COMMON POSITION (EC) No 8/98 adopted by the Council on 19 December 1997 with a view to adopting a Council recommendation on a parking card for people with disabilities
Date: 1997-12-19
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Council of the European Union, EC recommendation, facilities for people with disabilities, harmonisation of standards, parking area

C  62/24

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Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

26.2.98

COMMON  POSITION  (EC)  No  8/98

adopted  by  the  Council  on  19  December  1997

with  a  view  to  adopting  a  Council  recommendation  on  a  parking  card  for  people  with
disabilities

(98/C  62/02)

THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  UNION,

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

Having  regard  to  the  proposal  for  a  recommendation
submitted  by  the  Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (1),

Having  regard  to  the  opinion  of  the  Committee  of  the
Regions (2),

Acting  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in
Article  189c  of  the  Treaty (3),

in 

(1)  Whereas  the  reciprocal  recognition  of  a  parking
card  for  people  with  disabilities  based  on  a
standardised  Community  model  was  advocated  by
the  Commission 
its  communication  on  a
medium-term  social  action  programme  (1995  to
1997),  forwarded  to  the  Council,  the  European
Parliament,  the  Economic  and  Social  Committee
and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  on  12  April
1995, and also in its report of 26 November 1993
to  the  Council  on  the  measures  to  be  taken  in  the
Community regarding the accessibility of transport
to  persons  with  reduced  mobility;

representatives  of 

(2)  Whereas,  in  the  spirit  of  the  Resolution  of  the
the
the 
Council  and  of 
Governments of the Member States meeting within
the  Council  of  20  December  1996  on  equality  of
opportunity  for  people  with  disabilities,  all  people
with  disabilities  should  be  entitled  to  additional
their
concrete  measures  aimed  at 
occupational  and  social  integration;

improving 

(1)  OJ  C  174,  17.6.1996,  p.  27.
(2)  OJ  C  42,  10.2.1997,  p.  27.
(3)  Opinion  of  the  European  Parliament  of  13  December  1996
(OJ  C  20,  20.1.1997,  p.  386),  Council  Common  Position  of
19 December 1997 and Decision of the European Parliament
of  . . .  (not  yet  published  in  the  Official  Journal).

in 

whereas, 

integration; 

(3)  Whereas  a  mode  of  transport  other  than  public
transport  constitutes, 
for  many  people  with
disabilities,  the  only  means  of  getting  about
independently  for  purposes  of  occupational  and
social 
certain
circumstances  and  with  due  regard  to  road  safety,
it  is  only  right  that  people  with  disabilities  should
be  enabled,  by  means  of  a  parking  card  for  such
people,  to  park  as  near  to  their  destination  as
possible;  whereas  people  with  disabilities  should
thus  have  the  opportunity  to  avail  themselves  of
the  facilities  provided  by  the  said  parking  card
throughout the Community in accordance with the
national  rules  applying  in  the  country  in  which
they  happen  to  be;

(4)  Whereas, in view of the fact that parking cards for
people with disabilities may come within the remit
of regional and local authorities, the Committee of
the  Regions  should  be  consulted;

(5)  Whereas,  in  accordance  with  the  principle  of
subsidiarity,  Community  action  is  appropriate  to
promote the understanding and mutual recognition
of parking cards for people with disabilities and to
facilitate  freedom  of  movement  for  people  with
disabilities;

(6)  Whereas  it  is  desirable  that  there  should  be  a
Community-model 
recognised
parking 
mutually  by  the  Member  States,  for  people  with
disabilities;

card, 

(7)  Whereas  the  definition  of  disability  and  the  rules
for  assigning  parking  cards  to  persons  with
disabilities  are  the  responsibility  of  the  Member
States;

