Regulation (EC) No 484/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 1 March 2002 amending Council Regulations (EEC) No 881/92 and (EEC) No 3118/93 for the purposes of establishing a driver attestation
Date: 2002-03-01
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: drivers, international road transport, transport document, transport licence

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(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

REGULATION (EC) No 484/2002 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 1 March 2002

amending Council Regulations (EEC) No 881/92 and (EEC) No 3118/93 for the purposes of
establishing a driver attestation

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),

(4)

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

Having consulted the Committee of the Regions,

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

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 881/92 (4) the inter-
national carriage of goods by road is made conditional
i.e. a
on possession of a Community authorisation,
uniform document.

The absence of a similar uniform document certifying
the entitlement of drivers to drive the vehicles engaged
in such carriage subject to Community authorisation,
namely the international carriage covered by Regulation
(EEC) No 881/92 and the cabotage as defined and
in Regulation (EEC) No 3118/93 (5)
provided for
prevents Member States from checking whether drivers
from non-member countries are lawfully employed or
are lawfully at the disposal of the haulier responsible for
the transport operation.

(3)

It is therefore appropriate to establish a driver attesta-
tion, to limit the scope of this Regulation to drivers who
are nationals of non-member countries and to decide

(1) OJ C 96 E, 27.3.2001, p. 207.
(2) OJ C 193, 10.7.2001, p. 28.
(3) Opinion of

the European Parliament of 16 May 2001 (not yet
published in the Official Journal), Council Common Position of 23
October 2001 (OJ C 9, 11.1.2002, p. 17) and Decision of
the
European Parliament of 17 January 2002.

(4) Council Regulation (EEC) No 881/92 of 26 March 1992 on access
to the market in the carriage of goods by road within the Commu-
nity to or from the territory of a Member State or passing across
the territory of one or more Member States (OJ L 95, 9.4.1992, p.
1). Regulation as amended by the 1994 Act of Accession.

(5) Council Regulation (EEC) No 3118/93 of 25 October 1993 laying
down the conditions under which non-resident carriers may operate
national road haulage services within a Member State (OJ L 279,
12.11.1993, p. 1).

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

subsequently, on the basis of an assessment by the
Commission, whether or not the Regulation should be
extended.

This Regulation leaves the legislation and statutory
provisions of Member States and the Community
governing movement, residence and access to an activity
as an employed person unaffected.

The fact that it is impossible to check whether drivers
outside the Member State of establishment of the haulier
are employed or supplied lawfully has led to a market
situation where drivers from non-member countries are
sometimes engaged unlawfully and solely for inter-
national carriage outside the haulier's Member State of
establishment with an intent to breach the national legis-
lation of the Member State of establishment that issued
the haulier's Community authorisation.

Such unlawfully employed drivers often work in precar-
ious conditions and are underpaid, which jeopardises
road safety.

Such a systematic breach of national legislation has led
to serious distortion of competition between hauliers
engaged in such practices and those resorting solely to
lawfully employed drivers.

The authorised bodies find it impossible to control the
working conditions of
those unlawfully employed
drivers.

A driver attestation cannot be adequately introduced by
the Member States and can therefore be better intro-
duced at Community level, in accordance with the prin-
ciple of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty.
In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set
out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond
what is necessary for that purpose.

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(10) Member States need time to have the new driver attesta-
tion 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.

(11)

(12)

It should be expressly confirmed that Member States
may require vehicles for which they issue a certified true
copy of the Community authorisation to be registered in
their territory.

Regulation (EEC) No 881/92 should be amended accord-
ingly; Regulation (EEC) No 3118/93 should also be
amended to the effect that drivers who are nationals of
non-member countries should hold a driver attestation,

The driver attestation referred to in Article 3 shall
‘2.
certify that in the context of transport by road covered by
Community authorisation, a driver who is a national of a
non-member country carrying out
is
employed in the haulier's Member State of establishment
in accordance with the laws, regulations or administrative
provisions and, as appropriate, the collective agreements,
in accordance with the rules applicable in that Member
State, on the conditions of employment and of vocational
training of drivers to carry out road transport operations
in that State.’;

such transport

4. the following paragraph shall be added to Article 5:

A Community authorisation shall be issued for a

‘5.
renewable period of five years.’;

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

5. Article 6 shall be replaced by the following:

Article 1

‘Article 6

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

1.

in Article 2 the following indent shall be added:

‘— “driver” shall mean the person who drives a vehicle, or
who is carried in that vehicle in order to be available
for driving if necessary;’;

2. Article 3 shall be amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the following:

International carriage shall be carried out subject
‘1.
to Community authorisation in conjunction with a
driver attestation if the driver is a national of a non-
member country.’;

(b) the following paragraph shall be added:

‘3.
A driver attestation shall be issued by a Member
State, in accordance with Article 6, to any haulier who:

— is the holder of a Community authorisation,

— in that Member State lawfully employs drivers who
are nationals of non-member countries or lawfully
uses drivers who are nationals of non-member
countries put at his disposal in accordance with the
conditions of
employment and of vocational
training laid down in that same Member State:

— by laws, regulations or administrative provi-

sions, and, as appropriate,

— by collective agreements,

in accordance with

the rules applicable in that Member State.’;

3.

in Article 4 the present text shall become paragraph 1 and
the following paragraph shall be added:

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

the holder of

the request of

A driver attestation shall be issued by the Member
2.
State at
the Community
authorisation for each driver who is a national of a non-
member country whom he lawfully employs or who is
lawfully put at his disposal in accordance with the laws,
regulations or administrative provisions and, as appro-
priate, the collective agreements, in accordance with the
rules applicable in that Member State, on the conditions of
employment and of vocational training of drivers applic-
able in that same Member State. Each driver attestation
shall certify that the driver named therein is employed in
accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 4.

