COMMON POSITION (EC) No 24/98 adopted by the Council on 17 March 1998 with a view to adopting Council Regulation (EC) No .../98 of ... concerning the granting of Community financial assistance for actions of an innovative nature to promote combined transport
Date: 1998-03-17
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU financing, aid system, combined transport, common transport policy, project evaluation

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I

(Information)

COUNCIL

COMMON  POSITION  (EC)  No  24/98

adopted  by  the  Council  on  17  March  1998

with  a  view  to  adopting  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  . . ./98  of  . . .  concerning  the  granting  of
Community  financial  assistance  for  actions  of  an  innovative  nature  to  promote  combined
transport

(98/C 161/01)

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  from  the  Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),

Having  regard  to  the  opinion  of  the  Committee  of  the
Regions (3),

Acting  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in
Article  189c  of  the  Treaty (4),

(1) Whereas  the  present  situation  and  the  expected
development  of  transport  in  the  Community  make
it  necessary  to  manage  the  Community’s  transport
resources  to  optimum  effect  and  hence  to  promote
combined  transport;

(2) Whereas  Commission  Decision  93/45/EEC  of
22  December  1992  concerning  the  granting  of
financial  support  for  pilot  schemes  to  promote
combined 
in  1992,  an

transport (5) 

launched, 

(1) OJ  C  343,  15.11.1996,  p.  4  and  OJ  C  364,  2.12.1997,

p.  5.

(2) OJ  C  89,  19.3.1997,  p.  18.
(3) OJ  C  379,  15.12.1997,  p.  47.
(4) Opinion  of  the  European  Parliament  of  12  June  1997  (OJ
C  200,  30.6.1997,  p.  137),  Council  Common  Position  of
17 March 1998 and Decision of the European Parliament of
. . .  (not  yet  published  in  the  Official  Journal).

(5) OJ  L  16,  25.1.1993,  p.  55.

experimental  five-year  scheme  for  the  granting  of
financial  assistance  for  pilot  schemes  to  promote
combined  transport;  whereas  that  scheme  came  to
an  end  on  31  December  1996;

(3) Whereas,  therefore,  Community  action  in  this  area
is  clearly  useful;  whereas  this  experimental  scheme
should  be  converted  into  a  proper  framework  for
Community  action 
field  of  combined
transport  which  takes  account  of  the  experience
gained  since  1992;

the 

in 

(4) Whereas  the  main  objective  of  Community  action
in the field of combined transport is to increase the
competitiveness of this type of transport in order to
provide  alternatives  to  road  transport  which  are
acceptable  to  the  user;  whereas  financial  assistance
for  projects  eligible  under  this  Regulation  can
therefore be of direct benefit only to Member States
and  to  natural  or  legal  persons  established  in  the
Community,  and  solely  in  respect  of  expenditure
and  costs  incurred  on  Community  territory;

(5) Whereas  Member  States  and  natural  or 

legal
persons  established  in  the  Community  should  be
the  only  applicants 
submitting  a  combined
transport  project;  whereas  it  is  possible,  however,
for  directly  concerned  third  countries  and  persons
established outside the Community to be associated
with  the  submission  of  a  project;

(6) Whereas  combined  transport  projects  should  cover
commercial  services  relating 
type  of
transport;  whereas  Community  financial  assistance

this 

to 

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is  consequently  granted  for  innovative  operational
measures  and  for  feasibility  studies  relating  to
them;  whereas  projects  concerning  infrastructure
networks 
technological
development  projects  are  therefore  excluded  from
the  scope  of  this  Regulation;

research 

and 

and 

(7) Whereas 

the  Community 

financial  assistance
referred  to  in  this  Regulation  should  be  provided
for  a  limited  period;

(8) Whereas  it  is  advisable  to  allow  applicants  to
submit  projects  which  best  match  current  market
needs;  whereas  innovation  should  therefore  not  be
discouraged  by  an  over-rigid  definition  of
innovative projects;

(9) Whereas  it  is  nevertheless  necessary,  during  the
project  selection  procedure,  to  ensure  that  the
project  chosen  makes  a  real  contribution  to  the
common  transport  policy  and  does  not  cause
unacceptable  distortions  of  competition;