(8)  Whereas  Member  States  should  introduce  certain
or

security 
prevent 
counterfeiting  of  the  parking  card;

features 

forgery 

to 

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(9)  Whereas  the  European  Conference  of  Ministers  of
Transport 
(ECMT)  has  already  adopted  a
resolution encouraging the provision and reciprocal
recognition  of  parking  cards  for  people  with
disabilities  (ECMT  Resolution  of  22  April  1997);

(10)  Whereas  full  information  should  be  provided  to
card-holders  on  the  conditions  for  using  the  card
in  the  Member  States,

3.  To  grant  the  parking  card  to  people  whose  disability

leads  to  reduced  mobility;

4.  To  provide,  on  the  basis  of  a  technical  fact  sheet
prepared  by  the  Commission,  an  overview  of  the
conditions  of  use  in  the  different  Member  States  of
the  European  Union  when  issuing  a  parking  card  to
people  with  disabilities  and  at  the  request  of  the
persons  concerned;

Hereby  RECOMMENDS  Member  States:

1.  To 

introduce  a  parking  card  for  people  with
disabilities,  issued  to  them  in  accordance  with  the
respective  national  provisions,  on  the  basis  of  the
standardised  Community  model  described 
in  the
Annex,  which  may  be  used  in  parallel  with  the
parking cards issued in the Member States, according
to  the  terms  laid  down  in  paragraph  5;

5.  To 

take 

the  necessary 

that
standardised  Community  model  parking  cards  for
people  with  disabilities  are  available  by  1  January
2000  at  the  latest;

to  ensure 

steps 

This  Recommendation  notwithstanding,  models
existing in Member States before 1 January 2000 may
continue  to  be  used  on  the  territory  of  such  Member
States  beyond  that  date  until  their  replacement;

6.  To  inform  the  Commission,  before  1  July  2000,  of
the  action  taken  pursuant  to  this  Recommendation.

2.  To  recognise,  as  from  1  January  1999,  the  parking
cards  for  people  with  disabilities  introduced  by  each
Member  State  in  accordance  with  the  standardised
Community  model,  so  that  card-holders  may  benefit
from  the  associated  parking  facilities  available  in  the
Member  State  in  which  they  happen  to  be;

Done  at  . . .

For  the  Council

The  President

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Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

26.2.98

ANNEX

PROVISIONS  ON  THE  COMMUNITY  MODEL  PARKING  CARD  FOR  PEOPLE  WITH
DISABILITIES

A.  The  overall  dimensions  of  the  Community  model  parking  card  for  people  with  disabilities  shall  be:

—  height:  106  mm,

—  width:  148  mm.

B.  The  colour  of  the  parking  card  shall  be  light  blue,  except  for  the  white  wheelchair-user  symbol,  which

shall  have  a  dark  blue  background.

C.  The  parking  card  for  people  with  disabilities  shall  be  plastic-coated,  with  the  exception  of  the  space

reserved  for  the  holder’s  signature  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  reverse.

D.  The parking card for people with disabilities shall be divided vertically into two parts on both the front

and reverse.

The  left-hand  side  of  the  front  shall  contain:

—  the  wheelchair-user  symbol  in  white  on  a  dark  blue  background,

—  the  date  of  expiry  of  the  parking  card,

—  the  serial  number  of  the  parking  card,

—  the  name  and  stamp  of  the  issuing  authority/organisation.

The  right-hand  side  of  the  front  shall  contain:

—  in  capital  letters,  the  words  ‘Parking  card  for  people  with  disabilities’  in  the  language(s)  of  the
Member State issuing the card; after a suitable space, the words ‘Parking card’ shall appear in small
type  in  the  other  languages  of  the  European  Union,

—  the  words  ‘European  Communities’  model’  in  the  language(s)  of  the  Member  State  issuing  the

card,

—  as  background,  the  distinguishing  code  of  the  Member  State  issuing  the  parking  card,  as  follows:

Belgium

B:
DK: Denmark
Germany
D:
Greece
EL:
Spain
E:

France
F:
Ireland
IRL:
Italy
I:
Luxembourg
L:
NL: Netherlands

Austria
A:
Portugal
P:
Finland
FIN:
Sweden
S:
UK: United  Kingdom

surrounded  by  the  ring  of  12  stars  symbolising  the  European  Union.

