 

12 

When the  Regulation  was  finally  adopted,  the Council  and Commission  declared  that 
they would take the appropriate measures in conformity with the provisions of the Treaty 
with  a  view  to  concluding  any  agreements  that  might  prove  necessary  between  the 
Community and third countries for the purposes of uniform application of the Regulation. 
The Commission,  for its part,  noted with regret that the text adopted by the Council did 
not permit significant progress towards ensuring the freedom of services in links between 
Member  States and third countries. 

The Commission,  in order to comply with the obligations incumbent upon it under the 
Treaty,  presented  a recommendation  for  a Council Decision in December  1992 on the 
opening of negotiations between the Community and certain third countries  in the field 
of  carriage  of goods  and passengers  by road.  At its meeting of  7 December  1995 the 
Council adopted a negotiating  mandate for  the Commission  concerning  the opening of 
negotiations  on occasional  international passenger  services  by coach and bus. 

In  addition,  the  Council  decided  on  14 March  1995  to  authorize  the  Commission  to 
negotiate an agreement between the European Community and the Swiss  Confederation 
in the field of road and air transport which includes the carriage of passengers by coach 
and bus.  The negotiations  with Switzerland  are in progress. 

Regulation 684/92  applies  to  Norway,  Iceland  and  Liechtenstein  as  parties  to  the 
Agreement on the European Economic Area. 

Following  the  accession  of  Austria,  Sweden  and  Finland  to  the  Community  and  the 
application of Regulation 684/92 to the European Economic Area, the ASOR Agreement3 
in fact only applies to occasional services between the Member  States of the Community 
and Switzerland  and Turkey. 

G. 

AGREEMENTS  BETWEEN  THE  MEMBER  STATES  (Article  18  of  the 
Regulation) 

Article  18  of  the  Regulation  states  that  "Member  States  may  conclude  bilateral  and 
multilateral  agreements  on  the  further  liberalization  of  the  services  covered  by  this 
Regulation,  in particular  as regards  the authorization  system  and the  simplification  or 
abolition of control documents". 

On the basis of this provision, the Member  States of the Community and of the European 
Economic  Area  agreed  to  waive  the  obligation  to  carry  a  set  of  translations  of  the 
journey form  in all Community languages on board the vehicle carrying  out a transport 
service  exempt from  authorization. 

Agreement  on the International  Carriage of Passengers by Road by means of Occasional  Coach 
and Bus Services,  signed in Dublin on 26 May 1982. 

13 

Pursuant to Article  11(2), the control document consists of a journey  form  and a set of 
translations  of  the journey  form.  Article  15(1)  requires  the  control  document  to  be 
carried  on the  vehicle  and  to be presented  at the request  of  any  authorized  inspecting 
officers.  The Commission  will take account of this agreement  with a view to making 
the necessary  amendments to the current  text of the Regulation. 

In  addition,  the  Committee  of  Ministers  of  the  Benelux  Economic  Union  adopted  a 
Decision on 20 December  1994 laying down certain rules applicable to regular services, 
shuttle  services  and occasional  services  within the Benelux area.  Among other things, 
these  rules  concern  the  possibility  of  granting  provisional  authorization  for  regular 
services  without  the  prior  agreement  of  the  host  State  under  certain  conditions,  the 
derogation from the condition of a group previously assembled in the case of shuttle and 
occasional services and exoneration from  authorization for  residual occasional services. 

H. 

THE TRANSPORT DOCUMENTS 

In  implementation  of  Article  5(4),  Article 6(2),  Article  11(6)  and  Article  13(3),  the 
Commission on  1 July  1992, after  consulting the Member  States, adopted a Regulation 
laying down detailed rules for  the application of Council Regulation (EEC)  No 684/92 
as regards  documents  for  the international  carriage  of passengers,4  which contains  the 
model of a control document and rules governing  its use,  the model of applications  for 
authorization,  of the authorization  itself  and of the certificates. 

This Regulation applies simultaneously with the basic regulation, i.e. from  1 June  1992, 
although Article  11 provides for the possibility of using the models of the documents laid 
down  in  former  Regulations  1016/68  and  1172/72  for  a  transitional  period  until 
31 December  1993  on  condition  that  they  are ' amended,  legibly,  indelibly  and 
appropriately  insofar  as  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  conform  to  the  provisions  of 
Regulation 684/92.  The  objective  of this  Article  was to enable the Member  States to 
print and distribute the new documents and use up stocks of old documents.  Despite this 
additional period, however, some Member  States have had difficulties  in issuing the new 
documents  at national level. 

In response  to requests  from  the professional  associations  in the sector  of  international 
carriage of passengers by coach and bus and by the national experts, the Commission on 
25 October  1993 adopted Regulation 2944/93 amending Commission Regulation (EEC) 
No  1839/92 with regard to control documents for  shuttle services with accommodation 
and for  occasional  services,5  none of which are subject  to authorization. 
Two significant  changes were made to the new journey  forms: 

1. 

The  model  control  document  for  shuttle  services  with  accommodation  and  for 
occasional  services  was  standardized,  whereas  the  previous  system  had  two 
separate journey  forms. 

Commission  Regulation  1839/92,  OJ  No  L  187, 7.7.1992,  p.  5. 
O J N o L 2 6 6,  27.10.1993,  p.2. 

14 

The  "pictogram"  system  on  the  lines  of  the  ASOR  model  journey  form  was 
introduced  to  make  it  simpler  and  easier  to  use  and  check  by  the  competent 
officials. 

I 

STATISTICS ON THE NUMBER OF AUTHORIZATIONS GRANTED BY 
THE MEMBER STATES. 

In order  to assess  the extent to which Regulation 684/92 is being applied,  it has to be 
borne  in mind  that  to  a very  large  extent  it  favours  international  passenger  transport 
services  not  subject  to  authorization,  i.e.  occasional  services.  It  is  thus  difficult  to 
quantify  this part of the Regulation given that no prior  official  steps are necessary. By 
contrast,  the table below  shows  the number  of  authorizations  granted  by  the Member 
States for each of the categories of international passenger transport services still subject 
to authorization. These figures  include all the authorizations granted since the entry into 
force of Regulation 684/92. These figures  supplied by the Member  States clearly show 
that the number  of  regular  services  created  under the present  system  has  significantly 
increased,  with  new  routes  being  offered  that  often  serve  peripheral  areas  of  the 
Community  and so promote the mobility  of its citizens. 

However, the table also shows that certain categories of services subject to authorization 
provided for by the present legislation, namely shuttle services without accommodation 
and special regular services, are not particularly attractive to the transport undertakings. 
Consequently the Commission makes provision in its proposal for a Regulation amending 
Regulation  684/92  for  abolishing  the  shuttle  category  of  services  and  liberalizing  all 
special regular  services. Given the small number of authorizations granted for the latter 
by Member States, this is unlikely to disrupt the market for international coach services. 
Furthermore, the current legislation has a category of residual occasional services for all 
services  that cannot be classified  in the other categories.  The Spanish authorities alone 
have granted  80 authorizations to this category,  but its use is nonetheless  insignificant, 
since the very same services can be classed in the occasional services category  specified 
in Article 2(3.1)(b)  of Regulation 684/92. 

15 

TABLE  ON  THE  NUMBER  OF  AUTHORIZATIONS  GRANTED  BY  THE  MEMBER  STATES 

Number  of authorizations  issued under Regulation  N ° 684/92 

Member  State 
(M.S.) 

Regular  Service 

Special  Regular 
Service 

Shuttle  Service 
without  accommodation 

Residual  Occasional 

Service 

Own-Account 
Service 

Situation  on 

Belgium 

Denmark 

France 

Germany 

Greece 

Italy 

19 

22 

100 

76 

12(3) 

17 

1(1) 

0 

0 

10 

0 

0 

Ireland 

51  (4.1) 

0  (4.2) 

Luxembourg 

Netherlands 

Portugal 

Spain 

5 

12 

17 

3 

0 

0 

6(1.2) 

4(1.3) 

31.12.1994 

0 

5.5.1995 

83  (1.2) 

19.5.1995 

0 

0 

0 

0 

52 

0 

31.1.1995 

27.2.1995 

9.3.1995 

14.2.1995 

No  answer  received 

17.1.1995 

31.3.1995 

10.1.1995 

1 

0 

8(2) 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

80(5) 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  ' 

0 

0 

0 

0 

""* 

16 

Member  State 
(M.S.) 