(10) Whereas  a  financial  reference  amount,  within  the
meaning  of  point  2  of  the  Declaration  by  the
European  Parliament, 
the
Commission of 6 March 1995 (1), is included in this
Regulation  for  the  entire  duration  of  the  action
provided  for,  without  thereby  affecting  the  powers
of  the  budgetary  authority  as  they  are  defined  by
the  Treaty;

the  Council  and 

(11) Whereas  the  Commission  should  monitor  the
progress  of  projects  in  order  to  obtain  the  desired
results;  whereas 
respective  powers  and
responsibilities  of  the  Member  States  and  the
Commission with regard to financial control should
be  spelt  out;

the 

(12) Whereas  the  Commission  should  evaluate  the
procedures  for  implementing  combined  transport
projects  in  order  to  assess  whether  the  objectives
originally  set  can  be  or  have  been  attained;

(13) Whereas  the  application  of  this  Regulation  should
be  monitored  on  a  regular  basis;  whereas,  to  this
end,  the  Commission  should,  two  years  after  the
Regulation  enters  into  force,  report  on  progress  to
the
the  European  Parliament, 
Economic 
the
and 
Committee  of  the  Regions;

the  Council, 
and 

Social  Committee 

(14) Whereas  the  activities  financed  should  be  the
subject  of  appropriate  information,  publicity  and
transparency;

projects;  whereas  this  Regulation  should  therefore
be  of  limited  duration,

HAS  ADOPTED  THIS  REGULATION:

Article  1

Objective

for  granting  Community 

This  Regulation  specifies  the  conditions,  detailed  rules
financial
and  procedures 
assistance  to  innovative  projects,  which  contribute  to  the
increased  use  of  combined  transport  and  encourage  the
transfer 
to  more
environmentally-friendly  modes  of  transport  through:

traffic 

roads 

from 

of 

(a)

increasing the competitiveness of combined transport
as  compared  with  exclusively  road  haulage;  or

(b) promoting  the  use  of  advanced  technology 

in

combined  transport;  or

(c)

improving  the  possibilities  of  supplying  combined
transport  services.

Article  2

Definitions  and  scope

1.

For  the  purposes  of  this  Regulation:

— ‘combined  transport’  means  the  transport  of  goods
between  Member  States  where  the  lorry,  trailer,
semi-trailer,  with  or  without  the  tractor  unit,  swap
body or container of 20 feet or more uses the road on
the initial or final leg of the journey and, on the other
leg,  rail  or  inland  waterway  or  maritime  services,  on
the  understanding  that  the  road  section  is  as  short  as
possible,

— ‘combined  transport  action’  means  any  action  of  an
innovative  nature  aimed  at  achieving  the  objectives
provided  for  in  Article  1  and  selected  in  accordance
with  Article  7.

2. Within  the  territory  of  the  Community,  combined
transport  actions  shall  primarily  be  covered  by  Decision
No  1692/96/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the
Council  of  23  July  1996  on  Community  guidelines  for
transport
the  development  of 
network (2).

trans-European 

the 

(15) Whereas  the  purpose  of  the  action  covered  by  this
Regulation  is  to  help  start  up  combined  transport

3. However,  combined  transport  actions  may  also
cover routes situated partly outside Community territory,
on  the  following  conditions:

(1) OJ  C  293,  8.11.1995,  p.  4.

(2) OJ  L  228,  9.9.1996,  p.  1.

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— the  action  must  be  carried  out  in  the  interests  of  the
common  transport  policy,  as  in  the  case  of  projects
concerning transit third countries in the context of an
intra-Community  transport  operation,

Article  5

Eligible  expenditure  and  costs

— the  action  must  cover  the  territory  of  at  least  one

Member  State.

Article  3

Eligible projects

Eligible  projects 
constitute:

are 

innovative  projects  which

(a)

innovative  operational  measures;

(b)

feasibility  studies  which  plan  and  prepare  innovative
operational measures.

Article  4

Applicants  submitting  projects

Any  Member  State  or  any  public  or  private  natural
1.
or  legal  person,  established  within  the  Community,  may
submit  a  project  to  the  Commission.

Without  prejudice  to  Article  2(3),  as  a  general  rule  the
project  should  be  submitted  by  two  or  more  public  or
private  natural  or  legal  persons  who  are  nationals  of  at
least  two  Member  States.

When  a  project  is  submitted  in  accordance  with  the  first
subparagraph,  any  third  country  and  any  public  or
private  natural  or  legal  person,  established  outside  the
Community  and  directly  concerned,  may  be  associated
with the submission of that project on the understanding
that  they  receive  no  Community  support  under  this
Regulation.

the  development  of 

2. Where  the  project  involves  exercising  rights  of
access  to  the  rail  infrastructure  as  provided  for  in
Article  10  of  Council  Directive  91/440/EEC  of  29  July
1991  on 
the  Community’s
railways (1),  Community  financial  assistance  shall  be
granted  only  to  railway  undertakings  which  hold  a
licence  within  the  meaning  of  Article  2  of  Council
Directive  95/18/EC  of  19  June  1995  on  the  licensing  of
railway undertakings (2).

