Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:the Communication from the Commission Developing the trans-European transport network: Innovative funding solutions Interoperability of electronic toll-collection systems, andthe Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the widespread introduction and interoperability of electronic road-toll systems in the Community
Date: 2003-11-20
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU financing, road transport, toll, trans-European network, transport infrastructure, transport network

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Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:

— the ‘Communication from the Commission Developing the trans-European transport
network: Innovative funding solutions Interoperability of electronic toll-collection systems’,
and

— the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the widespread
introduction and interoperability of electronic road-toll systems in the Community’

(2004/C 73/11)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Communication from the Commission Developing the trans-European transport
network: Innovative funding solutions; Interoperability of electronic toll-collection systems and the
Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the widespread introduction
and interoperability of electronic road toll systems in the Community (COM(2003) 132 final — 2003/
0081 (COD));

having regard to the decision of the Council of 19 May 2003 to consult it on this subject, under Article 75
and the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

having regard to the conclusions of the seminar organised by the Commission for Territorial Cohesion
on The Committee of the Regions and European Transport Policy up to 2010: What are the obligations
of the public services and how should transport in Europe be organised? The role of the various parties
involved, on 14 March, in Lyon, France;

having regard to the decision of its president of 5 May 2003 to instruct its Commission for Territorial
Cohesion Policy to draw up an opinion on this subject;

having regard to the draft opinion (CdR 185/2003 rev.) adopted on 12 September 2003 by the
Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy) (rapporteur: Mr Robert Neill, Member of the London
Assembly (UK, EPP);

whereas:

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

The development of the trans-European networks (TENs) has not been adequate, resulting in a lack
of investment in major infrastructure projects and lack of interoperability between transport modes
and between Member States.

The Community needs to establish new ways of funding and promoting the development of TENs
through an increase in public private partnerships and the introduction of a new framework to
encourage simplified involvement of the private sector in infrastructure projects. These must be
designed to include full and systematic participation of local and regional authorities and should not
be undertaken solely between the Member State and EU level.

The wide-scale adoption of infrastructure charging by local and regional authorities requires that
measures should be introduced to ensure a greater degree of interoperability.

Existing and future road tolls are for the main part operated by local and regional authorities, who
should retain management over the level and details of charging, and the technology implemented,
albeit with the overall aim of contributing to the interoperability of road tolls throughout the
Community.

The recommendations of the Committee of the Regions will be completed in the light of the new
proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 1999/
62/EC (Eurovignette) on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures,
adopted by the European Commission on 23 July 2003,

adopted the following opinion unanimously at its 52nd plenary session, held on 19 and 20 November
2003 (meeting of 20 November).

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THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS’ VIEWS

The Committee of the Regions

considers that the Commission should undertake simi-
1.2.
lar analysis of the impacts that private sector maintenance
contracts could have on the overall safety and reliability of
transport networks;

the integration of

considers that
these two fundamental
policies into one Communication is inappropriate. The merg-
ing of a proposal for a directive on the interoperability of road
tolls with a discussion on methods if financing does not seem
wholly appropriate;

calls into question this integration on the grounds that whilst
these two policies do have certain linkages,
their direct
integration cannot be easily explained as they deal with
separate and distinct issues. Whilst the Communication on
trans-European networks does have links to road tolling and
the principle of interoperability such direct integration can
appear confusing as the second element, the proposal for a
directive on electronic road toll,
is not confined to roads
within the TENs, but will apply to all roads;

asks the Commission to undertake a technical dialogue
between Commission desk officers and genuine experts/
practitioners from local government, nominated by local
government itself, to participate in exchanges during policy
formulation and the drafting phase of transport policy.

NEW WAYS OF PROMOTING INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOP-
MENT

The Committee of the Regions

welcomes the Commission’s attempts to address the lack of
expenditure on TENs projects to meet
the Community’s
objectives of reducing bottlenecks and improving interoperabi-
lity and cohesion;

is of the view that the TENs projects need vital injections of
funding from both the public, and, where appropriate, the
private sector. But believes that this must not come at the
expense of local demand management of transport.

