Common Position (EC) No 6/2009 of 9 January 2009 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules for access to the international market for coach and bus services (recast) (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2009-01-09
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: bus, carriage of passengers, market access, road transport, transport licence, transport market

17.3.2009

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 62 E/25

Common Position (EC) No 6/2009

adopted by the Council on 9 January 2009

with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EC) No …/2009 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of … on common rules for access to the international market for coach and bus services
(recast)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2009/C 62 E/02)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com-
munity, and in particular Article 71 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (1),

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure
Article 251 of the Treaty (2),

laid down in

(4)

(5)

Whereas:

for

A number of substantial changes are to be made to
Council Regulation (EEC) No 684/92 of 16 March 1992
on common rules
the international carriage of
passengers by coach and bus (3) and to Council Regu-
lation (EC) No 12/98 of 11 December 1997 laying down
the conditions under which non-resident carriers may
operate national road passenger transport services within
a Member State (4). In the interests of clarity and simplifi-
cation, those Regulations should be recast and incorpo-
rated into one single regulation.

The establishment of a common transport policy entails,
inter alia,
laying down common rules applicable to the
international carriage of passengers by road as well as the
carriers may
conditions under which non-resident
operate national
transport services within a Member
State.

(1)

(2)

(3)

those third countries. Therefore, this Regulation should
not apply to that part of the journey within the territory
of the Member State of picking up or setting down, as
long as the necessary agreements between the Com-
munity and the third countries concerned have not been
concluded. It should, however, apply to the territory of a
Member State crossed in transit.

Freedom to provide services constitutes a basic principle
of
that
the common transport policy and requires
carriers from all Member States be guaranteed access to
international
transport markets without discrimination
on grounds of nationality or place of establishment.

The international carriage of passengers by coach and
bus should be conditional on the possession of a Com-
munity licence. Carriers should be required to carry a
certified true copy of the Community licence aboard each
of their vehicles, in order to facilitate effective controls
by enforcement authorities, especially those outside the
Member State in which the carrier is established. The
conditions governing the issue and withdrawal of Com-
munity licences, their periods of validity and the detailed
rules for their use should be determined. It is also neces-
sary to lay down detailed specifications as regards the
layout and other features of the Community licence and
the certified copies thereof.

(6)

flexible arrangements
There should be provision for
subject to certain conditions for special regular services
and certain occasional services, in order to satisfy market
demand.

(7) While maintaining

for
authorisation
regular services, certain rules should be amended, parti-
cularly as regards authorisation procedures.

arrangements

To ensure a coherent framework for the international
carriage of passengers by coach and bus throughout the
Community, this Regulation should apply to all interna-
tional carriage on Community territory. Carriage from
Member States to third countries is still largely covered
by bilateral agreements between the Member States and

(8)

(1) OJ C 10, 15.1.2008, p. 44.
(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 5 June 2008 (not yet published
in the Official Journal), Council Common Position of 9 January 2009
and Position of the European Parliament of … (not yet published in the
Official Journal). Council Decision of …

(3) OJ L 74, 20.3.1992, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 4, 8.1.1998, p. 4.

The authorisation for regular services should henceforth
be granted subsequent
to an authorisation procedure,
unless there are clearly specified grounds for refusal attri-
butable to the applicant. The grounds for refusal relating
to the relevant market should be either that the service
applied for would seriously affect
the viability of a
comparable service operated under one or more public
service contracts on the direct sections concerned or that
to carry
the principal purpose of
passengers
different
Member States.

the service is not
located

between

stops

in

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(9)

Non-resident carriers
should be allowed to operate
national road passenger services, but regard should be
had to the specific characteristics of each form of service.
they
When such cabotage operations are performed,
to Community legislation such as
should be subject
Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of
European
Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the
harmonisation of certain social
legislation relating to
road transport (1) and to national law in force in specified
areas in the host Member State.

the

(16)

(17)

(10)

The provisions of Directive 96/71/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996
concerning the posting of workers in the framework of
the provision of services (2) apply to transport undertak-
ings performing a cabotage operation.

(11) Where regular

services are concerned, only regular
international
services provided as part of a regular
service, excluding urban and suburban services, should be
opened up to non-resident carriers, subject to certain
conditions, and in particular to the legislation in force in
the host Member State.

(12) Member States should grant each other mutual assistance

with a view to the sound application of this Regulation.