(1) OJ  L  237,  24.8.1991,  p.  25.
(2) OJ  L  143,  27.6.1995,  p.  70.

1.
Regarding  expenditure  and  costs  in  respect  of
innovative  operational  measures,  Community  financial
assistance  shall  be  limited  to  a  maximum  of  30 %.  The
eligible  expenditure  and  costs  may  include  inter  alia:

(a)

(b)

leasing  or  amortisation  of
the  cost  of  hiring, 
combinations  of  vehicles  — 
trailers,
semi-trailers,  with  or  without  tractor  unit,  swap
bodies  or  containers  of  20  feet  or  more;

lorries, 

the  cost  of  hiring,  leasing  or  amortisation  and  of
making  the  adjustments  necessary  to  complete  the
planned  action  successfully,  in  respect  of  rolling
stock  (including  locomotives)  and  inland  waterway
and  sea  vessels  subject,  with  regard  to 
inland
waterway  vessels,  to  compliance  with  the  specific
rules on structural improvements to inland waterway
transport;

(c)

investment  expenditure  or  the  cost  of  hiring,  elasing
or  amortisation  in  respect  of  installations  permitting
transhipment  between  railways,  inland  waterways,
shipping  routes  and  roads;

(d)

the cost of using rail, inland waterway and maritime
infrastructures,  with  the  exception  of  harbour  dues
and  transhipment  costs;

(e) expenditure  relating  to  the  commercial  operation  of
techniques,  technologies  or  equipment  previously
transport
tested  and  approved, 
information  technology;

in  particular 

(f)

the cost of measures related to staff training and the
dissemination  of  project  results,  as  well  as  expenses
for  information  and  communication  action  taken  in
order  to  make  new  combined  transport  services
known  to  the  relevant  transport  industry.

Expenditure  and/or  costs  under  (a),  (b),  (c)  and  (e)  are
eligible  provided  that  the  beneficiary  or  beneficiaries  of
the assistance undertake to keep the equipment for which
assistance  has  been  granted  on  the  route  concerned
throughout  the  duration  of  the  contract.

Community 

2.
in  respect  of
feasibility  studies  shall  be  limited  to  a  maximum  of
50 %.

financial  assistance 

3.
The Community financial assistance provided for by
this  Regulation  shall  directly  benefit  Member  States  and
the  persons  referred  to  in  the  first  subparagraph  of
Article  4(1),  in  respect  of  the  expenditure  and  costs
incurred  in  Community  territory.

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This assistance shall be granted for a maximum period of
three  financial  years.

— contribution  of  the  project  to  the  development
and  use  of  trans-European  transport  networks;

4. When  examining  a  project  extending  beyond
Community  territory  submitted  under  this  Regulation,
the  possibilities  of
the  Commission  shall  consider 
financing  the  part  of  the  project  situated  outside  the
Community  by  means  of  other  Community  budgetary
instruments, 
to  ensure  efficient  use  of
Community  resources.

in  order 

Article  6

Submission  of  projects

1.
Projects  for  combined  transport  actions  shall  be
submitted  to  the  Commission.  The  submission  shall
the
contain  all 
Commission  to  make  its  selection  in  accordance  with
Article  7.

the  elements  necessary 

to  enable 

The  submission  of  an 

innovative  operational
2.
measures  project  shall  describe  the  project,  taking  into
account  the  following  elements:

(a)

identification  of  the  project  and  the  applicants
submitting  it,  its  general  objectives  and  the  financial
assistance  requested;

(b) project  objectives:

— customer  potential  for  combined  transport,

time  gains) 

— prices  and  service  performance  (accessibility,
reliability, 
in  comparison  with
competing  transport  services,  in  particular  road
transport  (at  the  time  of  submission  and  after
implementation  of  the  project),

— envisaged receipts,

— cost  factors  (particularly  elements  for  evaluating
the  marginal  cost  of  access  to  the  infrastructure,
particularly  rail,  for  the  service  covered  by  the
action  and  any  further  information  enabling  a
judgment  to  be  made  as  to  whether  aid  towards
the  costs  of  infrastructure  access  is  justified),

— timetable  for  viability,

— compatibility  and  interoperability;