1. Ensuring that safety is not compromised

1.1.
urges the Commission to undertake detailed analysis
of the impacts of public sector involvement in major infrastruc-
ture projects, in particular the impact on safety of having
potentially dispersed management of infrastructure;

1.3.
calls on the Commission to investigate how satellite
technology can be adopted to inform road users of most
appropriate diversionary routes. In cases of emergency or
severe congestion traffic is often diverted to trunk or minor
roads unable to cope with traffic volumes, resulting in
displacement of congestion and concerns for drivers and
pedestrians using those routes.

2. Establishing the right framework for public private

partnerships in TENs

2.1.
advocates that any framework for public private part-
nerships (PPPs) must be designed to ensure that competition
principles are upheld throughout. The Committee supports
the aim of introducing more private sector investment, but
urges the Commission to ensure that efforts are made to
prevent private sector companies from adopting monopolistic
tendencies in the design of contracts and projects;

2.2.
expresses support for the introduction of the European
Company statute, but warns that the activities of private sector
companies operating public private partnerships must be
closely monitored in order to prevent early on any infraction
of competition rules;

2.3.
calls for emerging EU-wide sustainable construction
policies to be incorporated into any framework for public
private partnership contracts;

2.4.
calls on the Commission to express clear policy
statements on the implications of the current arrangements
for different tax regimes for those private sector companies
involved in public private partnerships. The Committee recog-
nises that taxation is an issue dealt with under unanimity
procedures, but nevertheless expresses concern that this could
result
in companies interested in conducting PPPs being
diverted to one or two Member States with the most beneficial
tax regime. This could be at the cost of the development of
public private partnerships throughout the entire TENs net-
work as local and regional authorities may suffer from lack of
access to private sector companies;

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recognises that the reticence of private investors to
2.5.
expose themselves to risk in participating in public transport
projects can be a contributory factor in encouraging public
private partnerships. Greater means of interaction between the
private and public sector should be sought, and where
necessary, facilitated by the European Commission;

2.6.
recognises that the public sector also has legitimate
concerns about the exposure to risk that can be associated
with a joint public/private project and the degree of loss of
complete control over large-scale infrastructure projects that
PPPs can sometimes result in;

2.7.
calls on the Commission to publish without delay its
green paper on public private partnerships and to ensure that
models of financing using the build-operate-transfer model to
encourage full life-cycle costing mechanisms from the start of
the project. This will be valuable in ensuring that new political
administrations within local and regional authorities will have
clear medium-term projections of maintenance costs (which
can often be more substantial than initial construction costs).

3. An under-funded network

3.1.
calls on the Commission to provide, as soon as
possible, an update on the implications of the proposed
increase in Community funding to TENs projects for Structural
Funds’ programmes and recommendations as to how this
should be implemented according to regional priorities. This
should include outlining the implications for the next gener-
ation of Structural Funds programmes post 2006.

IMPROVING THE INTEROPERABILITY OF ELECTRONIC
ROAD-TOLL SYSTEMS

4. The Committee of the Regions

Comments on policy objectives

4.1.
notes that many local and regional authorities have, or
are, seeking to introduce road charging policies, that operate
both distance and time-based schemes including tolls and
vignettes (1) respectively;

expresses its support for measures to influence road
4.2.
use, and to seek to address congestion and the costs of
extensive road use;

considers the publication of the Commission’s pro-
4.3.
posal
issues
for a Directive to address the technological
associated with the introduction of road charging to be timely.
Also considers that this Directive must be considered in
conjunction with the Commission’s latest publication on
infrastructure charging, the revision of the eurovignette (2)
directive;

