Amended proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 881/92 on access to the market in the carriage of goods by road within the Community to and from the territory of a Member State or passing across the territory of one or more Member States as regards a uniform Driver Attestation.(presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC-Treaty)
Date: 2001-07-05
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: carriage of goods, intra-EU transport, road transport, transport document, transport licence

25.9.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 270 E/231

Amended proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending
Council Regulation (EEC) No 881/92 on access to the market in the carriage of goods by road
within the Community to and from the territory of a Member State or passing across the territory
of one or more Member States as regards a uniform Driver Attestation (1)

(2001/C 270 E/27)

(Text with EEA relevance)

COM(2001) 373 final (cid:151) 2000/0297(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty on 5 July 2001)

(1) OJ C 96 E, 27.3.2001, p. 207.

INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF
THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Unchanged

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 71 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of
Committee,

the Economic and Social

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty,

Whereas:

(1) Pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC) No 881/92 of 26
March 1992 on access to the market in the carriage of
goods by road within the Community to and from the
territory of a Member State or passing across the territory
of one or more Member States (1)
internal Community
liberated from quantitative
transport operations
restrictions amongst other
things by the issue of a
Community authorization as a uniform document.

are

(2) The absence of a similar uniform document certifying the
entitlement of drivers to drive the vehicles engaged in
such international carriage subject to Community auth-
orization has
for
enforcement bodies.

led to serious control difficulties

(3) National enforcement bodies in Member States find it (in
the absence of a uniform Driver attestation) impossible to
ascertain whether a driver of a vehicle engaged in inter-
national carriage subject
to Community authorization,
which has been issued in another Member State, is auth-
orised to do so according to the national legislation of the
latter Member State.

___________
(1) OJ L 95, 9.4.1992, p. 1; Regulation amended by the Act of

Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

(4) Given these control difficulties the employment status of
drivers is normally only checked in the Member States
where the employing haulier is established.

(5) The impossibility to check the employment status of
drivers outside the Member State of establishment has
led to a market situation where drivers are engaged
irregularly and solely for international carriage outside
the haulier’s Member State of establishment with an
legislation of the Member
intent to breach the national
State of
issued the haulier’s
Community authorization.

establishment having

(6) Where such irregularly used drivers are engaged they are
often working under detrimental conditions and salaries
leading to serious road safety concerns.

(7) Such a systematic breach of national legislation has led to
competition between hauliers
serious distortion of
engaged in such practices and those that are still using
only drivers lawfully employed.

(8) The authorised bodies of Member States find it impossible
those irregularly

the working conditions of

to control
used drivers.

(9) Only an uniform document will give Member States the
possibility to ascertain that drivers are lawfully engaged or
put at
the haulier responsible for the
transport operation.

the disposal of

(10) This regulation leaves the legislation and provisions of
Member
governing
the
movement, residence and access to an activity as an
employed person unaffected.

Community

States

and

(11) In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and
proportionality as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty, the
objectives of the proposed regulation, namely to introduce
a single uniform Driver Attestation, cannot be sufficiently
achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by
the this regulation, be
reason of scale and effects of
regulation
better achieved by the Community. This
confines itself
to
achieve those objectives and does not go beyond what
is necessary for that purpose.

to the minimum required in order

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

(12) Member States need time to have the new driver attes-
tation printed and distributed and this Regulation shall
therefore apply only after sufficient time has been given
to Member States to adopt the measures necessary for its
implementation.

(12) Member States need time to have the new driver attes-
tation printed and distributed and this Regulation shall
therefore apply only after sufficient time has been given
to Member States to adopt the measures necessary for its
implementation. During the
its
application the scope of
this Regulation should be
limited to drivers who are nationals of non-member
countries in order to ease the administrative burden of
the introduction of the Driver Attestation. Subsequently
the scope of application of
this Regulation shall be
extended to all drivers regardless of their nationality.

two years of

first

(13) It should be expressly confirmed that Member States have
the possibility to require that a vehicle for which they
issue a certified copy of the Community authorisation is
registered in their territory.

Unchanged

(14) Regulation (EEC) No 881/92 should be

amended

accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 881/92 is amended as follows:

1.

in Article 2 the following indent is added:

(cid:145)(cid:151) (cid:147)driver(cid:148): shall mean the person who drives a vehicle, or
who is carried in that vehicle in order to be available
for driving if necessary;(cid:146)

2. Article 3 is amended as follows:

(a) Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

(cid:145)1.
International carriage shall be carried out subject
to Community authorization in conjunction with a
Driver attestation unless the driver and the holder of
the Community authorization are identical.(cid:146)

(b) The following paragraph 3 is added:

(cid:145)3.
Driver attestations shall be issued by a Member
State, in accordance with Article 6, to any haulier who:

(cid:151) is the holder of a Community authorization

(cid:151) in that Member State lawfully employs drivers or
in
and

uses drivers
accordance with
relevant
provisions of that Member State.(cid:146)

lawfully put
the

at his disposal

legislation

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

3. Article 4 is replaced by the following:

(cid:145)Article 4

1.
The Community authorization referred to in Article 3
shall replace the document issued by the competent auth-
orities of the Member State of establishment, where such a
document exists, certifying that the haulier has been granted
access to the market in the international carriage of goods
by road.

For carriage falling within the scope of this Regulation it
shall also replace both the Community authorizations and
the bilateral authorizations exchanged between Member
States which are necessary until
this Regulation comes
into force.