(c) contribution  of  the  project  to  the  common  transport

policy

— benefits  to  the  environment  and  safety  when
in
existing 
compared  with 
in  terms  of  the  balance  between
particular 
different  modes,  making  it  possible,  inter  alia,  to
develop  combined  long-distance  transport,

situation, 

the 

— effects  on  other  competing  transport  services  in
the  relevant  market  and  possible  new  entrants,

(d) project  characteristics:

— identification  of  modes  of  transport,  natural  or
legal  persons  involved  and  cooperation  planned,

— reason  for  envisaged  project  (customer  requests,
congestion,  market  potential,  remoteness  of  area,
etc.),

— innovative  features  in  comparison  with  current

situation,

— duration  of  project,

— need  for  assistance  and  information  on  the  other
sources  of  financing  planned  for  the  project  as  a
whole,

— market conditions, including existing technologies
and  services,  taking  account  also  of  other
modes;

(e)

financial statement itemising all the costs in ecus and
the  amount  in  ecus  of  aid  applied  for  in  respect  of
each eligible heading.

3.
The  submission  of  a  feasibility  study  project  must
describe  the  project  taking  into  account  the  following
elements:

— information  available  on  the  content  of  points  (a)  to

(e)  of  paragraph  2,

— organisation of tasks, and implementation phases and

timetable,

— broad  lines  and  summary  of  the  study  project.

The  Commission  shall  forward  to  the  Committee
4.
referred to in Article 8 the list of projects submitted to it,
accompanied  by  a  summary  of  eligible  projects.

Article  7

Selection  of  projects  —  Granting  of  financial  assistance

The  Commission  shall  decide  whether  to  grant  financial
assistance  under  this  Regulation  taking  into  account,  for
the  selection  of  the  project,  the  objectives  referred  to  in
Article  1,  and  the  information  referred  to  in  Article  6(2)
and (3) as appropriate, in accordance with the procedure
laid  down  in  Article  8.

It  shall  inform  all  beneficiaries  and  all  Member  States
concerned  directly  of  its  decision.

Article  8

Committee

— relevance  of  project  results  for  other  natural  or
legal  persons,  other  routes,  or  other  participants,

1. Where reference is made to the procedure laid down
in  this  Article,  the  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  a

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Committee  composed  of  the  representatives  of  the
Member  States  and  chaired  by  the  representative  of  the
Commission.

The Commission shall inform the Member States of
6.
the  payments  made  and  of  the  activity  reports  accepted.

2.
The  representative  of  the  Commission  shall  submit
to  the  Committee  a  draft  of  the  measures  to  be  taken.
The  Committee  shall  deliver  its  opinion  on  the  draft
within  a  time  limit  which  the  Chairman  may  lay  down
according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall
be  delivered  by  the  majority  laid  down  in  Article  148(2)
of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is
required  to  adopt  on  a  proposal  from  the  Commission.
The  votes  of  the  representatives  of  the  Member  States
within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set
out  in  that  Article.  The  Chairman  shall  not  vote.

3. (a) The  Commission  shall  adopt 

the  measures
envisaged  if  they  are  in  accordance  with  the
opinion  of  the  Committee.

(b)

If  the  measures  envisaged  are  not  in  accordance
with  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  or  if  no
opinion 
the  Commission  shall,
without  delay,  submit  to  the  Council  a  proposal
relating to the measures to be taken. The Council
shall  act  by  a  qualified  majority.

is  delivered, 

If,  on  the  expiry  of  a  period  of  three  months  from  the
date of referral to the Council, the Council has not acted,
the  proposed  measures  shall  be  adopted  by 
the
Commission.

Article  9

Financial provisions

1.
Financial assistance may be granted for expenditure
on  the  implementation  of  combined  transport  actions
carried  out  by  the  beneficiaries  or  by  third  parties  who
have  been  made  responsible  for  implementation.

2.
Financial  assistance  shall  not  cover  expenditure
incurred  before  the  date  on  which  the  Commission
received  the  application.

Commitments and payments shall be expressed and

3.
paid  in  ecus.

4.
As  a  general  rule,  payments  shall  be  made  in  the
form  of  advances  and  a  final  payment.  The  first  advance
shall be paid once the application for financial assistance
has  been  approved.  Subsequent  payments  shall  be  made
on  the  basis  of  requests  for  payment  and  taking  into
account  progress  with  the  project.

The Commission shall make the final payment after
5.
approval  of  an  activity  report  on  the  study  or  other
measure  submitted  by  the  beneficiary  and  itemising  all
the  expenditure  actually  incurred.