The  left-hand  side  of  the  reverse  shall  contain:

1.  the  holder’s  surname;

2.  the  holder’s  forename(s);

3.  the  holder’s  signature  or  other  authorised  mark,  if  allowed  under  national  legislation;

4.  the  holder’s  photograph.

The  right-hand  side  of  the  reverse  shall  contain:

1.  the  statement:

‘This  card  entitles  the  holder  to  the  special  local  parking  facilities  available  in  the  Member  State
concerned’;

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2.  the  statement:

‘When  in  use,  the  card  is  to  be  displayed  at  the  front  of  the  vehicle  in  such  a  way  that  the  front  of
the  card  is  clearly  visible  for  checking  purposes’.

E.  With  the  exception  of  the  right-hand  side  of  the  front,  entries  shall  be  shown  in  the  language(s)  of  the

Member  State  issuing  the  parking  card.

If  a  Member  State  wishes  to  make  the  entries  in  a  national  language  other  than  one  of  the  following:
Danish,  Dutch,  English,  Finnish,  French,  German,  Greek,  Italian,  Portuguese,  Spanish,  Swedish,  it  shall
draw up a bilingual version of the card using one of the aforementioned languages, without prejudice to
the  other  provisions  of  this  Annex.

C  62/28

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Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

26.2.98

STATEMENT  OF  THE  COUNCIL’S  REASONS

I. 

INTRODUCTION

1.  Further to the undertaking it gave in its medium-term social action programme 1995 to
1997,  to  the  effect  that  it  would  submit  a  recommendation  on  the  reciprocal
recognition  of  a  parking  card  for  people  with  disabilities,  the  Commission  sent  the
Council  a  draft  recommendation  on  15  January  1996.

2.  The  recommendation  is  based  on  Article  75  of  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European

Community.

3.  The European Parliament delivered a first reading opinion on 13 December 1996. The
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  delivered  their
opinions  on  27  March  1996  and  14  November  1996  respectively.

4.  By  letter  of  5  March  1997  the  Commission  sent  the  Council  an  amended  proposal  to

take  account  of  the  European  Parliament’s  amendments.

5.  In  accordance  with  Article  189c  of  the  EC  Treaty,  the  Council  adopted  a  common

position  on  19  December  1997.

II.  OBJECTIVE

The  recommendation  concerns  the  standardisation  of  the  layout  of  parking  cards  for
people  with  disabilities  and  their  reciprocal  recognition  by  the  Member  States,  in  order  to
facilitate  such  people’s  freedom  of  movement  by  car.

III.  ANALYSIS  OF  THE  COMMON  POSITION

1.  General  comments

2. 

Changes  made  by  the  Council  to  the  Commission’s  amended  proposal

(Unless otherwise indicated, the numbering referred to (for recitals and paragraphs) is
that  of  the  common  position).

2.1.  Preamble

For  reasons  of  clarity,  recitals  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  9  and  10  of  the  common  position  have
been simplified compared with the Commission’s original proposal. These changes do
not  concern  the  substance.

Recitals 7 and 8 have been added to the Commission’s amended proposal. Recital 7
is  a  reminder  that  the  Member  States  alone  are  responsible  for  deciding  who  should
benefit from the parking card. Recital 8 meets the concerns of a number of Member
States  about  the  risks  of  forgery  which  could  affect  the  legitimate  beneficiaries  of
parking  facilities.  Here,  too,  the  Member  States  wanted  to  retain  the  right  to  deal
with  this  matter  themselves.