(13) Administrative formalities should be reduced as far as
possible without abandoning the controls and penalties
that guarantee the correct application and effective enfor-
cement of this Regulation. To this end, the existing rules
on the withdrawal of the Community licence should be
clarified and strengthened. The current rules should be
adapted to allow the effective sanctioning of serious
infringements committed in a Member State other than
the Member State of establishment. Penalties should be
non-discriminatory and proportionate to the seriousness
of the infringements. It should be possible to lodge an
appeal in respect of any penalties imposed.

(14) Member States should enter in their national electronic
register of road transport undertakings all serious infrin-
gements attributable to carriers which have led to the
imposition of a penalty.

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).

In particular, the Commission should be empowered to
establish the format of certain documents to be used for
the application of this Regulation and to adapt Annexes I
and II of
this Regulation to technical progress. Since
those measures are of general scope and are designed to
this Regulation, by
amend non-essential elements of
supplementing it with new non-essential elements, they
must be adopted in accordance with the regulatory
procedure with scrutiny provided for in Article 5a of
Decision 1999/468/EC.

(18) Member States should take the necessary measures to
implement this Regulation, in particular as regards effec-
tive, proportionate and dissuasive penalties.

(19)

framework for

Since the objective of this Regulation, namely to ensure a
coherent
the international carriage of
passengers by coach and bus throughout the Community,
cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and
can therefore, by reason of its scale and effects, be better
achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt
measures, in accordance with the principle 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 in
order to achieve that objective,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Scope

(15)

In order to facilitate and strengthen the exchange of
information between national authorities, Member States
should exchange the relevant information through the
national contact points set up pursuant to Regulation
(EC) No …/2009 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of … establishing common rules concerning the
conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation
of road transport operator (3).

(1) OJ L 102, 11.4.2006, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 18, 21.1.1997, p. 1.
(3) OJ L …

1.
This Regulation shall apply to the international carriage of
passengers by coach and bus within the territory of the Com-
munity by carriers for hire or reward or by own-account carriers
established in a Member State in accordance with its law, using
vehicles which are registered in that Member State and are
suitable and intended, by virtue of their construction and equip-
ment, to carry more than nine persons,
including the driver,
and to the movement of such vehicles empty in connection
with such carriage.

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

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A change of vehicle or an interruption of carriage to enable part
of a journey to be made by another means of transport shall
not affect the application of this Regulation.

services, and the main characteristic of which is the carriage
of groups of passengers constituted on the initiative of the
customer or the carrier himself;

2.
In the event of carriage from a Member State to a third
country and vice versa, this Regulation shall apply to the part of
the journey on the territory of any Member State crossed in
transit. It shall not apply to that part of the journey within the
territory of the Member State of picking up or setting down, as
long as the necessary agreement between the Community and
the third country concerned has not been concluded.

3.
Pending the conclusion of the agreements referred to in
paragraph 2, this Regulation shall not affect provisions relating
to the carriage from a Member State to a third country and
vice-versa contained in bilateral agreements concluded between
Member States and those third countries.

5) ‘own-account transport operations’ means operations carried
out for non-commercial and non-profit-making purposes by
a natural or legal person, whereby:

— the transport activity is only an ancillary activity for that

natural or legal person, and

— the vehicles used are the property of that natural or legal
person or have been obtained by them on deferred terms
or have been the subject of a long-term leasing contract
and are driven by a member of the staff of the natural or
legal person or by the natural person himself or by
personnel employed by, or put at the disposal of, the
undertaking under a contractual obligation;

4.
This Regulation shall apply to national road passenger
services for hire or reward operated on a temporary basis by a
non-resident carrier as provided for in Chapter V.

6) ‘host Member State’ means a Member State in which a
carrier operates other than the carrier's Member State of
establishment;

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions
shall apply:

1) ‘international carriage’ means:

(a) a journey undertaken by a vehicle the point of departure
and the point of arrival of which are in two different
Member States, with or without transit through one or
more Member States or third countries;

(b) a journey undertaken by a vehicle of which the point of
departure and the point of arrival are in the same
Member State, while the picking up or setting down of
passengers is in another Member State or in a third
country;

(c) a journey undertaken by a vehicle from a Member State
to a third country or vice versa, with or without transit
through one or more Member States or third countries;
or

(d) a journey undertaken by a vehicle between third coun-
tries, with transit through the territory of one or more
Member States;

2) ‘regular

services’ means services which provide for

the
carriage of passengers at specified intervals along specified
routes, passengers being picked up and set down at predeter-
mined stopping points;