Article  10

Financial  reference  amount

The financial reference amount for the implementation of
the actions provided for in this Regulation, for the period
1  January  1997  to  31  December  2001, 
is  ECU
35  million.

The  annual  appropriations  shall  be  authorised  by  the
budget  authority  within  the 
limits  of  the  financial
perspective.

Article  11

Financial  control

in  accordance  with  national 

1. Without  prejudice  to  inspections  carried  out  by
Member  States 
laws,
the
regulations  and  administrative  provisions, 
provisions  of  Article  188a  of  the  Treaty,  and  to
inspections carried out under Article 209(c) of the Treaty,
officials  or  other  staff  of  the  Commission  may  visit  the
sites  of  supported  combined  transport  actions  to  carry
out  spot  checks.

to 

2.
If  the  implementation  of  a  combined  transport
action  appears  not  to  correspond,  wholly  or  in  part,  to
the
the  project  approved  and/or 
Commission  shall  conduct  appropriate  investigations.

its  objectives, 

to 

the 

referred 

Following 

investigations 

3.
in
paragraph  2,  the  Commission  may  reduce,  suspend  or
withdraw  financial  assistance  for  the  combined  transport
action  if  the  investigation  confirms  that  there  is  some
irregularity  or  that  the  conditions  set  out  in  the  decision
granting  the  financial  assistance  have  not  been  met,
particularly  if  there  is  an  important  change  which  affects
the  nature  or  conditions  of  implementation  of  the
combined  transport  action  and  if  the  beneficiaries  had
not  obtained  prior  approval  from  the  Commission.

Article  12

Monitoring  and  evaluation

execution 

The  Commission  shall  be  responsible  for  the
1.
the
financial 
Regulation.  In  order  to  ensure  that  Community  aid  is
used  efficiently,  the  Commission  shall  monitor  and
implementation  of  combined  transport
evaluate  the 

implementation  of 

and 

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actions during and after their completion. On completion
of a combined transport action and before final payment,
the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of it, taking
into  account  a  report  by  the  beneficiary  showing  how
money  has  been  spent  and  demonstrating  the  extent  to
which  traffic  forecasts  have  been  achieved.

2.
Up  to  1 %  of  the  budget  provided  for  in  this
Regulation  shall  be  set  aside  for  independent  monitoring
and evaluation.

Article  14

Publicity

The  beneficiaries  of  Community  aid  shall  ensure  that
proper  publicity  is  given  to  the  assistance  granted  under
this  Regulation  to  make  the  public  aware  of  the  role
played  by  the  Community  in  implementing  combined
transport  actions.  They  shall  consult  the  Commission  on
how  this  is  to  be  done.

3.
The  monitoring  and  evaluation  procedures  referred
to  in  this  Article  shall  be  defined  by  the  contracts,  based
on 
accordance  with
adopted 
Article  7(1).

the  decisions 

in 

Article  13

Report

Two  years  after  the  entry  into  force  of  this  Regulation,
the  Commission  shall  submit  a  report  on  the  activities
carried  out  under  it  to  the  European  Parliament,  the
Council,  the  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the
Committee  of  the  Regions.  It  shall  take  the  utmost
account  of  the  comments  made  by  the  other  institutions
and  bodies  on  the  report.

The  report  shall  be  accompanied, 
if  need  be,  by
appropriate proposals for adjusting the orientation of the
actions  provided  for  in  this  Regulation.

The  application  of  this  Regulation  shall  be  evaluated  in
line with Commission evaluation principles. The result of
this  evaluation  shall  be  available  by  1  October  2001.

Article  15

Duration

The  granting  of  financial  assistance  for  combined
transport  under  this  Regulation  shall  be  authorised  from
1  January  1997  to  31  December  2001.

Article  16

Entry  into  force

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

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

Done  at  Brussels,  . . .

For  the  Council

The  President

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STATEMENT  OF  THE  COUNCIL’S  REASONS

I.

INTRODUCTION

On 9 October 1996, the Commission submitted to the Council a proposal for a Regulation,
based  on  Article  75(1)  of  the  EC  Treaty,  concerning  the  granting  of  Community  financial
assistance  for  actions  to  promote  the  combined  transport  of  goods (1).

The  European  Parliament  delivered  its  opinion  on  the  proposal  on  12  June  1997 (2),  while
the Economic and Social Committee delivered its on 29 January 1997 (3) and the Committee
of  the  Regioins  its  on  17  September  1997 (4).