Regular  Service 

Special  Regular 
Service 

Shuttle  Service 
without  accommodation 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

United  Kingdom 

5 

0 

0 

1 

New  M.S. 

Austria 

Finland 

Sweden 

EEA 

Iceland 

Norway 

Residual  Occasional 

Service 

16 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Own-Account 
Service 

Situation  on 

20.2.1995 

• 

16.3.1995 

22.2.1995 

21.06.1995 

(1) 

(1.2) 
(1.3) 
(2) 
(3) 
(4.1) 
(4.2) 
(5) 

With  the  exception  of  a  specific  case  of  carriage  of  workers,  all  the  other  new  special  regular  services  were  in  the  categories  defined  in  Article  2(1.2)  and  can  be  organized  on  the  basis  of  an 
agreement  concluded  between  the  carrier  and  the  organizer  of  the  carriage. 
Non-liberalized  own-account  service. 
Liberalized  own-account  service. 
All  services  with  the  UK. 
16 authorizations  requested  and  four  of  them  have  been  rejected. 
Regular  service  including  special  regular  services  defined  in  Article  2(1.2). 
Special  regular  services  other  than  those  defined  in  Article  2(1.2). 
The  occasional  residual  services  authorized  are  combined  air/coach  services  that could  have  been  included  in Article  2(3.l)(b)  of  Regulation  684/92  and  are  therefore  exempt  from  authorization. 

17 

PROPOSAL  FOR  A  COUNCIL  REGULATION 

amending  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  684/92  on common  rules  for  the 
international  carriage  of  passengers  by  coach  and  bus 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

A. 

BACKGROUND 

1. 

2. 

The  first  joint  action  in  the  field  of  the  international  carriage  of  passengers  by 
coach  and  bus dates  from  the  1960s,  when  Council  Regulation  No  117/66/EEC 
of 28 July  1966 on the introduction of common rules for the international  carriage 
of passengers  by coach and bus1 was adopted.  In conformity  with Articles  7 and 
8  of  this  Regulation,  common  rules  for  regular  services  were  laid  down  by 
Council  Regulation  516/72/EEC  of  28  February  1972,2  and  common  rules  for 
shuttle  services  by Council  Regulation  517/72/EEC  of 28  February  1972.3  The 
provisions  of  these  two  Regulations  remained  in  force  until  the  adoption  of 
Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  684/92/EEC  of  16 March  1992.4 

The  latter  instrument  constitutes  the  authoritative  legal  framework  for  the 
international carriage of passengers  by coach and bus.  It lays down the conditions 
for  applying  the  principle  of  the  freedom  to  provide  services  in this  sector  and 
applies  to  all  Member  States  of  the  Community  and,  following  the  entry  into 
force  of the EEA Agreement,  the countries  of the European  Economic  Area.  In 
practice,  it  enables  carriers  to  provide  international  transport  services  between 
Member  States  without  discrimination  on  grounds  of  nationality  or  place  of 
establishment,  provided  that  they 

are authorized  in the State of establishment to undertake carriage by coach 
and  bus; 
meet  the  conditions  laid  down  in  accordance  with  Community  rules  on 
admission  to  the  occupation  of  road  passenger  transport  operator; 
meet  the  legal  requirements  on  road  safety  as  far  as  the  standards  for 
drivers  and  vehicles  are  concerned. 

In addition, the Regulation defines  the different  transport  services and determines 
for  each  of  them  the  conditions  of  market  access.  Shuttle  services  with 
accommodation,  most occasional  services,  practically  all special  regular  services 
and own-account transport  operations  do not require  authorization.  By contrast, 
all  regular  services  and  shuttle  services  without  accommodation,  residual 
occasional  services,  certain  special  regular  services  and  certain  own-account 

OJ,  9.8.1966,  p.  2688. 
OJ  L67,  20.3.1972,  p.  13. 
OJ  L67,  20.3.1972,  p.  19. 
OJ  L74,  20.3.1992,  p.  1. 

transport  operations  are  still  subject  to  authorization.  The  procedure  for  the 
granting  of  authorizations  has  been  simplified  and,  in the event  of  authorization 
being  rejected,  the  precise  reasons  must  be  given. 

4. 

Article  20  of  Regulation 684/92  states  that  the  Commission  must  report  to  the 
Council  on  its  application  before  1 July  1995.  Before  1 January  1996,  the 
Commission  must  present  to  the  Council  a  proposal  for  a  Regulation  on  the 
simplification  of procedures  including  - in the  light of the report's  conclusions  -
the  abolition  of  authorizations. 

5. 

In response  to these provisions,  the Commission  has drafted  a new proposal  for 
a  regulation  making  the  following  amendments: 

abolition  of  the  category  of  international  shuttle  services 
abolition  of  the  category  of  residual  occasional  services 
liberalization  of  all occasional  services 
liberalization  of  all  special  regular  services  and  own-account  transport 
operations 
improved  wording  of  the  definition  of  occasional  services 
introduction  of  the Community  coach  licence 
restoration  of  competition  between  regular  coach  and  bus  services  and 
regular  rail  services  by  deleting  point  (ii)  of  Article  7(4)(b) 
extension  of  certain  time  limits. 

B. 

JUSTIFICATION  OF THE MEASURE  AT  COMMUNITY  LEVEL 

!• 

Subsidiarity  and  proportionality 

(a)  What  are  the  objectives  of  the  proposed  measure  with  regard  to  the 

Community's  obligations? 

This proposal  aims to continue the liberalization  process  initiated  at Community  level in 
the  field  of  international  carriage  of  passengers  by  coach  and  bus.  It  thus  reflects  the 
progress  made  in  completing  the  internal  market.  The  fundamental  objective  is  to 
implement  the  freedom  to  provide  services  in  the  transport  sector  by  eliminating 
unjustified  and/or  excessive  restrictions,  in  particular  any  discrimination  against  the 
service provider  on grounds of nationality or establishment  in a Member  State other than 
that  in which  the  service  is  to be  provided. 

(b) 

Does competence  for the proposed measure  lie solely with the Community  or 
is it  shared  with  the  Member  States? 

This  is  a measure  for  which  the  Community  has  exclusive  competence  (Article  75(l)a 
of  the  Treaty). 

(c)  What forms of action are open to the Community  (recommendation,  financial 

support,  legislation,  mutual  recognition,  etc.)? 

2q 

This  proposal  sets  out to amend  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  684/92  and  thus  it,  too, 
takes the form  of a Council  regulation.  It lays down common rules  for  the  international 
carriage  of  passengers  by  coach  and  bus  in  order  to  prevent  distortion  of  competition. 
Since a regulation  is binding  in all its parts  and directly  applicable  in all Member  States 
of  the  Community,  it  is the  only  legal  instrument  conceivable. 

(d) 

Is  it  absolutely  necessary  to  adopt  uniform  rules  or  would  a  Directive 
establishing  general  principles  and  leaving  implementation  to  the  Member 
States  be  sufficient? 

As  mentioned  in  (f)  above,  this  proposal  amends  an  existing  regulation  and  must 
therefore  itself  take the form  of a regulation.  Moreover,  the sector  in question  requires 
the  international  carriage  of  passengers  by  coach  and  bus  to  be  carried  out  under  the 
same  conditions  using  the same control  documents.  A directive  would  therefore  not be 
the  appropriate  instrument. 

