Regulation (EC) No 2888/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the distribution of permits for heavy goods vehicles travelling in Switzerland
Date: 2000-12-18
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: Switzerland, axle tax, carriage of goods, large vehicle, road transport, transport document

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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REGULATION (EC) No 2888/2000 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the distribution of permits for heavy goods vehicles travelling in Switzerland

of 18 December 2000

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community and,

in particular, Article 71 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

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

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article
251 of the Treaty (3),

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

In order to ensure the optimal use of permits, all unallo-
cated permits should be returned to the Commission for
redistribution.

The allocation of permits should be based on criteria
that take full account of existing freight transport flows
and genuine transport needs across the Alpine region.

It may prove necessary to revise the allocation of
permits on the basis of genuine traffic flows, while
taking account of
the method
described in Annex III. In carrying out such revision, the
Commission should be assisted by a Committee.

items of

relevant

The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Regulation should be adopted in accordance with
Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying
down the procedures for the exercise of implementing
powers conferred on the Commission (4),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

The Swiss Federal Council decided, on 1 November
2000, to allow heavy goods vehicles of up to 34 tonnes
to travel on its territory from 1 January 2001 and to
open up the quotas, from the same date, for vehicles the
actual total
laden weight of which is more than 34
tonnes but not more than 40 tonnes and for empty and
light goods vehicles. That decision accompanied the
introduction of the RPLP (heavy traffic levy) on the
Swiss network.

That decision is an autonomous measure taken by the
it cannot be
Swiss Confederation and, as a result,
deemed to be a provisional application of the Agree-
ment between the European Community and the Swiss
Confederation on the carriage of goods and passengers
by rail and road signed on 21 June 1999. The conclu-
sion of that Agreement by the Community calls for the
simultaneous entry into force of the seven agreements
signed on the same date with the Swiss Confederation.

is necessary to establish on a lasting basis rules
It
governing the distribution and management of
the
permits made available to the Community as from 1
January 2001.

For practical and organisational reasons, the Commis-
sion should be entrusted with the task of distributing the
permits to Member States.

To that end, an allocation method should be established.
Thereafter, Member States should share out the permits
allocated to them among transport undertakings with
reference to objective criteria.

(1) OJ C 114, 27.4.1999, p. 4 and OJ C 248 E, 29.8.2000, p. 108.
(2) OJ C 329, 17.11.1999, p. 1.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 15 December 1999 (OJ C
296, 18.10.2000, p. 108), Council Common Position of 8
December 2000 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Deci-
sion of the European Parliament of 14 December 2000 (not yet
published in the Official Journal).

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

This Regulation lays down the rules for the distribution of
permits allocated to the Community by Switzerland allowing
heavy goods vehicles of up to 34 tonnes to travel on its
territory as from 1 January 2001, opening up, from the same
date, the quotas for vehicles the actual total laden weight of
which is more than 34 tonnes but not more than 40 tonnes
and for empty and light goods vehicles and introducing the
RPLP (heavy traffic levy) on the Swiss network.

Article 2

For the purposes of this Regulation:

1.

‘full-weight’ permit shall mean a permit to travel on Swiss
territory granted for goods vehicles the actual total laden
weight of which is more than 34 tonnes but not more than
40 tonnes;

2.

‘empty’ permit shall mean a permit
to travel on Swiss
territory granted for goods vehicles that are empty or are
transporting light loads.

Article 3

The Commission shall allocate permits in accordance

1.
with paragraphs 2, 3 and 4.

The ‘full-weight’ permits shall be distributed in accord-

2.
ance with Annex I.

(4) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

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The ‘empty’ permits shall be distributed in accordance

3.
with Annex II.

The permits for each year shall be distributed before 15

4.
August of the preceding year.

Article 4

Member States shall distribute permits amongst the undertak-
ings established in their territory according to objective and
non-discriminatory criteria.

Article 5

Before 15 September each year, Member States shall transfer to
the Commission those permits which have not been allocated
to undertakings.

In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 7, the
Commission shall allocate those permits to one or more
Member States in such a way as to ensure an optimal use
thereof.

bilateral traffic operations and transit traffic operations. Should
the recalculation result in an allocation for any Member State
which differs substantially from that set out in Annexes I and
II, any amendments necessary to adapt Annexes I and II shall
be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 7.

Article 7

1.

The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.

2. Where reference is made to this Article, Articles 5 and 7
of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the
provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at three months.

3.

The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 6

Article 8

When the Commission makes its proposal for adjustment, it
shall take as a basis actual traffic flows during 2001, while
seeing to it that equal account is taken of criteria relating to

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publica-
tion 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, 18 December 2000.

For the European Parliament

The President

N. FONTAINE

For the Council

The President

D. VOYNET

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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ANNEX I

Scale for allocating ‘full-weight’ permits

The Commission shall allocate ‘full-weight’ permits to the Member States according to the following scale:

Member State

Belgium

Denmark

Germany

Greece

Spain

France

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Austria

Portugal

Finland

Sweden

United Kingdom

Total:

%

6,9

1,4

25

0,9

2

15

0,85

24

1,45

8,9

8

0,7

0,8

0,75

3,35

100 %

The total number of permits to be allocated will amount to 300 000 for 2001 and 2002 and to 400 000 for 2003 and
2004.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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ANNEX II

Scale for allocating ‘empty’ permits

The Commission shall allocate ‘empty permits’ to the Member States according to the following scale:

Number of ‘empty’ permits available annually

Member State

2001-2004

Belgium

Denmark

Germany

Greece

Spain

France

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Austria

Portugal

Finland

Sweden

United Kingdom

Total

14 067

1 310

50 612

5 285

1 500

16 126

220

93 012

3 130

21 517

2 183

192

867

381

9 598

220 000

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ANNEX III

Methodology for determining the allocation of permits

Allocation of the permits determined in Annexes I and II will take place on the basis of the following methodology:

‘ F u l l - w e i g h t ’ p e r m i t s

Initially, each Member State will receive 1 500 permits.

Thereafter, the remaining permits will be allocated in equal parts on the basis of criteria relating to bilateral traffic
operations and transit traffic operations.

This result will be adjusted slightly to take account of the specific geographical situation of certain Member States.

Bilateral traffic

The allocation will take place on the basis of the shares of each Member State in bilateral transport to and from
Switzerland.

Transit traffic

The allocation will take place on the basis of the shares of heavy vehicles registered in the Member State concerned in the
total number of diverted kilometres in north-south and south-north trans-Alpine road traffic as a result of the current
weight restrictions in Switzerland.

Diverted mileage will be calculated as the difference between the actual distance of trans-Alpine journeys and the shortest
distance through Switzerland. The mileages through Switzerland will be adjusted by the addition of 60 kilometres to take
into account border delays and road traffic conditions.

For those Member States where the abovementioned method of calculation leads to an amount of less than 200, the
allocation will be established at a level of 200 permits.

‘ E m p t y ’ p e r m i t s

‘Empty’ permits will be allocated on the basis of the shares of vehicles registered in the Member States in the transit traffic
through Switzerland of vehicles with a laden weight between 7,5 and 28 tonnes.