In  the  light  of  the  European  Parliament’s  opinion,  the  Commission  submitted  an  amended
proposal  to  the  Council  on  31  October  1997 (5).

On  17  March  1998,  the  Council  adopted  its  common  position  in  accordance  with
Article  189c  of  the  EC  Treaty.

II. AIM  OF  THE  PROPOSAL

The  amended  Commission  proposal,  which  includes  all  or  part  of  three  European
Parliament amendments, aims to provide for a specific system of Community assistance for
combined  transport,  based  on  a  Regulation  and  designed  to  encourage  the  transfer  of
existing  or  future  traffic  from  roads  to  more  environmentally  friendly  modes  of  transport.

By  means  of  its  proposal  for  a  Regulation,  the  Commission  aims  to  convert  the
experimental scheme, which it launched in June 1992 in the form of the PACT programme
(Pilot actions for combined transport) aimed at promoting combined transport, into a more
structured  arrangement (6).

On  22  December  1992  the  Commission  adopted  Decision  93/45/EEC (7),  as  part  of  the
above  programme,  with  a  view  to  granting  financial  support,  spread  over  a  five-year
period  (1992—1996),  for  the  launching  of  new  combined  transport  services.

As  in  the  case  of  the  PACT  programme,  the  proposal  for  a  Regulation  covers  a  period  of
five  years  (1997—2001).

Like  the  PACT  programme,  the  scope  of  the  proposed  Regulation  covers  primarily
combined  transport  services  on  routes  situated  in  Community  territory,  but  also,  under
certain  conditions,  routes  partly  situated  outside  the  Community.

However,  whereas  the  PACT  programme  took  account  of  maritime  transport  only  when  it
constituted, for a region of the Community, the sole possible means of access to the rest of
the Community, the new programme also includes amongst the eligible categories of action
those  covering  coastal  navigation.

(1) OJ  C  343,  15.11.1996,  p.  4.
(2) OJ  C  200,  30.6.1997,  p.  137.
(3) OJ  C  89,  19.3.1997,  p.  18.
(4) OJ  C  379,  15.12.1997,  p.  47.
(5) OJ  C  364,  2.12.1997,  p.  5.
(6) COM(92)  230  final  of  11  June  1992.
(7) Commission Decision 93/45/EEC of 22 December 1992 concerning the granting of financial support for

pilot  schemes  to  promote  combined  transport  (OJ  L  16,  25.1.1993,  p.  55).

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The scope of the proposal does not include measures for the construction and adaptation of
the  transport  infrastructure  network  and  technological  research  projects.  The  proposal
concerns  the  co-financing  of  short-term  projects  designed  to  improve  the  quality  of  the
service  of  combined  transport.

The  proposal  for  a  Regulation  makes  provision  in  particular  for  the  following:

— for  a  period  of  up  to  three  years:

— the granting of Community financial assistance, limited to 50 % of the total cost, for

feasibility  studies  on  a  given  innovative  scheme,

— the  co-financing,  limited  to  30 %  of  the  total  cost,  of  innovative  measures.

Considerable  flexibility  of  use  is  provided  for,

— the  improvement  of  the  procedures  for  project  submission,  selection,  monitoring  and

evaluation,

— the granting by the Commission of financial assistance in accordance with the procedure

laid  down  in  Article  2(II)(a),  of  the  Council  Decision  on  committee  procedure (1),

— financial  control  of  projects,

— dissemination  of  the  results  of  each  project.

III. ANALYSIS  OF  THE  COUNCIL’S  COMMON  POSITION

The  common  position  adopted  by  the  Council  corresponds  very  largely  to  the  Commission
proposal  but  includes  the  following  changes:

1. Scope  of  combined  transport  projects

(a) Territory  covered  by  the  combined  transport  action

Article  2(3)  stipulates,  as  the  Commission  proposes  in  its  Article  2(2),  that  a
combined  transport  action  may,  under  certain  conditions,  cover  routes  outside
Community  territory.

However,  whereas  the  Commission  makes  the  actions  in  question  subject  to  the
amount  of  traffic  leaving  or  entering  the  Community,  the  common  position  makes
it a condition that an action be carried out in the interests of the common transport
policy  and  that  it  concern  the  territory  of  at  least  one  Member  State.

(b) Applicants  submitting  a  combined  transport  project

The  first  subparagraph  of  Article  4(1)  stipulates  that  any  Member  State  and  any
public  or  private  natural  or  legal  person,  established  within  the  Community,  may
submit  a  combined  transport  project  to  the  Commission.