3) ‘special regular services’ means regular services, by whomso-
ever organised, which provide for the carriage of specified
categories of passengers to the exclusion of other passengers;

4) ‘occasional services’ means services which do not fall within
including special regular

the definition of regular services,

7) ‘cabotage operations’ means either

— national road passenger services for hire and reward
carried out on a temporary basis by a carrier in a host
Member State, or

— the picking up and setting down of passengers within the
same Member State, in the course of a regular interna-
tional service, in compliance with the provisions of this
Regulation, provided that it is not the principal purpose
of the service;

8) ‘serious infringement of Community road transport legisla-
tion’ means an infringement which may lead to the loss of
good repute in accordance with Article 6(1) and (2) of Regu-
lation (EC) No …/2009, and/or to the temporary or perma-
nent withdrawal of a Community licence.

Article 3

Freedom to provide services

1.
Any carrier for hire or reward referred to in Article 1 shall
be permitted in accordance with this Regulation to carry out
regular services, including special regular services and occasional
services by coach and bus, without discrimination on grounds
of nationality or place of establishment if he:

(a) is authorised in the Member State of establishment to under-
take carriage by means of regular services, including special
regular services or occasional services by coach and bus, in
accordance with the market access conditions laid down by
national legislation;

(b) satisfies the conditions laid down in accordance with Com-
munity rules on admission to the occupation of
road
passenger transport operator in national and international
transport operations; and

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(c) meets legal requirements regarding the standards for drivers
and vehicles as laid down, in particular, in Council Directive
92/6/EEC of 10 February 1992 on the installation and use
of speed limitation devices for certain categories of motor
vehicles in the Community (1), Council Directive 96/53/EC
of 25 July 1996 laying down for certain road vehicles circu-
lating within the Community the maximum authorised
dimensions in national and international
traffic and the
maximum authorised weights in international traffic (2) and
Directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 15 July 2003 on the initial qualification and
periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the
carriage of goods or passengers (3).

Any own-account carrier referred to in Article 1 shall be
2.
permitted to carry out
to
Article 5(5) without discrimination on grounds of nationality or
place of establishment if he:

the transport services pursuant

(a) is authorised in the Member State of establishment to under-
take carriage by coach and bus in accordance with the
market-access conditions laid down in national legislation;
and

(b) meets legal requirements regarding the standards for drivers
in Directives

in particular,

and vehicles as laid down,
92/6/EEC, 96/53/EC and 2003/59/EC.

CHAPTER II

COMMUNITY LICENCE AND MARKET ACCESS

Article 4

Community licence

1.
International carriage of passengers by coach and bus shall
be carried out subject to possession of a Community licence
issued by the competent authorities of the Member State of
establishment.

2.
The competent authorities of the Member State of estab-
lishment shall issue the holder with the original of the Com-
munity licence, which shall be kept by the carrier, and the
number of certified true copies thereof corresponding to the
number of vehicles used for the international carriage of passen-
gers at the disposal of the holder of the Community licence,
whether those vehicles are wholly owned, or held in another
form, particularly under an instalment-purchase, hire or leasing
contract.

The Community licence and the certified true copies thereof
shall correspond to the model set out in Annex II.
It shall
contain at least two of the security features listed in Annex I.

to technical
The Commission shall adapt Annexes I and II
progress. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential
elements of this Regulation, shall be adopted in accordance with
the
to in
Article 26(2).

regulatory procedure with scrutiny

referred

(1) OJ L 57, 2.3.1992, p. 27.
(2) OJ L 235, 17.9.1996, p. 59.
(3) OJ L 226, 10.9.2003, p. 4.

The Community licence and the certified true copies thereof
shall bear the seal of the issuing authority as well as a signature
and a serial number. The serial numbers of the Community
licence and the certified true copies thereof shall be recorded in
the national electronic register of road transport undertakings
provided for in Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No …/2009 as
part of the data relating to the carrier.

3.
The Community licence shall be issued in the name of the
carrier and shall be non-transferable. A certified true copy of
the Community licence shall be kept in each of the carrier's
vehicles and shall be presented at the request of any authorised
inspecting officer.

The Community licence shall be issued for renewable

4.
periods of up to ten years.

Community licences and certified true copies thereof
issued
before the date of application of this Regulation shall remain
valid until their date of expiry.

5. Whenever an application for a Community licence is
lodged, or a Community licence is renewed in accordance with
paragraph 4 of this Article, the competent authorities of the
Member State of establishment shall verify whether the carrier
satisfies or continues to satisfy the conditions laid down in
Article 3(1).