asks the Commission to clarify whether Article 3.1
4.4.
applies to all charging schemes, including congestion charging.
The Committee considers that congestion charging is different
from tolls and usage fees, with the central aim of managing
demand in urban areas rather than funding infrastructure
provision, and this difference should be clearly laid out in the
directive. The principle of proportionality should apply: local
congestion charging schemes should be subject
to more
generous implementation conditions given that some are
small-scale and have a limited impact on trans-European heavy
goods vehicles traffic. Clarification on this should be provided
by the Commission without delay to allow local and regional
authorities to conduct and plan congestion charging schemes
with certainty;

suggests that

4.5.
the Commission consider the impli-
cations of differentiated taxation rates on charging policies. It
also considers that the Commission should review policies for
differentiated taxation to promote cleaner fuels to ensure that
road charging schemes can contribute to the movements
towards a low carbon European economy. The Committee
notes that the European Commission has expressed its inten-
tion to amend the directive to exempt local and regional
charging schemes that do not use electronic tolling equipment
from the directive;

4.6.
questions whether the existing Community policies in
this field are adequate enough to accelerate the use of cleaner
technologies and fuels. Considers that the Commission should
consider more integration of policies in this field and on
infrastructure charging to ensure that both policies contribute
directly towards the goals of reducing congestion and lowering
levels of harmful emissions;

(1) Vignettes are widely used across the Community as a form of toll,
often on motorways to allow people to pay for their road use by
means of a voucher or permit, otherwise known as a vignette.

(2) Proposal adopted by the Commission on 23.7.2003 (COM(2003)
448 final) on alignment of the national systems of tolls and of
user charges for infrastructure use on common principles.

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proposes that the Commission undertake an impact
4.7.
assessment on the implication of the Directive similar to, or
more extensive than, the assessment already undertaken on
the impact on small and medium-sized enterprises.

and regional authorities currently planning on introducing
charging as well. Local congestion charging schemes should
be given longer implementation periods if they are to be
included within the scope of the directive;

5. Technological solutions

5.1.
recognises the need to develop a market in charging
technology with a degree of stability and certainty for manufac-
turers, however the balance between encouraging stability and
placing the emphasis solely on one type of technology needs
greater consideration. The focus on the movement towards
satellite technology, and the use of the Galileo system must be
carefully managed to ensure that it does not exclude the
development of other technologies which may prove more
efficient and less costly;

calls on the Commission to withdraw its insistence on
5.2.
specific types of technology in Articles 1 and 3 as this
technology has not yet been proven. The aim of the directive
should be to achieve interoperability, not to specify what type
of technology is used to achieve this, especially in such an
immature market for such technology;

asks the Commission to provide a detailed assessment
5.3.
of the preparedness of the vehicle manufacturing, retrofitting
and on-board unit production industries to ensure that the
market is developing well enough to provide on-board units
and accompanying Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) tech-
nology for vehicles within the specified timeframe. This should
include an assessment of the scale of the volume of vehicles
that will need to be retrofitted;

5.4.
suggests that the Commission looks to the experience
gained from the vehicle number plate recognition technology
adopted by the London congestion charging scheme as an
alternative to satellite based or high frequency microwave
into
technology. The technology was built and brought
operation within 21 months and could be used as an
alternative to electronic road tolling for small congestion
charging schemes, or to complement electronic systems to
cater for vehicles which are not fitted with the necessary on-
board units.

6.

Implementation

asks the Commission to clarify the use of the term
6.2.
‘operators’
in Article 2.2. The Committee questions if this
refers to network managers having to provide on-board
equipment suitable for use in electronic toll systems. This
could imply that network managers,
including local and
regional authorities, have to be able to provide units for use in
other charging schemes across the Community. To facilitate
this type of provision the Committee suggests that an action
plan is drawn up to improve the interaction between network
managers and suppliers of on-board units;

6.3.
requests that the Commission clarify in particular the
details of its proposed target for 50 % of toll lanes to be
dedicated to electronic collection by 2005. The Committee
asks the Commission to confirm whether proposing this target
should mean that 50 % of toll lanes must be equipped only for
electronic collection, or that those 50 % of tolls that are
electronic continue to be fitted for manual transactions to
apply concurrently;