The third subparagraph of Article 4(1) stipulates that third countries and public or
private  natural  or  legal  persons,  established  outside  the  Community  and  directly
concerned,  may  be  associated,  in  presenting  a  project,  with  the  Community
applicants  referred  to  above.

In  contrast,  Article  5(1)  of  the  amended  Commission  proposal  also  makes
provision  for  the  submission  of  projects  by  non-Community  undertakings.

(c) Beneficiaries  of  financial  assistance  under  the  Regulation

Article  5(3)  indicates  that  the  beneficiaries  of  the  financial  assistance  provided  for
by this Regulation are the Member States and any public or private natural or legal

(1) Council  Decision  of  13  July  1987  laying  down  the  procedures  for  the  exercise  of  implementing  powers

conferred  on  the  Commission  (OJ  L  197,  18.7.1987,  p.  33).

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person,  established  within  the  Community,  in  respect  of  the  expenditure  and  costs
incurred  in  Community  territory.

In  the  case  of  projects  relating  to  routes  situated  partially  outside  Community
territory, Community assistance is limited, under the Regulation, to the Community
part  of  the  route.

The  Council  does  not  intend  to  call  into  question  the  possibility  of  other
Community  instruments  granting  financial  support  to  certain  combined  transport
projects  but,  in  its  view,  the  purpose  of  the  draft  Regulation  is  to  provide  support
only  to  the  part  of  the  route  situated  in  Community  territory.  In  addition,  the
Council stressed the difficulty of making on-the-spot checks in third countries under
the  Regulation.

As  indicated  in  1(b)  above,  Article  5(1)  of  the  amended  Commission  proposal
allows non-Community undertakings to submit projects to the Commission. Since
the  proposal  neither  states  explicitly  who  can  benefit  from  Community  financial
support  nor  does  it  specify  that:

— third  countries  and  natural  or  legal  persons  established  outside  Community

territory  are  excluded  from  such  support,

— support 

is  not  granted  for  expenditure  and  costs 

incurred  on  the

non-Community  part  of  the  route,

it  follows  that  the  Commission  did  not  intend  to  limit  grant  of  the  aid.

2. Change  in  the  type  of  committee  appointed  to  assist  the  Commission  in  granting

financial  support

Whereas  the  Commission  proposal  provides  for  a  type  IIa  committee,  Article  8  of  the
Council’s  common  position  provides  for  a  type  IIIa  committee.

3. Financial  reference  amount

Article 10 of the common position adds a new Article to the Regulation, which specifies
the financial reference amount laid down for the period 1 January 1997 to 31 December
2001,  namely  ECU  35  million.

IV. EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AMENDMENTS

1. European  Parliament  amendments  adopted  by  the  Council

The  Council  followed  the  Commission  proposal  by  adopting  the  following  European
Parliament amendments:

— amendment 2, first part, which is helpful in aiming to specify, in Article 4(1)(b), that
innovative measures introduced under this Regulation shall consist of investments in
specific  operational  measures.

Article 3(a) of the Council’s common position includes specific operational measures
among eligible projects,

— amendment  3,  which  seeks  to  include  in  Article  6(3)(d)  the  possibility  of  granting

assistance  for  the  cost  of  access  to  the  inland  waterway  infrastructure.

In  order  to  avoid  any  discrimination  between  modes  of  transport  other  than  road
transport,  the  Council  added  the  following  to  the  eligible  expenditure  and  costs:

— the  cost  of  hiring,  leasing  or  amortisation  and  of  making  the  adjustments
necessary  to  complete  the  planned  action  successfully,  with  regard  not

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only to inland waterway vessels, subject to compliance with the specific rules on
structural  improvements,  but  also  to  sea  vessels  (Article  5(1)(b)  of  the  common
position),

— the cost of using inland waterways and sea routes, with the exception of harbour

dues  and  transhipment  costs  (Article  5(1)(d),

— amendment  4,  first  part,  seeking  to  replace  Article  6(4)(a)  by  a  provision,  which
includes  among  the  criteria  to  be  taken  into  account  when  assessing  a  project  the
degree  of  harmonisation  with  the  main  routes  of  trans-European  networks  or
trans-European  rail  freight  corridors.

In  Article  6(2)(c)  of  the  common  position,  the  Council  took  into  consideration  the
part  of  the  amendment  which  concerned  the  importance  of  the  project  in  terms  of
the  development  and  use  of  trans-European  networks.