6. Where the conditions referred to in Article 3(1) are not
satisfied,
the Member State of
establishment shall refuse to issue or renew or shall withdraw a
Community licence by means of a reasoned decision.

the competent authorities of

7. Member States shall guarantee the right of the applicant
for, or holder of, a Community licence to appeal against a deci-
sion by the competent authorities of the Member State of estab-
lishment to refuse or withdraw this licence.

8. Member States may decide that the Community licence
shall also be valid for national transport operations.

Article 5

Access to the market

Regular services shall be open to all, subject, where appro-

1.
priate, to compulsory reservation.

Such services shall be subject to authorisation in accordance
with the provisions of Chapter III.

Regular services from a Member State to a third country and
vice versa shall be subject to authorisation in accordance with
the bilateral agreement between the Member State and the third
country and, where appropriate, the transited Member State, as
long as the necessary agreement between the Community and
the third country concerned has not been concluded.

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The regular nature of the service shall not be affected by any
adjustment to the service operating conditions.

CHAPTER III

REGULAR SERVICES SUBJECT TO AUTHORISATION

The organisation of parallel or temporary services, serving the
same public as existing regular services,
the non-serving of
certain stops and the serving of additional stops on existing
regular services shall be governed by the same rules as those
applicable to existing regular services.

2.

Special regular services shall include:

(a) the carriage of workers between home and work,

(b) the carriage of school pupils and students to and from the

educational institution.

The fact that a special service may be varied according to the
needs of users shall not affect its classification as a regular
service.

Special regular services shall not be subject to authorisation in
accordance with Chapter
III where they are covered by a
contract concluded between the organiser and the carrier.

Occasional services shall not

3.
accordance with Chapter III.

require authorisation in

However,
the organisation of parallel or temporary services
comparable to existing regular services and serving the same
public as the latter shall be subject to authorisation in accord-
ance with the procedure laid down in Chapter III.

Occasional services shall not cease to be occasional services
solely on the grounds that they are provided at certain intervals.

Occasional services may be provided by a group of carriers
acting on behalf of the same contractor, and travellers may
catch a connection en route, with a different carrier of the same
group, on the territory of a Member State.

The Commission shall establish the procedures for the names of
such carriers and the connection points en route to be commu-
nicated to the competent authorities of
the Member States
concerned. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential
this Regulation by supplementing it, shall be
elements of
adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scru-
tiny referred to in Article 26(2).

4.
Empty journeys by vehicles in connection with the trans-
port operations referred to in the third subparagraph of para-
graph 2, and in the first subparagraph of paragraph 3, shall like-
wise not require authorisation.

Own-account transport operations shall be exempt from
5.
any system of authorisation but shall be subject to a system of
certificates.

The certificates shall be issued by the competent authorities of
the Member State in which the vehicle is registered and shall be
valid for the entire journey including transit.

The Commission shall establish the format of the certificates.
Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of
this Regulation by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accord-
ance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in
Article 26(2).

Article 6

Nature of authorisation

1.
Authorisations shall be issued in the name of the carrier
and shall be non-transferable. However, a carrier who has
received an authorisation may, with the consent of the compe-
tent authority of the Member State in whose territory the point
of departure is situated, hereinafter referred to as the ‘author-
ising authority’, operate the service through a sub-contractor. In
this case, the name of the sub-contractor and its role shall be
indicated in the authorisation. The sub-contractor shall satisfy
the conditions laid down in Article 3(1). For the purposes of
this paragraph, the point of departure shall mean ‘one of the
termini of the service’.

In the case of undertakings associated for the purpose of oper-
ating a regular service, the authorisation shall be issued in the
names of all the undertakings and shall state the names of all
the operators. It shall be given to the undertaking that manages
the operation and copies
shall be given to the other
undertakings.

2.
The period of validity of an authorisation shall not exceed
five years. It may be set at less either at the request of the appli-
cant or by mutual consent of the competent authorities of the
Member States on whose territory passengers are picked up or
set down.

3.

Authorisations shall specify the following:

(a) the type of service;

(b) the route of the service, giving in particular the point of

departure and the point of arrival;

(c) the period of validity of the authorisation;

(d) the stops and the timetable.

4.
The Commission shall establish the format of the authori-
sations. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential
elements of
this Regulation by supplementing it shall be
adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scru-
tiny referred to in Article 26(2).

Authorisations

to operate
5.
regular services in the territories of all Member States over
which the routes of the service pass.

shall entitle their holder(s)

The operator of a regular service may use additional vehi-

6.
cles to deal with temporary and exceptional situations.