H- 

Economic  advantages  of continuing  the  harmonization  process 

The  economic  arguments  in  favour  of  greater  harmonization  and  liberalization  of  the 
rules  on  international  carriage  of passengers  by coach and  bus  are  as  follows:  the  new 
proposal  for  a  regulation  aims  to  simplify  and  clarify 
the  current  provisions. 
Consequently,  it abolishes  the  "shuttle" category  by assimilating  shuttle services  without 
accommodation  to  regular  services,  and  shuttle  services  with  accommodation  to 
occasional  services. 
In  addition,  the  proposal  aims  to  restore  competition  between 
regular  coach  and  bus  services  and  regular  rail  services  by  deleting  point  (ii)  of 
Article  7(4)(b),  and  harmonizes  and  further  simplifies  the  administrative  procedures. 
The new standards will introduce greater flexibility  and the more appropriate criteria  will 
open  up  new  markets.  The  abolition  of  the  restrictions  maintained  by  the  current 
Regulation  will  enable  the  transport  undertakings  to  optimize  the  management  of  their 
activities  and  the profitability  of  their  vehicle  fleets. 

It  is also  worth  noting  that,  since the entry  into force  on  1 July  1994 of the  Agreement 
on the  European  Economic  Area,  the application  of  Regulation  684/92  concerns  a total 
population  of  370  million  inliabitants.  It  thus  offers  new  opportunities  to  operators  of 
coach and bus services.  These new opportunities  may generate new jobs in the transport 
industry. 

In order  to avoid  any distortion  of competition,  the proposal  for  a regulation  lays  down 
identical  conditions  of  market  access  for  transport  undertakings  from  the  European 
Community and the European Economic Area in conformity  with the  non-discrimination 
requirement,  so  avoiding  imbalances  between  those  countries  which  restrict  access  to 
their  national  market  as regards  non-residents  and those which  open it up completely  to 
other  carriers. 

C. 

EXAMINATION  OF THE  ARTICLES 

Article  1 

3Q 

Article  1 of  the  proposal  amends Article  2 of  Regulation  684/92  as  follows: 

Urban  carriage  in  frontier  areas 

Regulation  684/92 considers  urban carriage  in frontier  areas as a special regular  service, 
which  in  turn  is  defined  as  a  service  providing  for  the  carriage  of  specified  categories 
of passengers  to the exclusion  of other passengers,  insofar  as such services  are  operated 
under  the  conditions  specified  in  Article  2(1.1).  Urban  carriage  in  frontier  areas  is 
therefore  characterized  by  its  "urban",  "frontier"  quality,  and  by  the  fact  that  certain 
categories  of  passengers  are  carried  to  the  exclusion  of  others.  In  actual  fact,  urban 
services  in frontier  areas should be considered  as a special case of regular  services  rather 
than of special regular  services,  since urban services  in frontier  areas must be accessible 
to all  and  not  only  to  certain  categories  of  passengers  to  the exclusion  of  others. 

Additional  vehicles 

Article  2(1.3) of Regulation  684/92 provides  that the operation of additional  vehicles  for 
existing  regular  services  is  governed  by the  same  rules  as these  regular  services,  i.e.  it 
is  subject  to  authorization.  Such  a  procedure  would  not  appear  to  be justified,  since 
Article  10 of the Regulation  requires  service  operators  to take all measures  to guarantee 
a transport  service that fulfils  the standards  of continuity,  regularity  and capacity.  Where 
necessary  owing  to  the  growth  in demand,  the  carrier  is  obliged  to  operate  additional 
vehicles  on  the  service.  This  obligation  could  not  be  fulfilled  if  the  operator  had  to 
follow  the  authorization  procedure,  which  takes  a minimum  of  three  months. 

The  proposed  amendment  provides  for  abolition  of  the  authorization  obligation  for  the 
this  amendment  will  give  the 
operation  of  additional  vehicles.  Consequently, 
undertakings  greater  flexibility,  particularly  during  periods  of  increased  demand. 

Shuttle  services 

The  proposal  for  a regulation  provides  for  abolition  of  the concept  of  shuttle  services. 

This  is justified  for  several  reasons: 
1. 

2. 

3. 

According  to  the  information  available  to  the  Commission  departments,  this 
concept  does  not  exist  in Member  States'  internal  legislation. 
The  report  on the  implementation  of  Regulation  684/92  shows  that  scarcely  any 
authorizations  have  been granted  for  shuttle  services  without  accommodation. 
There  are  several  similarities  between  shuttle  services  without  accommodation 
and  regular  services,  such  as  the  relative  regularity  of  shuttle  services  (...  by 
means  of  repeated  outward  and  return journeys  ...)  and  the  fact  that  they  also 
have  predetermined  stopping  points  and  timetables. 
It  is  because  of  these 
similarities  that Article  4 of  the Regulation  has  stipulated  the same conditions  of 
access  to the market  for  both shuttle  services  without accommodation  and regular 
services.  The authorization procedure  is the same for  the two services,  as are  the 
reasons  for  rejection  of  the  application  for  authorization  set  out  in Article  7(4). 

4i? 

4. 

By  contrast,  shuttle  services  with  accommodation  could  be  considered  as 
occasional  services.  For  one  thing,  the  conditions  of  market  access  and  the 
control  document  are  currently  the  same. 

Abolishing  the  shuttle  category  of  services  would  greatly  simplify  the  nomenclature  of 
passenger  "transport  services  by  coach  and  bus.  These  would  be  classed  as  regular 
services,  special  regular  services,  occasional  services  and  own-account  transport 
operations.  This  classification  coincides  with  that  used  in  the  legislation  of  most 
Member  States. 

Occasional  services 

The concept of occasional  services has been considerably  simplified.  These services  are 
currently  defined  by default,  i.e.  those  which  do  not  come  into the category  of  regular 
services  or  special  regular  services.  The  list  of  these  services  in  Article  2(3.1)  of 
Regulation  684/92 and in the Annex is deleted.  Some elements characterizing  occasional 
services  have  been  included  in the definition,  but  as  a guide. 
Consequently,  in  order  to  distinguish  between  an  occasional  service  and  a  regular  or 
special  regular  service,  it  is  necessary  to  stipulate  that  the  occasional  service  does  not 
meet  the  criteria  laid  down  in the  Regulation  for  those  two  services. 
As  the  report  on  the  implementation  of  Regulation  684/92  shows,  the  number  of 
authorizations granted by Member  States for residual  occasional services is  insignificant. 
Abolition  of  the  concept  of  residual  occasional  service  is  therefore  justified. 

Occasional  services  remain exempt from  authorization.  By contrast,  the organization of 
parallel  or  temporary  services  comparable  to  existing  regular  services  and  serving  the 
same  clientele  as  the  latter  is  subject  to  authorization  according  to  the  procedure  laid 
down  in the Regulation.  The  objective  of  this  provision,  which  is already  contained  in 
Article  2(1.3)  of  the  current  text  of  Regulation  684/92,  is  to  avoid  unfair  competition 
with regular  services  on the part  of  "false  occasional  services",  i.e.  occasional  services 
exempt  from  authorization  which  in practice  are  regular  services. 

Own-account  transport  operations 

The definition  of own-account transport  operations  has been supplemented  by an explicit 
reference  to their non-commercial  character,  which is,  moreover,  an essential  feature  of 
this  type  of  service. 

Article  2 

No  comment. 

Article  3 

Article  3  of  the  proposal  introduces  a  new  Article  3a  which  contains  an  important 
innovation  in the sector  of  international  carriage  of passengers  by coach  and bus.  This 

5q 

to  carriers  meeting 

is the  "Community  licence", which is issued  by the competent  authorities  of the State of 
in  Article  3(1)  of 
establishment 
Regulation  684/92  and  is  based  on  a  model  contained  in  the  annex  to  the  Regulation. 
At  present,  each  Member  State  draws  up  its  own  model  authorization  for  international 
carriage,  although  the  qualitative  criteria  for  operation  of  these  services  are  laid  down 
by  Regulation  684/92. 

the  conditions 

laid  down 

The  Community  licence  will  facilitate  checks  made  outside  the  State  of  establishment, 
particularly  in the case of occasional  services,  since these are exempt from  authorization 
and currently  operated  under cover of a journey  form  which provides  information  on the 
service,  but very  little on the carrier  involved.  The Community  licence will be the proof 
that  the  carrier  is  authorized  in  the  State  of  establishment  to  undertake  international 
carriage  by coach  and  bus,  and that  the undertaking  in question  meets  the conditions  of 
access to the profession  of road passenger  transport  operator pursuant  to the Community 
directives.5 

The  Community  licence  will  replace  the  current  document(s)  issued  by  the  competent 
authorities  of the State of establishment attesting that the carrier  is admitted to the market 
in  international  carriage  of passengers  by  road. 