2. European  Parliament  amendments  not  adopted  by  the  Council

— amendment  1  and  amendment  7,  second  part

— amendment 1, seeking to add a new paragraph 4a to Article 3 to make clear that
the eligible measures include those which can be combined with PHARE projects
in  the  CCEE  and  with  projects  financed  by  the  Cohesion  Fund  in  countries
qualifying therefor,

— amendment  7,  second  part,  which  seeks  to  provide  that  the  Commission  shall
ensure,  when  taking  decisions  with  the  aid  of  the  Committee,  that  due
consideration  is  given  to  projects  which  link  up  with  the  CCEE  and  where  there
are  synergies  with  the  PHARE  programme.

Article  5(3)  of  the  Council’s  common  position  lays  down  that  Community
financial  assistance  shall  be  granted  only  for  the  expenditure  and  costs  incurred
in  Community  territory  by  a  project  situated  partially  outside  the  Community.

However,  Article  5(4)  of  the  Council’s  common  position  provides  that,  when
examining  a  project  extending  beyond  Community  territory,  the  Commission
shall consider the possibilities of financing the part of the project situated outside
the  Community  by  means  of  other  Community  budgetary  instruments,  in  order
to  ensure  efficient  use  of  Community  resources.

— amendment  2,  second  part,  which  seeks  to  amend  Article  4(2)  of  the  amended
proposal by increasing Community financial assistance for innovative measures from
30 %  to  50 %  and  reducing  support  for  studies  from  50 %  to  30 %.

However,  in  Article  5(1)  and  (2)  of  the  common  position,  the  Council  felt  it
advisable  to  reduce  the  funding  percentage  for  operations  and  to  increase  that  for
studies in order to prevent Community assistance from having too great an influence
on  the  market  and  distorting  competition,

— amendment  4,  second  part,  which  seeks  to  add  to  Article  6(4)(a)  a  reference  to  the
importance of a project being able to provide an effective link in the area where the
combined  transport  operates.

The  Council  felt  this  amendment  was  irrelevant,

— amendment  9,  seeking  to  add  a  paragraph  1a  to  Article  6  which  provides  that  the
Commission, when selecting projects, shall strike a balance between the regions and
the  Member  States  and  shall  ensure  that  its  decisions  do  not  lead  to  distortions  in
competition  between  the  regions  and  the  Member  States.

The Council felt that selection criteria should not be laid down which might result in
discrimination  between  regions,

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— amendment 5, seeking to amend Article 6(5)(d) (see common position, Article 4(2)),
in order to provide that railway undertakings may take part in a project even though
they  do  not  yet  hold  the  Community  licence  provided  for  by  Directive  95/18/EC (1),
but  have  merely  applied  for  one.

The  Council  thought  it  preferable  not  to  relax  unnecessarily  the  conditions  which
railway  undertakings  were  required  to  fulfil.  It  also  pointed  out  that,  under
Article 15 of Directive 95/18/EC, the licensing authority had to take a decision on an
application  not  more  than  three  months  after  all  the  relevant  information  had  been
submitted.

The  Council  therefore  did  not  adopt  amendment  5  for  reason  of  legal  certainty,

— amendment  6,  seeking  to  add  a  new  paragraph  7a  to  Article  6,  so  that  10 %  of  the
funding  for  the  programme  may  be  reserved,  as  a  priority,  for  projects  directly
implementing  the  results  of  innovative  research.

The  Council  felt  that  certain  types  of  project  should  not  be  given  priority  over
others,

— amendment 7, first part, seeking to provide that the Commission shall be assisted by

a  committee  of  an  advisory  nature.

However,  Article  8  of  the  common  position  provides  that  the  Commission  shall  be
assisted  by  a  type  IIIa  committee,  thus  enabling  Member  States  and,  where
appropriate,  the  Council,  to  intervene  in  the  decision-making  process,

— amendment  8,  seeking  to  add  a  new  paragraph  to  Article  13  stipulating  that,  in  the
context  of  the  eastward  enlargement  of  the  Union,  there  should  be  discussions  in
1999  on  increasing  the  financial  framework  of  the  programme  (a  further  ECU
4  million  per  year).

The Council pointed out that the common position did not grant financial assistance
for  projects  situated  in  third  countries  and  that  the  amendment  was  not  compatible
with  the  Community  financial  perspective.

(1) Council  Directive  95/18/EC  of  19  June  1995  on  the  licensing  of  railway  undertakings  (OJ  L  143,

27.6.1995,  p.  70).