6.4.
calls on the Commission to consider the implications
of the 50 % target on the provision of lanes in tolling stations.
Requiring 50 % of lanes to be electronic only may result in
network managers having to increase the number of lanes in
order to avoid congestion caused by motorists who may not
have made the transfer from manual to electronic payment
method;

6.5.
recognises the right of Member States to exclude toll
bridges and tunnels with very low traffic volumes where the
income from tolls is too low to support electronic charging
equipment.
In this instance a cost-benefit analysis could
be conducted to assess the viability of installing electronic
charging.

7. Non-payment of tolls

considers that the Commission has not paid adequate
7.1.
attention to the different problems identified by existing
charging schemes for non-payment of tolls. Non-payment has
been a major concern for many existing toll systems;

calls for greater flexibility in the proposed implemen-
6.1.
tation periods to allow authorities to make the necessary shift
towards the interoperability of electronic toll collection. The
vast majority of current tolling systems are based on micro-
wave technology, and its use has not been ruled out by local

7.2.
asks the Commission to provide evidence on how non-
payment will be tackled both within and between Member
States. The Commission should make it clear to road users

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how penalty payments will be instigated, and should seek to
provide a degree of harmonisation in penalties across the EU.
Widely varying penalties throughout the Community could
threaten to compromise the Community’s Internal Market;

7.3.
welcomes the Commission’s intention to establish an
information network between the competent national driving
licence authorities as proposed in the European road-safety
programme (1). And also suggests that
the Commission
develop proposals allowing public authorities in Member
States to instigate cost-recovery proceedings against vehicles
registered in another Member State.

(1) COM(2003) 311 final.

PRIVACY

8.
calls on the Commission to consider the implications of
satellite-based monitoring of drivers’ movements and any
concerns that drivers’ may have about privacy and freedom of
movement.

DIVERSIONARY ROUTES

asks the Commission to use the movement towards
9.
satellite-based technology as an opportunity to provide drivers
with greater awareness of diversionary routes identified by
public authorities to be adopted in cases of emergency and
severe congestion. Failure to adequately plan for and inform
these diversionary routes can simply displace
drivers of
congestion and bottlenecks from major routes able to cope
with traffic volumes to smaller ones that become easily
congested.

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS’ RECOMMENDATIONS

IMPROVING THE INTEROPERABILITY OF ELECTRONIC TOLL SYSTEMS

Recommendation 1

Recital — delete

Text proposed by the European Commission
Directive (whereas No 6)

Proposed amendment

Application of the new satellite positioning (GNSS) and
Application of the new satellite positioning (GNSS) and
mobile communications (GSM/GPRS) technologies to mobile communications (GSM/GPRS) technologies to
electronic toll systems will serve to meet the require-
electronic toll systems will serve to meet the require-
ments of the new road-charging policies planned at ments of the new road-charging policies planned at
Community and Member State level. These technologies
Community and Member State level. These technologies
enable the number of kilometres covered per category
enable the number of kilometres covered per category
of road to be counted without requiring costly invest-
of road to be counted without requiring costly invest-
ment in infrastructure equipment or the construction of ment in infrastructure equipment or the construction of
new toll stations. They also open the door to new safety
new toll stations. They also open the door to new safety
and information services for travellers, such as the
and information services for travellers, such as the
automatic alarm triggered by a vehicle involved in
automatic alarm triggered by a vehicle involved in
an accident and indicating its position, and real-time
an accident and indicating its position, and real-time
information on traffic conditions,
information on traffic conditions,
traffic levels and
traffic levels and
journey times. With regard to satellite positioning, the
journey times. With regard to satellite positioning, the
Galileo project launched by the European Union in 2002
Galileo project launched by the European Union in 2002
will, as of 2008, provide information of higher quality
will, as of 2008, provide information of higher quality
than that provided by the current GPS system and
than that provided by the current GPS system and
which is optimal for road telematic services. The Egnos
which is optimal for road telematic services. The Egnos
precursor system will already be operational in 2004
precursor system will already be operational in 2004
providing similar results. However,
providing similar results. However,
these innovative
these innovative
systems could raise problems concerning the reliability
systems could raise problems concerning the reliability
of checks and with regard to fraud prevention.
of checks and with regard to fraud prevention

