WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3507/97 by Rijk van DAM to the Commission. German canal levies
Date: 1997-11-12
Institutions: European Parliament, VAN DAM
Subjects: German Democratic Republic, Germany, carriage of goods, forest, inland waterway transport, rail transport, road transport

C 174/70

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

8. 6. 98

In relation to the facts reported by the Honourable Member, it remains a matter of national competence for each
Member State to ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms through their internal systems and
through the mechanisms provided by the European Convention on human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Insofar as co-operation between the judicial systems of Member States is concerned, judicial co-operation in
criminal  matters  is  of  course  a  matter  of  common  interest  under  Article  K.1(7)  of  Title  VI  of  the  Treaty  on
European Union. Article K.2 specifically requires that such co-operation must be dealt with in compliance with
the European Convention on human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Commission is fully associated with
this work but in accordance with Article K.3 does not have a right of initiative. Neither, of course, does it have a
power to police compliance with respect for human rights.

(98/C 174/114)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3507/97

by Rijk van Dam (I-EDN) to the Commission

(12 November 1997)

Subject: German canal levies

In its communication on Intermodality and intermodal freight transport in the European Union, the Commission
refers  to  the  expected  increase  in  freight  transport  and  says  that  (cid:145)in  order  to  achieve  socio-economic  and
environmental  sustainability,  the  efficient  and  balanced  use  of  existing  capacities  throughout  the  European
transport system has become a key challenge(cid:146). In view of congestion on the roads and the external effects of road
transport, this means promoting freight transport by waterway and rail.

1.
In this context, is the Commission aware that so-called (cid:145)Abgaben(cid:146) are levied on German canals, increasing
inland waterway freight  transport costs by  between 10 and 30%  and  significantly worsening  the competitive
position of inland waterway as opposed to road transport?

2.

3.

Are these levies compatible with European transport policy which promotes waterway transport?

If not, what action does the Commission intend to take?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(12 December 1997)

The  Commission(cid:146)s  Green  Paper  (cid:145)Towards  fair  and  efficient  pricing  in  transport(cid:146) (1),  which  was  published  in
1995, contained a section on infrastructure charging. In the debate which followed the publication of the Green
Paper, it became clear that there is a lack of information regarding charging for waterway infrastructure in the
Community. For this reason, the Commission recently sent a questionnaire to each Member State on this topic, in
order to obtain a clearer picture of current practices, the principles upon which waterway charges are based and
plans at Member State or regional level regarding such charges in the future.

The  Commission  has  just  begun  work  on  a  White  Paper  on  infrastructure  charging  from  a  multimodal
perspective which should appear in 1998. Inland navigation will be considered in that document as well other
modes.

(1)  COM(95) 691 final.