Article  4 

Article  4  of  the  proposal  amends  Article  4  of  Regulation  684/92  as  regards  the 
arrangements  for  market  access  as  follows: 

All  occasional  services  are  exempt  from  authorization,  unlike  the  system  under 
Regulation  684/92  according  to  which  residual  occasional  services  have  to  be 
authorized.  As  the  report  on  the  application  of  Regulation  684/92  shows, 
Member  States  issued  only an insignificant  number of authorizations  for  residual 
occasional  services.  The  latter  category  has  therefore  been  abolished. 

All special  regular  services  and urban carriage  in frontier  areas  are exempt  from 
authorization  if  they  are  covered  by a contract  concluded  between  the  organizer 
and the carrier.  Article  2(1.2) of Regulation 684/92 in conjunction  with Article  4 
requires  special  regular  services  to  be  authorized  with  the  exception  of  those 
listed  in  points  (a),  (b),  (c)  and  (d)  of  Article  2(1).  In  practice,  the  number  of 
special  regular  services  subject  to authorization pursuant  to Regulation 684/92  is 
very  limited,  as can also be seen from  the report on application of the Regulation. 
Abolition of the authorization requirement  for these services  is therefore  justified. 

Regular  services  remain  subject  to  authorization. 

Article  5 

Council  Directive  74/562/EEC,  OJ  L  308,  19.11.1974,  p.  23,  as  last  amended  by  Council 
Directive  89/438/EEC,  OJ  L 212,  22.7.1989,  p.  101. 

No  comment. 

Article  6 

Article 6 of the proposal amends Article 5 of Regulation 684/92 with regard  to additional 
vehicles. 
No comment  on paragraphs  1 to  4. 
A  new  paragraph  5  is  inserted. 
Article  1(3)  of  the  proposal  for  an  amendment  provides  for  the  abolition  of  the 
authorization  obligation  for  the  operation  of  additional  vehicles. 

The proposed  amendment to Article  6 requires the carrier  who makes additional  vehicles 
available  to the operator  of  the regular  service  to carry  the following  documents  on  the 
vehicle: 

a  true  copy  of  the  Community  licence  of  the  carrier  providing  the  additional 
vehicle; 

a copy of the equivalent contract or document between the operator  of the regular 
service  and  the  carrier  providing  the  additional  vehicle; 

a  copy  of  the  authorization  of  the  regular  service. 

This new system will clarify the  difference  between the concept of  "the use of additional 
vehicles"  and  "subcontracting". 

As  already  discussed,  the  use  of  additional  vehicles  is  justified  by  the  temporary  or 
seasonal  growth  in demand  such  that the holder  of  the authorization  would  be unable  to 
meet  the  carriage  obligation  with  the  vehicles  at  his  or  her  direct  disposal. 

A carrier  who makes  vehicles  available to the holder  of the authorization  for  the  regular 
service  through a hire contract,  for example,  is not named in the authorization  document 
since the regular  service  is operated  on behalf  of the authorization  holder  and  for  a very 
specific  period. 

The subcontractor,  by contrast,  is a transport undertaking which becomes responsible  for 
the operation  of  the regular  service  on a permanent  basis  under  the terms  laid  down by 
the  Regulation  and  by  the  authorization.  The  subcontractor  must  be  approved  by  the 
authorities  involved  in  issuing  the  authorization  and  must  figure  in the  authorization  as 
the  undertaking  which  operates  the  service  on  a  subcontracting  basis,  and  not  as  an 
undertaking  which  might  be chosen  from  a list  at a given moment to provide  an ad  hoc 
service. 

Article  7 

Article  7  of  the  proposal  amends  Article  6  of  Regulation  684/92  concerning  the 
submission  of  applications  for  authorization  of  regular  services. 

7c? 

No comment  on paragraph  1. 
Paragraph  3 of that Article specifies  that persons  applying for authorization shall provide 
any  further  information  which  they  consider  relevant  or  which  is  requested  by  the 
authorizing  authority.  This  provision  was  developed  by  Article  7  of  Commission 
Regulation  1839/92 laying down detailed  rules  for  the application of Council  Regulation 
(EEC)  No 684/92  as  regards  documents  for  the  international  carriage  of  passengers. 
This  Article  stipulates  the  information  which  must  be  supplied  by  the  applicant  for  the 
authorization,  in particular  the timetable,  fare  scales,  evidence  that  the  applicant  meets 
the  conditions  applicable  in  the  State  of  establishment  to  the  international  carriage  of 
passengers  by  coach  or  bus,  information  regarding  the  type  and  volume  of  traffic 
expected  and  a map  showing  the  route  and  stopping  points. 

The  proposed  amendment  concerns  the  requirement  to draw  up  a plan  with  operational 
details of the regular  service  in order to satisfy  the Community  legislation on driving  and 
rest periods6 and to supply a copy of the Community  licence for the international  carriage 
of  passengers  by  road  for  hire  or  reward  laid  down  in Article  3a. 

The  obligation  to  draw  up  an  operational  plan  for  the  regular  service  is  all  the  more 
justified  as it requires the carrier  to organize stops in line with the Community  legislation 
on driving  and rest periods.  It therefore  concerns  a prior  check of compliance  with  this 
legislation,  the  fundamental  objective  of  which  is  to  ensure  maximum  road  safety. 

Article  8 

Article  8  of  the  proposal  amends  Article  7  of  Regulation  684/92  on  the  authorization 
procedure  for  regular  services. 

1. 

It concerns,  firstly,  extending  all the time  limits  laid  down  in that  Article,  since 
they  have  proved  too  short  in  practice: 

the period  for  referral  to the Commission  pursuant  to Article  7(6) will be 
four  months  instead  of  three  from 
the  date  of  submission  of  the 
application; 

the period  within which the Commission decides on a referral  is ten weeks 
instead  of  six. 

2. 

The  second  important  amendment  to Article  7(2) of the Regulation  concerns  the 
exact  date  from  which  the  two-month  period  is  calculated. 

This Article stipulates that the competent authorities  of the Member  States whose 
agreement  has  been  requested  regarding  the  issuing  of  an  authorization  for  a 
regular  service  have two months  within which to notify  the authorizing  authority 
of their  decision.  This period  is calculated from  the date of receipt of the request 
for  an  opinion.  Only  the  authority  whose  opinion  has  been  sought  knows  the 
exact  date  of  receipt. 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3820/85  and  3821/85  of  20  December  1985,  OJ  L  370, 
31.12.1985,  p.l. 

8« 

3. 

4. 

The problem  can be  solved by sending  immediately  on receipt  of the request  for 
an opinion  an acknowledgement  of  receipt  showing  the exact  date  on which  the 
request  was  received.  The two-month  period  would  be  calculated  from  the  date 
shown  on the  acknowledgement.  Efficient  administration  requires  that  the  date 
in the  acknowledgement  of  receipt  should  not  be too  far  removed  from  the  date 
shown  in the  request  for  an opinion. 

The  current  wording  of  Article  7(5)  states  that  "the  authorizing  authority  may 
refuse  applications only on the basis of reasons compatible with this Regulation". 
This  provision  should  be applicable  not only to the authorizing  authority,  which 
is  the  authority  that  must  formally  grant  the  authorization,  but  also  to  the 
competent  authorities  of  all Member  States  on  whose  territories  passengers  are 
picked  up  or  set  down  and who participate  in the construction  of  the  agreement 
necessary  to grant  the  authorization.  This  is the  objective  of  Article  8(5)  of  the 
draft  amendment. 