2.
The Driver attestation referred to in Article 3 shall
certify that the driver of a vehicle engaged in international
carriage under the cover of a Community authorization is
legally entitled, in accordance with the relevant provisions
and rules of the Member State of establishment, to drive
that vehicle in that Member State.(cid:146)

4. Article 5 is amended as follows:

(a) The following paragraph 5 is added:

The Community authorization shall be issued for

(cid:145)5.
a renewable period of five years.(cid:146)

5. Article 6 is replaced by the following:

(cid:145)Article 6

The Driver attestation referred to in Article 3 shall be
1.
issued by the competent authorities of the Member State of
establishment of the haulage undertaking.

issue the holder of

The Member States shall

2.
the
Community authorization, on request, with a Driver attes-
tation for each driver lawfully employed or lawfully put at
the disposal of the holder of the Community authorization
in accordance with the relevant national provisions and
attestation
that Member State. Each Driver
rules of
certifies that the driver named therein is entitled in the
issuing Member State to drive a vehicle on behalf of the
holder of the Community authorization to whom the Driver
attestation is issued.

3.
The Driver attestation shall correspond to the model
set out in Annex III, which also lays down the conditions
governing its use. Member States shall take all necessary
steps to avoid any risk of forgery of Driver attestations.

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

4.
The Driver attestation shall belong to the haulier who
puts it at the disposal of the driver described therein when
this driver drives a vehicle engaged in international carriage
using a Community authorization issued to that haulier. A
certified copy of the Driver attestation shall be kept at the
the haulier. The Driver attestation must be
premises of
produced whenever required by an authorized inspecting
officer.

5.
The Driver attestation shall be issued for a period to
be determined by the issuing Member State, with a
maximum validity of
five years. The Driver attestation
shall only be valid as long as the conditions under which
it was issued are satisfied. Member States shall take appro-
these attestations are
priate measures
returned immediately by the haulier to the issuing auth-
orities if these conditions are no longer met.(cid:146)

to ensure that

6. Article 7 is replaced by the following:

(cid:145)Article 7

1. Whenever an application for a Community auth-
orization is lodged, not more than five years after issue
and subsequently at least every five years, the competent
authorities of
the Member State of establishment shall
verify whether the haulier satisfies or still satisfies the
conditions laid down in Article 3(2).

The competent authorities of

2.
the Member State of
establishment shall verify regularly whether the conditions
referred to in Article 3(3) under which a Driver attestation
has been issued are still satisfied.(cid:146)

7. Article 8 is replaced by the following:

(cid:145)Article 8

1.
If the conditions laid down in Article 3(2), respectively
referred to in Article 3(3) are not satisfied, the competent
authorities of the Member State of establishment shall reject
an application for the issue or renewal of a Community
authorization, respectively a Driver attestation, by means
of a reasoned decision.

The

competent

2.
shall withdraw a
authorities
Community authorization, respectively a Driver attestation
where the holder:

(cid:151) no longer satisfies the conditions laid down in Article

3(2), respectively referred to in Article 3(3),

(cid:151) has supplied incorrect information in relation to the
data required for the issue of a Community auth-
orization, respectively a Driver attestation.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

25.9.2001

INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

of

carriage

regulations,

infringements

In the event of serious infringements or repeated
3.
minor
the
competent authorities of the Member State of establishment
of the haulier who has committed such infringements may
inter alia temporarily or partially suspend the certified true
copies of the Community authorization and may suspend
Driver attestations. These sanctions shall be determined
the infringement
having regard to the seriousness of
committed by the holder of the Community authorization
and having regard to the total number of certified copies
that he holds in respect of international traffic.

4.
In the event of serious infringements or repeated
minor infringements regarding any misuse whatsoever of
Driver
the
the haulier who has
Member State of establishment of
committed such infringements
appropriate
sanctions, for instance:

authorities of

attestations,

competent

shall

take

the

(cid:151) suspend the issue of Driver attestations,

(cid:151) withdraw Driver attestations,

(cid:151) make

the

to
issue of Driver attestations
additional conditions in order to prevent any misuse,

subject

(cid:151) temporarily or partially suspend the certified true

copies of the Community authorization.

These sanctions shall be determined having regard to the
seriousness of the infringement committed by the holder of
the Community authorization.(cid:146)

8. Article 9 is replaced by the following:

(cid:145)Article 9

1.
The Member States shall guarantee that the applicant
or the holder of a Community authorization is able to
appeal against any decision by the competent authorities
of
to refuse or
the Member State of
withdraw an authorization.

establishment

The Member States shall guarantee that the holder of a
2.
Community authorization is able to appeal against any
decision by the competent authorities of
the Member
State of establishment to refuse or withdraw a Driver attes-
tation or to make the issue of Driver attestations subject to
additional conditions.(cid:146)

9. The text appearing in Annex to this Regulation shall be

added as Annex III.

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

Article 2

AMENDED PROPOSAL

The Member States shall communicate to the Commission the
measures they take to implement this Regulation.

Article 3

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

It shall apply from after its entry into force

It shall apply from six months after its entry into force to
nationals of non-member countries.

It shall apply from thirty months after its entry into force to all
drivers regardless of their nationality.

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

Unchanged

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

ANNEX

(cid:145)ANNEX III

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

(cid:146)

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AMENDED PROPOSAL

ANNEX

(cid:145)ANNEX III

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AMENDED PROPOSAL

(cid:146)