WRITTEN QUESTION E-0956/02 by Gilles Savary (PSE) to the Commission. Linking infrastructure funding.
Date: 2002-04-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: competence of the Member States, motorway, private investment, service concession, toll

5.12.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 301 E/73

(2002/C 301 E/078)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0950/02

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 April 2002)

Subject: Failure of Greece to comply with EU legislation concerning the internal market

Will the Commission say in how many instances Greece may be presumed to be in breach of Community
legislation concerning the internal market, and in relation to which matters?

In how many instances (if any) is the Commission preparing to bring Greece before the Court of Justice,
and in relation to which matters?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(11 June 2002)

In the context of activities to monitor the application of Community law relating to the internal market,
70 cases (complaints, own initiative cases or failure to communicate national implementing measures) are
currently in motion against Greece. They include several infringement proceedings, two of which have
reached the stage of letters of formal notice for failure to notify national measures implementing directives,
nine are at the reasoned opinion stage and six have been referred to the Court of Justice. A list of these 17
infringement proceedings is being sent direct to the Honourable Member and Parliament’s Secretariat.

The Honourable Member is also referred to the Commission’s 18th Annual Report on monitoring the
application of Community law (2000) (1). And the Commission publishes its recent infringement decisions
and regularly updated statistics on its website http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/droit_com/
index_fr.htm#infractions.

(1) COM(2001) 309 final.

(2002/C 301 E/079)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0956/02

by Gilles Savary (PSE) to the Commission

(9 April 2002)

Subject: Linking infrastructure funding

As Community law and Court of Justice jurisprudence currently stand, is it legal to partially finance the
building of a motorway granted to a private operator by the running surplus generated by tolls on another
motorway granted to the same or another operator?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(29 May 2002)

Current Community legislation (1) and European Court’s jurisprudence (2) requires that motorway toll rates
on heavy goods vehicles (above 12 tonnes total weight) have to be related to the infrastructure costs of the
relevant motorway.

The levels of motorway tolls on other types of vehicles (cars, coaches, lighter commercial vehicles) are not,
however, covered by Community legislation. This means that there may be cases when the total revenue
from motorway tolls (on all vehicles) could exceed total costs. The entity (government or private
concessionnaire) that has right on the surplus revenue may of course use it in any way they see fit (e.g. to
finance any type of investment).

(1) Directive 1999/62/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 1999 on the charging of heavy goods

vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures, OJ L 187, 20.7.1999.

(2) Case C-205/98 Commission vs Austria.