The draft  amendment  provides  for  deleting point 4(b)(ii)  of  Article  7  according 
to  which: 
"The  application  may  be  rejected: 
(ii)  if  it  is  shown  that  the  said  service  would  seriously  affect  the  viability  of  a 
comparable  rail  service  on the direct  sections  concerned." 
Deleting  this  provision  is  justified  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  principle  of 
freedom  of  competition  between  the  various  transport  modes.  Furthermore, 
according to the available information,  no authorization has been rejected  for  this 
reason. 
In addition,  the wording  in 4(a) and  (b)  "An application  may be rejected  if  :... " 
has been replaced  by the phrase  "Authorization  shall be granted  unless:  ..".  The 
purpose  of this amendment  is to limit as far  as possible  the discretionary  powers 
of the national administrations  when they state reasons  for  refusing  applications. 
Authorization  will  have  to  be  granted  if  none  of  the  reasons  for  rejection 
specified  by  the  Regulation  can  be  advanced. 
The  first,  second  and third  indents of point  (4)(a) and subparagraphs  (i) and  (iii) 
of point  (4)(b) have been incorporated  in full  from  the text of Regulation  684/92 
in the  interests  of  greater  clarity  of  Article  7(4). 

*r 

Article  9 

No  comment 

Article  10 

No  comment 

Article  11 

Article  11 of  the proposal  amends  Article  11 of  Regulation  684/92. 

9* 

According  to  Article  11(2)  of  Regulation  684/92,  the  control  document  consists  of  a 
journey  form  and  a  set  of  translations  of  the journey  form.  Article  15(1)  requires  the 
control  document  to  be  carried  on  the  vehicle  and  presented  at  the  request  of  any 
authorized  inspecting  officer.  The  objective  of  this  amendment  is  to  abolish  the 
obligation  to carry  the  set  of  translations  of  the journey  form  on the  vehicle. 

On the basis  of Article  187 of Regulation  684/92  the Member  States  of  the  Community 
and  of  the  European  Economic  Area  have  agreed  to  waive  the  requirement  for  the  set 
of translations  of the journey  form  in all Community  languages to be carried  on a vehicle 
undertaking  a transport  service  exempt  from  authorization. 

Article  12 

This  Article  deletes  Article  12  of  Regulation  684/92  according  to  which  "within  the 
framework  of  an  international  shuttle  service  with  accommodation,  or  an  international 
occasional  service,  a  carrier  may  carry  out  occasional  services  (local  excursions)  in a 
Member  State other than that in which it is established  (...)".  In practice,  this provision 
enables  non-resident  carriers  to  carry  out  strictly  national  services  under  certain 
conditions. 

This  issue  has  already  been  solved  in  the  framework  of  Council  Regulation  (EEC) 
No  2454/92  laying  down  the  conditions  under  which  non-resident  carriers  may  operate 
national road passenger  transport  services  within a Member  State.  Pursuant  to Article  3 
of  this  Regulation,  permission  to  operate  cabotage  transport  operations  in  the  form  of 
non-regular  services  will  be  restricted  to  closed-door  tours  until  31 December  1995. 
After  that  date,  all  cabotage  transport  operations  will  be  authorized  for  all  non-regular 
services. 

Consequently,  since the entry  into force  of Regulation  2454/92,  cabotage  in the form  of 
"local  excursions"  as  referred  to  in  Regulation  684/92  has  been  liberalized  to  a  much 
greater  extent  than  provided  for  in  Article  12  of  the  latter.  This  provision  has  thus 
become  obsolete.  Any  carrier  wishing  to undertake  a cabotage  operation  following  an 
international  service  will  be  able  to  do  so  under  the  conditions  set  out  in  the  cabotage 
Regulation. 

Article  13 

Article  13 of  the  proposal  deletes  Article  13(2)  of  Regulation  684/92. 
The  objective  of  this  amendment  is  to  exempt  from  authorization  aU services  for  own 
account  and  not  only  those  listed  in  Article  2(4)  of  Regulation  684/92. 

Article  18 of  the  Regulation  states  that  "Member  States  may  conclude  bilateral 
and  multilateral  agreements  on the  further  liberalization  of the  services  covered 
by  this  Regulation,  in  particular  as  regards  the  authorization  system  and  the 
simplification  or  abolition  of  control  documents". 

10 a 

Article  14 

No  comment 

Article  15-

Article  15  of  the  proposal  amends  the  second  paragraph  of  Article  19  of  Regulation 
684/92.  This  amendment  concerns  the  penalties  that  Member  States  must  adopt  to 
implement  the  Regulation.  These  penalties  must  be  effective,  proportionate  and 
dissuasive.  The wording  of the current proposal  is taken from  the model proposed  in the 
Annex  to  the  Commission  Communication  to the Council  and  European  Parliament  on 
the  role  of  penalties 
legislation 
implementing  Community 
(COM(95)162  final). 

internal  market 

in 

Article  16 

Article  16  of  the  proposal  concerns  the  deletion  of  the  Annex  to  Regulation  684/92 
containing the description  of certain occasional services exempt from  authorization.  This 
description  is  now  redundant  since  the  proposal  liberalizes  all  occasional  services. 

Articles  17,  18 and  19 

No  comment. 

1 1* 

PROPOSAL  FOR  A COUNCIL  REGULATION 

amending  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  684/92  on common  rules  for  the 
international  carriage  of  passengers  by  coach  and  bus 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article  75, paragraphe  1,  thereof, 

Having  regard  to the proposal  from  the  Commission, 

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

In cooperation  with  the  European  Parliament, 

Whereas,  in  accordance  with  Article  75(l)(a)  of  the  Treaty,  the  establishment  of  a 
common transport  policy entails, inter alia,  laying down common rules applicable to the 
international  carriage  of  passengers  by  road; 

Whereas  the  definition  of  the  various  international  coach  and  bus  services  should  be 
simplified; 

Whereas  international  coach and bus services  may be classed  as regular  services,  special 
regular  services  and  occasional  services;  whereas,  therefore,  the  concept  of  shuttle 
service  may  be  abolished; 

Whereas  a system  of market  access exempt  from  authorization  should  be  introduced  for 
all occasional services,  special regular services and all own-account transport  operations; 

Whereas  regular  services  should  continue  to  be  subject  to  authorization; 

Whereas  intermodal  competition  should  be  preserved;  whereas,  therefore,  the  railways 
should  no  longer  have  priority  in  the  context  of  the  establishment  of  a  coach  or  bus 
service; 

Whereas,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  inspection  of  transport  operations,  the  international 
carriage  of  passengers  by  road  for  hire  or  reward  should  be  subject  to  a  Community 
licence  conforming  to  a harmonized  model; 

Whereas  the time limits  involved  in the procedure  for  the issue of authorizations  should 
be  made  more  flexible; 

Whereas Member  States must take the necessary  measures  to implement this Regulation, 
in particular  as  regards  effective,  proportionate  and  dissuasive  penalties; 

Whereas  the  application  of  this  Regulation  must  be  monitored  on the  basis  of  a  report 
to be  presented  by  the  Commission, 

12A 

HAS  ADOPTED  THIS  REGULATION: 

Article  I 

Article  2  of  Regulation  684/92  is amended  as  follows: 

(1) 

A  new  subparagraph  is  added  to  point  1.1: 
"Regular  services  operated  within  a  conurbation  situated  in  two  or  more 
Member  States shall  be designated  "urban carriage  in frontier  areas ".  " 

(2) 

Paragraph  (d)  of  point  1.2  is  deleted. 

(3) 

In point  1.3  the  words  "additional  vehicles  and"  are  deleted. 

(4) 

Point  2  relating  to  shuttle  services  is  deleted. 