In this case, the carrier shall ensure that the following docu-
ments are carried on the vehicle:

(a) a copy of the authorisation of the regular service;

(b) a copy of the contract between the operator of the regular
service and the undertaking providing the additional vehicles
or an equivalent document;

(c) a certified true copy of the Community licence issued to the
operator providing the additional vehicles for the service.

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Article 7

Submission of application for authorisation

Applications for authorisation of regular services shall be

1.
submitted to the authorising authority.

The Commission shall establish the format of the applica-
2.
tions. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential
elements of
this Regulation by supplementing it, shall be
adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scru-
tiny referred to in Article 26(2).

3.
Persons applying for authorisation shall provide any
further information which they consider relevant or which is
requested by the authorising authority, in particular a driving
schedule making it possible to monitor compliance with Com-
munity legislation on driving and rest periods and a copy of the
Community licence.

Article 8

Authorising procedure

Authorisations shall be issued in agreement with the
1.
authorities of all the Member States in whose territories passen-
gers are picked up or set down. The authorising authority shall
forward to such authorities, as well as to the competent authori-
ties of Member States whose territories are crossed without
passengers being picked up or set down, a copy of the applica-
tion, together with copies of any other relevant documentation,
and its assessment.

2.
The competent authorities of the Member States whose
agreement has been requested shall notify the authorising
authority of
their decision on the application within two
months. This time limit shall be calculated from the date of
receipt of the request for agreement which is shown in the
acknowledgement of receipt. If the decision received from the
competent authorities of the Member States whose agreement
has been requested is negative, it shall contain a proper state-
ment of reasons. If the authorising authority does not receive a
reply within two months, the authorities consulted shall be
deemed to have given their agreement and the authorising
authority may grant the authorisation.

The authorities of
the Member States whose territories are
crossed without passengers being picked up or set down may
notify the authorising authority of their comments within the
time limit laid down in the first subparagraph.

3.
The authorising authority shall take a decision on the
application within four months of the date of submission of the
application by the carrier.

4.

Authorisation shall be granted unless:

(a) the applicant is unable to provide the service which is the
subject of the application with equipment directly available
to him;

tion in particular with regard to the rules applicable to vehi-
cles and driving and rest periods for drivers;

(c) in the case of an application for renewal of authorisation,
the conditions of authorisation have not been complied
with;

(d) a Member State decides on the basis of a detailed analysis
that the service concerned would seriously affect the viabi-
lity of a comparable service covered by one or more public
service contracts conforming to Community law on the
direct sections concerned. In such case, the Member State
shall set up criteria, on a non-discriminatory basis, for deter-
mining whether the service applied for would seriously
affect
the abovementioned comparable
service and shall communicate them to the Commission,
upon its request;

the viability of

(e) a Member State decides on the basis of a detailed analysis
that the principal purpose of the service is not to carry
passengers between stops
located in different Member
States.

In the event that an existing international coach and bus service
is seriously affecting the viability of a comparable service
covered by one or more public service contracts conforming to
Community law on the direct sections concerned, a Member
State may, with the agreement of the Commission, suspend or
withdraw the authorisation to run the international coach and
bus service after having given six months' notice to the carrier.

The fact that a carrier offers lower prices than those offered by
other road carriers or the fact that the link in question is
already operated by other road carriers shall not in itself consti-
tute justification for rejecting the application.

The authorising authority and the competent authorities
5.
of all the Member States involved in the procedure to reach the
agreement provided for in paragraph 1 may refuse applications
only on the basis of reasons provided for in this Regulation.

6.
Having completed the procedure laid down in paragraphs 1
to 5, the authorising authority shall grant the authorisation or
formally refuse the application.

Decisions refusing an application shall state the reasons on
which they are based. Member States shall ensure that transport
undertakings are given the opportunity to make representations
in the event of their application being refused.

The authorising authority shall
the authorities
referred to in paragraph 1 of its decision, sending them a copy
of any authorisation.

inform all

7.
If the procedure for reaching the agreement referred to in
paragraph 1 does not enable the authorising authority to decide
on an application, the matter may be referred to the Commis-
sion within the time-limit of two months calculated from the
date of communication of a negative decision by one or more
of the Member States consulted pursuant to paragraph 1.