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Recommendation 2

Recitals — addition

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

these toll systems should also meet

Many local authorities have introduced local congestion
charging schemes in urban areas, which have as their
objective management of demand rather than funding
infrastructure provision. It is in the interest of all road
the
users that
compatibility criteria in the future. However, in accord-
ance with the principle of proportionality local conges-
tion charging schemes should be subject to more gener-
ous implementation conditions given that some are
small-scale and have a limited impact on the interop-
erability of roads in the Community.

Self-explanatory.

Reason

Recommendation 3

Article 1

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

To achieve the objective set in the first paragraph, a
European electronic toll service shall be created. This
service must ensure the interoperability, for users, of the
electronic toll systems that have already been introduced
at national or regional level by the Member State and of
those to be introduced in future throughout the Union’s
territory.

To achieve the objective set in the first paragraph, a
European electronic toll service shall be created. This
service must ensure the interoperability, for users, of the
electronic toll systems that have already been introduced
at national,or regional or local level by the Member
State and of those to be introduced in future by national,
regional or local level throughout the Union’s territory.

This Directive does not apply:

(a)

(b)

(c)

to road toll systems for which no electronic means
of toll collection exists,

to electronic road toll systems which do not need
equipment being installed on board of vehicles,

to small, strictly local road toll systems for which
the costs of compliance with the requirements of
the Directive would be disproportionate to the
benefits.

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Reason

The text must be clear that it is only national, regional or local governments who have the right to
introduce charging policies. Whilst the Community may set the broad policy aims and context it should
not have power to introduce charging policies itself.

Recommendation 4

Article 2.2

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

A European electronic toll service shall be set up
pursuant to Article 3 on 1 January 2005. As of this date,
operators must make available to interested users on-
board equipment which is suitable for use with all
electronic toll systems in service in the Union and in all
types of vehicle, in accordance with the timetable set out
in Article 3(3), and which is interoperable and capable
of communicating with all the systems operating in the
territory of the Union.

A European electronic toll service shall be set up
pursuant to Article 3 on 1 January 2005 2008. As of
this date, operators must make available to interested
users on-board equipment which is suitable for use with
all electronic toll systems in service in the Union and in
all types of vehicle, in accordance with the timetable set
out in Article 3(3), and which is interoperable and
capable of communicating with all the systems operating
in the territory of the Union.

Reason

This extended period is necessary to allow existing microwave toll systems to transfer to the ‘electronic
toll service’.

Recommendation 5

Article 2.5

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

Systems brought into service as part of the European
electronic toll service before 1 January 2008 must have
abandoned the 5.8 GHz technology by 1 January 2012.
A migration strategy for such systems must be formu-
lated and implemented between 1 January 2008 and
1 January 2012.

A study assessing the level of interoperability should be
undertaken by the end of 2007. If interoperability has
not been achieved, then a migration strategy to improve
interoperability should be undertaken.

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Reason

Consultation with local and regional authorities already managing tolls and adopting road-user charges
have indicated that the 2012 deadline is too strict. The switch from microwave to satellite technology is
not anticipated to be as fast as the Commission proposes. The principle of proportionality should apply,
local congestion charging schemes should be subject to more generous implementation conditions given
that some are small-scale and have a limited impact on the interoperability of roads in the Community.

Recommendation 6

Article 2.6

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

To satisfy itself that satellite and mobile communications
technology meets the needs of the operators of electronic
toll systems, the Commission shall, by 31 December
2007, present a report drawn up with the assistance of
the Electronic Toll Committee and,
if necessary, a
proposal to extend the period of use of microwave
systems.