(5) 

Point  3.1  is  replaced  by  the  following: 
"Occasional  services  are  services  meeting  neither  the  definition  of  a  regular 
service  nor  the  definition  of  a  special  regular  service,  and  which  are 
that  they  carry  groups  of  passengers 
characterized  above  all  by  the  fact 
previously  assembled,  or that they are organized at  the  request of the customer, 
or comprise accommodation or other non-ancillary  tourist services in the course 
of the journey  or at thie place  of destination,  or are organized on the occasion of 
special  events,  or  comprise  an  empty journey  in  the  course  of  the  outward  or 
return journey  or are  organized for  the purpose  of  carrying out tours. 
The organization of parallel  or temporary services comparable to existing regular 
services and serving the same public  as the latter shall be subject to authorization 
in accordance with the procedure  laid down  in  Section II  of this  Regulation". 

(6) 

Point  3.2  is  deleted. 

(7) 

Point  4  is  replaced  by  the  following: 
"Own-account  transport  operations  are  those  carried  out  for  non-commercial 
purposes,  notably  by  an  undertaking  for  its  own  employees  or  by  a  non 
profit-making  body  for  the transport  of  its members  in connection with its  social 
objective  provided  that: 
- the transport  activity  is only  an ancillary  activity  for  the undertaking  or  body, 
-  the  vehicles  used  are  the  property  of  that  undertaking  or  body  or  have  been 
obtained  on  deferred  terms  by  them  or  have  been  the  subject  of  a  long-term 
leasing  contract  and  are  driven  by  a  member  of  the  staff  of  the undertaking  or 
body." 

(1) 

The  first  indent  of  Article  3(1)  of  Regulation  684/92  is  amended  as  follows: 

Article  2 

13 

"-  is  authorized  in the  State of  establishment  to undertake  carriage  by  means  of 
regular  services,  special  regular  services  or  occasional  services  by  coach  and 
bus". 

A  new  Article  3a  is  added  in Regulation  684/92: 

Article  3 

"Article  3a 
Community licence 
1. 

Any  carrier  meeting  the  criteria  laid  down  in  Article  3(1)  must  hold  a 
Community  licence  issued  by  the  competent  authorities  of  the  State  of 
establishment  in  accordance  with  the  model  in  the  Annex  to  this 
Regulation. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

The  competent  authorities  of  the  State  of  establishment  shall  issue  the 
holder with the original of the Community licence,  which shall be kept by 
the  transport  undertaking,  and  the  number  of  certified  true  copies 
corresponding  to the  number  of  vehicles at  the  disposal  of  the holder  of 
the  Community  licence,  either  in full  ownership,  or  in  another  form, 
notably  by  virtue of  an  instalment-purchase contract,  a  hire  contract  or 
a  leasing  contract. 

The  Community  licence  shall  be  established  in  the  name  of  the  carrier 
and  shall  be  ^on-transferable.  A  certified  true  copy  of  the  Community 
licence  shall  be  carried  on  the  vehicle  and  shall  be  presented  at  the 
request of any  authorized inspecting officer. 

The  Community  licence shall  be  issued for  a period  of five years  which 
shall  be  renewable. 

The  Community  licence  referred  to  in  paragraph  2  shall  replace  the 
document issued by the competent authorities of the State of establishment 
certifying  that  the  carrier has  access  to  the  market for  the  international 
carriage of passengers  by road. 

When an application for  a licence is submitted,  and at the latest five  years 
after  its  issue  and  at  least  every five years  subsequently,  the  competent 
authorities  of  the  State  of  establishment  shall  verify  whether  the  carrier 
meets  or  continues to meet  the conditions laid down  in Article  3(1). 

Where the conditions laid down in Article  3(2) are not met,  the competent 
authorities  of  the  State of  establishment shall  reject the  issue or renewal 
of the  Community licence by means of a  reasoned decision. 

The competent authorities shall withdraw the Community licence where the 
holder: 

no  longer meets the  conditions  laid down  in Article  3(1) 

14* 

has  supplied  inaccurate information regarding  the  data  required 
for  the  issue of the  Community licence. 

9. 

In  the  event  of  serious  infringements  or  of  minor  and  repeated 
infringements  of  the  regulations  relating  to  transport,  the  competent 
authorities of the State of establishment of the carrier who has committed 
the  offence  may  take action  involving in particular  the temporary  and/or 
partial  withdrawal  of the true copies of the  Community licence. 

These penalties  shall  be  determined  on  the  basis  of  the  gravity  of  the 
offence committed by the holder of the Community licence and in the light 
international 
of  the  total  number  of  true  copies  the  holder  has  for 
transport  operations. 

10.  Member States shall guarantee the right of the applicant for,  or holder of 
a  Community  licence  to  appeal  against  a  decision  by  the  competent 
authorities of the State of establishment to reject or withdraw this licence. 

11.  Member  States  shall inform the  Commission no  later than  31 January  of 
every year  of  the  number  of  carriers holding  a  Community licence  as  at 
31 December  of  the previous  year  and  of  the  number  of  certified  true 
copies  corresponding  to  the  number  of  vehicles  in  circulation  on  that 
date ". 

f 

Article  4 

1. 

Article  4 of  Regulation  684/92  is  replaced  by  the  following: 

"1.  Occasional  services  as  defined  in  Article  2(3.1)  shall  not  require 
authorization. 
2.  Special  regular  services defined  in Article  2(1.2)  and  the  urban  carriage  in 
frontier  areas  defined  in  the  second  subparagraph  of  Article  2(1.1)  shall  not 
require  authorization  if  they  are  covered  by  a  contract  concluded  between  the 
organizer and  the  carrier. 
3. Empty journeys  by vehicles in connection with the transport operations referred 
to  in paragraphs  1 and  2 shall  likewise not require authorization. 
4.  Regular  services  as  defined  in the first subparagraph of Article  2(1.1)  shall 
require authorization  in accordance with Articles  5 to  10. 
5.  Arrangements for  own-account transport operations are set out in Article  13.  " 

Article  5 

1. 

The  title  of  Section  II  of  Regulation  684/92  is  amended  as  follows: 
"Regular services  subject  to authorization.  " 

Article  5 of  Regulation  684/92  is  amended  as  follows: 

Article  6 

15* 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

In the second  subparagraph  of paragraph  1, the words  "or a shuttle service"  are 
deleted. 

In  paragraph  2  the  words  "and 
accommodation"  are deleted. 

two  years  for  shuttle  services  without 

In  paragraph  3(d)  the words  "for  regular  services"  are  deleted. 

In  paragraph  5  the  words  "and  shuttle  services  without  accommodation"  are 
deleted. 

A  new  paragraph  6 is  inserted: 
"6.  In  the case of additional vehicles being  used for  existing regular services,  a 
copy  of  the  corresponding  contract  or  document  between  the  operator  of  the 
regular service and the carrier providing  the additional vehicles and a copy of the 
authorization  of  the regular service  must be  carried on the vehicle. 

A carrier providing additional vehicles must hold the Community licence provided 
for  in Article  3(a). A  true copy of the  Community licence must be carried on the 
additional  vehicle. " 

Article  6 of  Regulation  684/^2  is  amended  as  follows: 

Article  7 

1. 

2. 

Paragraph  1 is  replaced  by  the  following  text: 
"Applications  for  authorization  of  regular  services  shall  be  submitted  to  the 
competent  authorities  of  the  Member  State  in  whose  territory  the  place  of 
departure  is  situated,  hereinafter  referred  to  as the  "authorizing  authority".  The 
place  of  departure  shall  mean  "one  of  the  termini  of  the  service"." 

Paragraph  3  is  replaced  by  the  following  text: 
"Persons  applying for  authorization  shall  provide  any further  information  which 
they  consider  relevant  or  which  is  requested  by  the  authorizing  authority,  in 
particular  an operational plan  of the regular service for  the purpose of complying 
with  Community  legislation  on  driving  and  rest  periods  and  a  copy  of  the 
Community licence for  international  carriage  of passengers  by  road for  hire  or 
reward provided for  in Article  3(a).  " 

Article  8 

Article  7 of  Regulation  684/92  is  replaced  by  the  following  text: 

1. 