The driver attestation shall conform to the model set
3.
out in Annex III, which also lays down the conditions
governing its use. Member States shall take all steps neces-
sary to prevent the forgery of driver attestations. They
shall

inform the Commission thereof.

4.
The driver attestation shall belong to the haulier,
who puts it at the disposal of the driver designated therein
when that driver drives a vehicle using a Community
authorisation issued to that haulier. A certified true copy
of
the haulier's
premises. The driver attestation shall be produced when-
ever required by an authorised inspecting officer.

the driver attestation shall be kept at

A driver attestation shall be issued for a period to be
5.
determined by the issuing Member State, subject
to a
maximum validity of five years. The driver attestation shall
be valid only as long as the conditions under which it was

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issued are satisfied. Member States shall take appropriate
measures to ensure that if those conditions are no longer
met the haulier returns the attestation immediately to the
issuing authorities.’;

6.

in Article 7 the present text shall become paragraph 1 and
the following paragraph shall be added:

The competent authorities of the Member State of
‘2.
establishment shall regularly verify, by carrying out checks
each year, covering at least 20 % of the valid attestations
issued in that Member State, whether
the conditions
referred to in Article 3(3) under which a driver attestation
has been issued are still satisfied.’;

7. Article 8 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 8

1.
If the conditions laid down in Article 3(2) or those
referred to in Article 3(3) are not satisfied, the competent
authorities of the Member State of establishment shall
reject an application for
renewal of a
Community authorisation or of a driver attestation, by
means of a decision which states the reasons therefor.

the issue or

The

competent

2.
shall withdraw a
authorities
Community authorisation or a driver attestation where the
holder:

— no longer satisfies the conditions laid down in Article

3(2) or those referred to in Article 3(3), or

— has supplied incorrect information in relation to the
data required for the issue of a Community author-
isation or of a driver attestation.

of

carriage

regulations,

infringements

3.
In the event of serious infringements or repeated
the
minor
competent authorities of the Member State of establish-
ment of the haulier who has committed such infringe-
ments may, inter alia, temporarily or partially withdraw the
certified true copies of the Community authorisation and
may withdraw driver attestations. These sanctions shall be
determined having regard to the seriousness of
the
infringement committed by the holder of the Community
authorisation and having regard to the total number of
certified true copies of that authorisation 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 attestations,
the
the haulier who
Member State of establishment of
committed such infringements shall
impose appropriate
sanctions, such as:

the competent authorities of

— suspension of the issue of driver attestations,

— withdrawal of driver attestations,

— temporary or partial withdrawal of the certified true

copies of the Community authorisation.

These sanctions shall be determined having regard to the
seriousness of the infringement committed by the holder
of the Community authorisation.’;

8.

in Article 9 the present text shall become paragraph 1 and
the following paragraph shall be added:

‘2.
The Member States shall guarantee that the holder of
a Community authorisation can appeal against any
decision by the competent authorities of the Member State
of establishment to refuse or withdraw a driver attestation
or to make the issue of driver attestations subject to addi-
tional conditions.’;

9.

in Article 11(3) ‘in Article 8(3)’ shall be replaced by ‘in
Article 8(3) and (4)’;

10. the following Article shall be inserted:

‘Article 11a

The Commission shall examine the consequences of
restricting the obligation to hold a driver attestation to
drivers who are nationals of non-member countries and
shall, should there be sufficient justification for doing so,
submit a proposal for the amendment of this Regulation.’;

11. Annex III, as set out in the Annex to this Regulation, shall

be added.

Article 2

Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 3118/93 shall be amended as
follows:

1. paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the following:

‘1.
Any road haulage carrier for hire or reward who is a
holder of the Community authorisation provided for in
Regulation (EEC) No 881/92 and whose driver, if he is a
national of a non-member country, holds a driver attesta-
tion in accordance with the conditions laid down in the said
Regulation, shall be entitled, under the conditions laid down
in this Regulation, to operate on a temporary basis national
road haulage services for hire or reward in another Member
State, hereinafter referred to respectively as “cabotage” and
as the “host Member State”, without having a registered
office or other establishment therein.’;

2. the following subparagraph shall be added to paragraph 2:

‘If the driver is a national of a non-member country, he
must hold a driver attestation in accordance with the condi-
tions laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 881/92.’

Article 3

— making the issue of driver attestations subject to addi-

tional conditions in order to prevent misuse,

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

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

It shall apply from 19 March 2003.

Article 4

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

Done at Brussels, 1 March 2002.

For the European Parliament

The President

P. COX

For the Council

The President

R. DE MIGUEL

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ANNEX

‘ANNEX III

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