To satisfy itself that satellite and mobile communications
technology meets the needs of the operators of electronic
toll systems, the Commission shall, after having con-
sulted with operators of toll systems, by 31 December
2007, present a report drawn up with the assistance of
the Electronic Toll Committee and,
if necessary, a
proposal to extend the period of use of microwave
systems.

Reason

The Commission cannot manage the shift towards interoperability without full cooperation with toll
operators and infrastructure managers, which tend to be local and regional authorities.

Recommendation 7

Article 2.7

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment
Insert text

Member States shall take the necessary measures to Member States shall take the necessary measures to
increase the use of electronic toll systems. They shall
increase the use of electronic toll systems. They shall
ensure inter alia that at least 50 % of toll lanes in each
ensure inter alia that at least 50 % of toll lanes in each
toll station are equipped with electronic toll systems by
toll station are equipped with electronic toll systems by
20052008 at the latest. The 50 % target will not
2005 at the latest.
require that those electronic toll lanes contributing
to meeting the 50% target are exclusively electronic.
Manual toll collection will be permitted to co-exist
with newer electronic technology.

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Reason

Toll managers must not be required to provide extra lanes to provide solely electronic toll collection. The
provision of such extra infrastructure would prove costly in terms of expenditure and negative impact on
the environment and lead to confusion for toll users, which can exacerbate congestion. The extension to
this deadline is necessary for consistency with other amendments proposed.

Recommendation 8

Article 3.3

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

a)

for all vehicles exceeding 3.5 tonnes and vehicles
carrying more than nine passengers (driver + 8), as
of 1 January 2005,

b)

for all other types of vehicle, as of 1 January 2010
at the latest.

a)

b)

c)

for all vehicles using tolls other than local conges-
tion charging schemes exceeding 3.5 tonnes and
vehicles carrying more than nine passengers (driver
+ 8), as of 1 January 2005 2008,

for all other types of vehicle using tolls other
than local congestion charging schemes, as of
1 January 20102012 at the latest.

for all vehicles using local congestion charging
schemes as of 2014 at the latest.

Reason

These extended periods are necessary to allow existing microwave toll systems to transfer to the ‘electronic
toll service’. The principle of proportionality should apply, local congestion charging schemes should be
subject to more generous implementation conditions given that some are small-scale and have a limited
impact on the interoperability of roads in the Community.

Recommendation 9

Article 5

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

The Commission shall be assisted by an Electronic Toll
Committee composed of representatives of the Member
States and chaired by the representative of the Com-
mission.

The Commission shall be assisted by an Electronic Toll
Committee composed of representatives of the Member
States, local and regional government, and chaired by
the representative of the Commission.

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Reason

Local and regional government must be included in such discussions given their role in implementing
tolls and introducing tolling policies. According to the principle of subsidiarity local and regional
government must be able to participate in such discussion as there may be instances when a local or
regional authority is seeking to pursue a policy to introduce toll systems which may not be in accordance
with Member State level policies.

Brussels, 20 November 2003.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Communication from the Commission Towards
a thematic strategy on the prevention and recycling of waste’

(2004/C 73/12)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Commission Communication: Towards a thematic strategy on the prevention and
recycling of waste (COM(2003) 301 final);

having regard to the decision of the European Commission on 28 May 2003 to consult it on the subject,
under the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

having regard to the decision of its Bureau on 19 June 2003 to instruct the Commission for Sustainable
Development to draw up an opinion on the subject;

having regard to the document in question;

having regard to the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme;

having regard to its document on The Committee of the Regions’ political priorities for the period 2002-
2006, point 5 of which sets out requirements in the field of environmental protection:

b)

standardised EU-wide material rules that really help to improve the quality of the environment and
which should be national requirements;

c)

indispensable Community-wide standards for environmental protection;