"Authorizations  shall be issued  in agreement with the competent authorities of all 
the Member  States in whose territories  passengers  are picked up or set down.  The 
authorizing  authority  shall  forward  to  such  authorities  -  as  well  as  to  the 
competent  authorities  of  Member  States  whose  territories  are  crossed  without 

16A 

passengers being picked up or set down - a copy of the application, together with 
copies of any other relevant documentation,  and its assessment. 

The  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  States  whose  agreement  has  been 
requested shall notify the authorizing authority of their decision on the application 
within two months. This time limit shall be calculated from the date of receipt of 
the request for an opinion that is shown in the acknowledgement of receipt which 
the  authorities  concerned  must  send  to  the  authorizing  authority.  The 
acknowledgement  of  receipt  must  conform  to  a  model  drawn  up  by  the 
Commission  after consultation  of the Member States. If  within  this  period,  the 
authorizing  authority  has  received  no  reply,  the  authorities  consulted  shall  be 
deemed to have given their  agreement  and the authorizing authority shall grant 
the authorization. 
The  authorities  of  the  Member  States  whose  territories  are  crossed  without 
passengers  being picked up or set down may notify  the authorizing  authority of 
their comments within the time limits laid down in the first  subparagraph. 

Subject to paragraphs  7 and 8, the authorizing authority  shall take a decision on 
the application within three months of the date of submission  of the application 
by the carrier. 

Authorization  shall be granted unless: 

(a)  the  applicant  is  unable  to  provide  the  service  that  is  the  subject  of  the 
application with equipment directly  available to him; 

(b)  in  the  past  the  applicant  has  not  complied  with  national  or  international 
legislation  on road  transport  and  in particular  the conditions  and  requirements 
relating  to  authorizations  for  international  road  passenger  services  or  has 
committed  serious  breaches  of legislation  in regard  to road  safety,  in particular 
with regard  to the rules  applicable  to vehicles  and driving  and  rest  periods  for 
drivers; 

(c) in the case of an application  for  renewal  of  authorization,  the conditions of 
authorization  have not been complied with; 

(d)  it  is  shown  that  the  service  in  question  would  directly  compromise  the 
existence  of  regular  services  already  authorized,  except  in  cases  in  which  the 
regular  services  in question are carried  out only by a single carrier  or group of 
carriers; 

(e) it appears  that the operation of services  covered by the application  is aimed 
only at the most lucrative of the services  existing  on the links concerned. 

The  fact  that  an  operator  offers  lower  prices  than  are  offered  by  other  road 
transporters  or the fact that the link in question is already operated by other road 
carriers  may not in itself  constitute justification  for  rejecting  the application. 

17-9 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

The authorizing  authority  and the competent authorities of all the Member  States 
involved  in the procedure  to  reach agreement provided for  in paragraph  1 may 
refuse  applications  only on the basis of reasons compatible with this  Regulation". 

If  the procedure  for  reaching  the agreement  referred  to  in paragraph  1 does  not 
enable  the  authorizing  authority  to  decide  on  an  application,  the  matter  may  be 
referred  to the Commission  within a the time limit of four  months calculated from 
the date  of submission of the application by the  carrier. 

After  consulting  the Member  States concerned,  the  Commission  shall  within ten 
weeks take a decision which shall take effect  within thirty  days of the  notification 
of  the  Member  States  concerned". 

The Commission  decision  shall continue to apply until such time as agreement  is 
reached  between  the  Member  States  concerned. 

Having  completed  the  procedure  laid  down  in  this  Article,  the  authorizing 
authority  shall inform all the authorities referred  to in paragraph  1  of its decision, 
sending them a copy of any authorization;  the competent authorities  of the transit 
Member  States  may  indicate  that  they  do  not  wish  to be  so  informed." 

Article  9(4)  of  Regulation  6^4/92  is  deleted. 

Article  9 

Article  10 

The  title  of  Section  III  of  Regulation  684/92  is  amended  as  follows: 
"Occasional services and  other services exempt from  authorization". 

Article  11 

Article  11 of  Regulation  684/92  is  amended  as  follows: 

1. 

2. 

The  following  is  deleted  from  paragraph  2: 
"and  a set  of  translations  of  the journey  form". 

The  following  is deleted  from  paragraph  3: 
"and  shuttle  services  with  accommodation". 

3. 

Point  (c)  of  paragraph  4  is  deleted. 

Article  12 of  Regulation  684/92  is  deleted. 

Article  12 

18* 

Article  13(2)  is  deleted. 

Article  13 

Article  14 

Article  14 of  Regulation  684/92  is amended  as  follows: 

1. 

2. 

The  following  is deleted  from  the  first  subparagraph  of  paragraph  1 : 
"or  a  shuttle  service". 

The  following  is deleted  from  the  last  indent  of  paragraph  1: 
"and,  in  the  case  of  passengers  who  have  paid  for  accommodation,  the  total 
price  of 
the 
accommodation". 

including  accommodation,  and  details  of 

journey, 

the 

The  second  paragraph  of  Article  19 of  Regulation  684/92  is  amended  as  follows: 

Article  15 

"Member  States  shall  adopt  measures  relating  in  particular  to  the  means  of 
carrying out checks and the system of penalties  applicable to infringements of the 
provisions  of this Regulation,  and  take all the measures necessary to ensure that 
those penalties  are  applied.  The penalties  thus provided for  shall  be  effective, 
proportionate  and dissuasive.  Member  States shall  notify the  relevant measures 
to  the  Commission  not  later  than  31  December  1996,  and  shall  notify  any 
subsequent changes as soon as possible.  They shall ensure that all such measures 
are applied without discrimination as to the nationality or place  of establishment 
of the  carrier.  " 

The  Annex  to  Regulation  684/92  is  deleted. 

Article  16 

Article  17 

Member  States  shall,  before  31  December  1996  and  after  consulting  the  Commission, 
adopt the measures  necessary  for  the  implementation  of this Regulation  and  notify  such 
measures  to  the  Commission. 

Article  18 

The Commission  shall report to the Council before  31 December  1999 on the application 
of  this  Regulation. 

19* 

Article  19 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  third  day  following  that  of  its  publication 
in the  Official Journal  of the European  Communities. 

It  shall  apply  from  1 June  1996. 

This  Regulation  shall  be  binding  in  its  entirety  and  directly  applicable  in  all  Member 
States. 

Done  at  Brussels, 

For  the  Council 

20^ 

* ANNEX 

EUROPEAN COMMUNITY 

(a) 

(Heavy-duty  paper,  blue - dimensions  DIN A4) 

(First page of the licence) 

(Text  in the official  language(s)  or one of the official  languages  of the 
Member  States issuing the licence) 

Distinctive  symbol of the country8 
State issuing the licence 

Designation  of the 
competent  authority  or body 

LICENCE No  .... 

for the international  carriage  of passengers by coach and bus 
for hire or reward 

The holder of this licence9 

is authorized  to carry  out international  carriage  of passengers by road for hire or reward  in the territory 
of the Community  under the conditions laid down by Council Regulation (EEC) No 684/92 of  16 March 
1992, as amended  by Regulation  ....  and in accordance  with the general  provisions of this licence. 

Comments: 

This licence  is valid  from 

to 

Issued  in 

,  on 

8 

9 
10 

Distinctive symbol of the country: (B) Belgium, (DK) Denmark, (D) Germany, (GR) Greece, (E) 
Spain,  (F)  France,  (IRL) Ireland,  (I) Italy,  (L) Luxembourg,  (NL) Netherlands,  (P)  Portugal, 
(UK) United  Kingdom,  (FIN) Finland,  (A) Austria,  (S) Sweden. 
Full name  or business name of the carrier. 
Signature  and stamp of the competent  authority  or body issuing the licence. 

2U 

General  provisions 

1. 