2.2.  Introduction  of  a  Community  model  (paragraph  1)

Like  the  Commission’s  amended  proposal,  which  provided  that  the  Community
model  could  be  used  alongside  existing  regional  or  national  cards  for  a  transitional

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period  determined  by  the  Member  States,  the  common  position  adopted  by  the
Council envisages national cards being replaced by the Community model only in the
longer  term  and  makes  reference  to  more  specific  conditions,  provided  for  in
paragraph  5.

The  wording  chosen  by  the  Council  reflects  the  basic  idea  of  a  ‘transitional  period’
and  simplifies  the  drafting  of  this  paragraph.

2.3.  Recognition  of  parking  cards  in  accordance  with  the  Community  model  (paragraph

2)

The  Council  has  deleted  the  word  ‘reciprocally’.  Since  a  standardised  Community
model  is  being  created,  the  question  of  reciprocal  recognition  of  national  parking
cards  does  not  arise.

Also, in the interest of clarity, the Council was concerned to add a date from which
the  Community  model  would  be  recognised.  The  date  chosen  is  in  the  fairly  near
future  since  it  does  not  require  any  particular  action  on  the  part  of  Member  States,
except  perhaps  to  issue  instructions  to  the  police  authorities  that  have  to  enforce
national  rules  on  traffic  and  parking.

2.4.  Beneficiaries  of  the  card  (paragraph  3)

Although  it  included  the  concept  of  ‘reduced  mobility’  to  justify  Community  action
to  create  a  standardised  Community  model  for  parking  cards  for  people  with
disabilities,  the  Council  did  not  seek  to  define  exactly  who  was  to  benefit  from  the
card, since the conditions of issue are subject to the principle of subsidiarity (recital 7
makes clear that ‘the definition of disability and the rules for assigning parking cards
to  persons  with  disabilities  are  the  responsibility  of  the  Member  States’).

2.5.  Overview  of  the  conditions  of  use  in  the  different  Member  States  (paragraph  4)

While  complying  with  the  spirit  of  the  Commission’s  amended  proposal  on  this
point, the Council sought to make clear that the overview of the parking facilities in
question  would  be  prepared  by  the  Commission  on  the  basis  of  information  to  be
submitted  by  the  Member  States.

The Council also wanted to make clear that the persons concerned would receive an
overview  when  they  were  issued  with  the  card  and/or  at  their  request.

2.6.  Availability  of  the  Community  model  (paragraph  5)

The  Council  wanted  to  set  a  date  from  which  the  Member  States  undertook  to
circulate  their  own  parking  cards  in  accordance  with  the  Community  model.  The
date  adopted  allows  Member  States  a  reasonable  period  of  time  for  the  technical
production  of  the  cards.

It  is  also  necessary  to  ensure  that  Member  States  do  not  have  to  replace  all  their
cards at the same time, given the administrative problems involved, especially if they
also replace the cards of people with disabilities who do not wish to travel in an EU
Member  States  other  than  the  one  in  which  they  usually  reside.  The  Council  has
therefore  expressly  provided  that  the  cards  will  be  replaced  gradually  and  that
national  cards  will  continue  to  exist  alongside  the  Community  cards  for  a  time.  It
may  be  noted  that  a  similar  provision  was  contained  in  paragraph  1  of  the
Commission’s  amended  proposal.  Here,  too,  the  Council’s  main  concern  was  to
clarify  the  arrangements  introduced.

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26.2.98

2.7.  Provisions  on  the  Community  model  parking  card  for  people  with  disabilities

(Annex)

In  section  D,  the  Council  has  replaced  the  concept  of  ‘period  of  validity’  with  ‘date
of  expiry’.

3. 

Amendments  made  by  the  European  Parliament

3.1.  Parliament  amendments  accepted  by  the  Commission

The  Commission’s  amended  proposal  incorporated,  either  verbatim  or  in  a  slightly
modified  form,  amendments  1,  2,  3,  6,  8,  9  and  10.

3.2.  Parliament  amendments  not  accepted  by  the  Commission

The  Commission’s  amended  proposal  did  not  incorporate  Amendments  2,  5  or  7.