2. 

is 

licence 

This 
....  amending 
Council Regulation (EEC)  No 684/92  on  common  rules  for  the  international 
carriage  of passengers  by coach and bus. 

to  Council  Regulation 

issued  pursuant 

This  licence is issued  by the competent authorities  of the State of establishment 
of the carrier  for  hire or reward who: 

is authorized in the State of establishment to undertake carriage by means 
of  regular  services,  special  regular  services  or  occasional  services  by 
coach and bus; 

satisfies  the conditions laid down in accordance with Community rules on 
admission  to  the  occupation  of  road  passenger  transport  operator  in 
national and international  transport  operations; 

meets legal requirements on road safety  as far as the standards for drivers 
and vehicles are concerned. 

3. 

It permits  the international  carriage  of passengers  by coach and bus for  hire or 
reward  on  all  transport  links  for  journeys  carried  out  in  the  territory  of  the 
Community: 

where the place of departure  and place of destination are situated  in two 
different  Member  States,  with  or  without  transit  through  one  or  more 
Member  States or third countries, 

from  a Member  State to a third  country  and vice versa,  with or without 
transit  through  one or more Member  States or third countries, 

between  third  countries  crossing  the  territory  of  one  or  more  Member 
States in transit, 

4. 

5. 

and empty journeys  in connection with transport  operations under the conditions 
laid down by Regulation 684/92 as amended by Regulation  ... 

This  licence is personal  and  non-transferable. 

It may be withdrawn by the competent authorities  of the Member  State of issue 
where the carrier  has  in particular: 

failed  to meet all the conditions  to which use of the licence was  subject; 

supplied  inaccurate  information  regarding  the data required  for  the issue 
or renewal of the licence. 

22 * 

6. 

7. 

8. 

The original of the licence must be kept by the transport  undertaking.  A certified 
true  copy  of  the  licence  must  be  carried  on  the  vehicle  carrying  out  an 
international  transport  operation. 

The  licence  must  be  presented  at  the  request  of  any  inspecting  officer. 

The  holder  must,  on the  territory  of each  Member  State,  comply  with  the  laws, 
regulations  and  administrative  measures  in force  in that  State,  particularly  with 
regard  to  transport  and  traffic. 

23 

BUSINESS  IMPACT  ASSESSMENT 

IMPACT  OF  THE  PROPOSAL  ON  BUSINESS  WITH  SPECIAL  REFERENCE 
TO  SMALL  AND  MEDIUM-SIZED  ENTERPRISES  (SMEs) 

Title  of  the  proposal: 

Council  Regulation  on  common  rules  for  the  international  carriage  of  passengers  by 
coach  and  bus. 

Proposal 

1. 

Taking  account  of  the  subsidiarity  principle,  why  is  Community  legislation 
necessary  in this  area  and  what  are  its  main  aims? 

The  Community  legislation  is  based  on  Article  75(1 )a  of  the  Treaty. 
Its  provisions 
confer  on  the  Community  the  competence  to  define  common  rules  applicable  to 
international  transport  to or  from  the territory  of  a Member  State or  passing  across  the 
territory  of  one  or  more  Member  States.  In  addition,  the  principle  of  the  freedom  to 
provide  transport  services  implies  the  elimination  of  any  discrimination  against  the 
service  provider  on grounds  of  nationality  or  place  of  establishment. 

Furthermore,  the proposal responds to the provisions of Article  20 of Council Regulation 
(EEC)  No  684/92 of  16 March  1992 on common  rules  for  the international  carriage  of 
passengers  by  coach  and  bus,  which  states  in  Article  20  that  the  Commission  must 
submit  to  the  Council  before  1 January  1996  a  proposal  for  a  regulation  on  the 
simplification  of  procedures  including  -  in  the  light  of  the  report's  conclusions  -  the 
abolition  of  authorizations. 

The  impact  on  business 

2. 

Who  will  be  affected  by  the  proposal? 

Which  sectors  of  business? 
Carriers  of passengers  by coach and bus for  hire or reward  and  for  own account, 
authorized  in  their  State  of  establishment  to  exercise  the  profession  of  road 
passenger  transport  operator  in the  field  of  international  transport. 

Does  the proposal  affect  SMEs  more  than  large  businesses? 
The  proposal  affects  all  undertakings,  irrespective  of  their  size.  Nevertheless, 
approximately  80%  of  road  transport  undertakings  are  SMEs. 

Are  there  particular  areas  of  the  Community  where  these  businesses  are  found? 
The  proportion  of  SMEs  is  relatively  high  in the  southern  countries  of  Europe. 

3. 

What  will business  have  to  do  to comply  with  the  proposal? 

24 * 

In  order  to  benefit  from  this  proposal,  which  introduces  greater  flexibility  into  the 
provision  of transport  services,  a transport  undertaking  must be authorized  in a Member 
State  in conformity  with  the  relevant  Community  legislation  to  exercise  the  profession 
of  road  passenger  transport  operator  in the  field  of  international  transport. 

4. 

What  economic  effect  is the proposal  likely  to  have? 

On  employment? 
The proposal concerns a more liberal system of market access.  It therefore  opens 
up  new  prospects  in  the  field  of  coach  travel  and  in  the  medium  term  will 
generate  new  employment  in the  sector. 

On  investment  and  the creation  of  new  businesses? 
Businesses  will benefit  from  the  internal  market  of the European  Union  and  the 
European Economic Area with a total population of 370 million inhabitants.  This 
large market  will doubtless call for  new  investment  on the part  of existing  firms 
and  the  creation  of  other  businesses  in the  field  of  coach  travel. 

On  the  competitive  position  of  businesses? 
Through  the  introduction  of  a  more  liberal  system,  access  to  the  passenger 
transport  market will be easier throughout  the European  Union and the European 
their  services  where 
Economic  Area.  Operators  will  be  able  to  offer 
opportunities  present themselves.  There  is no question that a large single  market 
functioning  according 
the 
undertakings  concerned,  and  also  to  citizens  who  will  have  a  better  choice  of 
transport  mode  owing  to  greater  competition. 

to  uniform  rules  offers  better  possibilities 

to 

5. 

Does  the  proposal  contain  measures  to  take  account  of  the  specific  situation  of 
SMEs  (reduced  or  different  requirements,  etc.)? 

No. 

Consultation 

6. 

List  the  organizations  which  have been consulted  about  the proposal  and  outline 
their  main  views: 

A consultation  meeting  on the  new proposal  for  a Council  Regulation  amending 
Regulation  (EEC)  No  684/92  on common  rules  for  the  international  carriage  of 
passengers  by  coach  and  bus  took  place  on  8 September  1995.  The  IRU 
(International  Road  Union)  and  EUROCHAMBRES  were  present. 

The  two  organizations  declared  their  support  for  a  simplification  of  the  rules  in 
the new regulation to avoid possible interpretation problems.  They welcomed  the 
proposal to abolish,  firstly,  the  "residual occasional service" category,  which will 
simplify  the  definition  of  the  remaining  services  and,  secondly,  the  "shuttle 
service"  category,  by  assimilating  shuttle  services  without  accommodation  to 
regular  services  and  those  with  accommodation  to  occasional  services. 

25* 

In addition, the professional  organizations agreed with the Commission's  proposal 
to  restore  competition  between  regular  coach  and  bus  services  and  regular  rail 
services. 

The Commission  proposal  to provide  for  a more flexible  approach  in the case of 
additional  vehicles  for  operators  when  demand  shows  a  sudden  increase  was 
welcomed,  as  was  the  introduction  of  a  "Eurolicence"  for  coach  services  as  a 
quality  symbol. 

The  Commission  took  account  of  the  views  of  the  professional  organizations 
consulted  in preparing  its  proposal  for  a new  instrument  to  amend  the  common 
rules  on  international  carriage  of  passengers  by  coach  and bus. 

26-

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(96) 190  final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

07  11  06 

Catalogue number  : CB-CO-96-198-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-03186-0 

Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 

L-2985 Luxembourg