(b) the applicant has not complied with national or interna-
legislation on road transport, and in particular the
tional
conditions and requirements relating to authorisations for
international road passenger services, or has committed
serious infringements of Community road transport legisla-

After having consulted the Member States concerned, the
8.
the
Commission shall, within four months from receipt of
communication from the authorising authority, take a decision
which shall take effect thirty days after the notification to the
Member States concerned.

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The Commission decision shall continue to apply until an

9.
agreement is reached between the Member States concerned.

Article 9

Renewal and alteration of authorisation

Article 8 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to applications for the
renewal of authorisations or for alteration of the conditions
under which the services subject
to authorisation must be
carried out.

In the event of a minor alteration to the operating conditions,
in particular adjustment of intervals, fares and timetables, the
authorising authority need only supply the other Member States
concerned with information relating to the alteration.

3. Without prejudice to Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007, it
shall be possible for the Member States concerned, by common
agreement and in agreement with the holder of the authorisa-
tion, to make changes to the operating conditions governing a
regular service.

CHAPTER IV

OCCASIONAL SERVICES AND OTHER SERVICES EXEMPT
FROM AUTHORISATION

Article 12

Control documents

The Member States concerned may agree that the authorising
authority alone shall decide on alterations to the conditions
under which a service is operated.

1.
Occasional services shall be carried out under cover of a
journey form with the exception of the services referred to in
the second subparagraph of Article 5(3).

Article 10

Lapse of an authorisation

1. Without prejudice to the provisions of Regulation (EC)
No 1370/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 23 October 2007 on public passenger transport services by
rail and by road (1), an authorisation for a regular service shall
lapse at the end of its period of validity or three months after
the authorising authority has received notice from its holder of
his intention to withdraw the service. Such notice shall contain
a proper statement of reasons.

2. Where demand for a service has ceased to exist, the period
of notice provided for in paragraph 1 shall be of one month.

The authorising authority shall

the other Member States concerned that

inform the competent
the

3.
authorities of
authorisation has lapsed.

The holder of the authorisation shall notify users of the
4.
service concerned of its withdrawal one month in advance by
means of appropriate publicity.

Article 11

Obligations of carriers

Save in the event of force majeure, the operator of a
1.
regular service shall, until the authorisation expires, take all
measures to guarantee a transport service that fulfils the stan-
dards of continuity, regularity and capacity and complies with
the other conditions laid down by the competent authority in
accordance with Article 6(3).

2.
The carrier shall display the route of the service, the bus
stops, the timetable, the fares and the conditions of carriage in
such a way as to ensure that such information is readily avail-
able to all users.

(1) OJ L 315, 3.12.2007, p. 1.

A carrier operating occasional services shall

2.
journey form before each journey.

fill out a

The journey form shall contain at

3.
information:

least

the following

(a) the type of service;

(b) the main itinerary;

(c) the carrier(s) involved.

The books of

journey forms shall be supplied by the
4.
competent authorities of the Member State where the carrier is
established or by bodies appointed by those authorities.

The Commission shall establish the format of the journey
5.
form, the book of journey forms and the way in which they are
used. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential
elements of
this Regulation by supplementing it, shall be
adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scru-
tiny referred to in Article 26(2).

6.
In the case of the special regular services referred to in the
third subparagraph of Article 5(2), the contract or a certified
true copy thereof shall serve as the control document.

Article 13

Local excursions

Within the framework of an international occasional service, a
carrier may carry out occasional services (local excursions) in a
Member State other than that in which it is established.

Such services shall be intended for non-resident passengers
previously carried by the same carrier on one of the interna-
tional services mentioned in the first subparagraph and shall be
carried out with the same vehicle or another vehicle from the
same carrier or group of carriers.

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CHAPTER V

CABOTAGE

Article 14

General principle

Any carrier who operates road passenger transport services for
hire or reward and who holds a Community licence, shall be
permitted, under the conditions laid down in this Chapter and
without discrimination on grounds of the carrier's nationality or
place of establishment, to operate the cabotage operations as
specified in Article 15.

Article 15

Authorised cabotage operations

Cabotage operations shall be authorised for
services:

the following

(a) special regular services provided that they are covered by a
contract concluded between the organiser and the carrier;

(b) occasional services;

(c) regular services, performed by a carrier not resident in the
host Member State in the course of a regular international
service in accordance with this Regulation with the excep-
tion of transport services meeting the needs of an urban
centre or conurbation, or transport needs between it and
the surrounding areas. Cabotage operations shall not be
performed independently of such international service.

Member State for national traffic or the technical characteristics
mentioned in the proofs referred to in Article 6(1) of Direc-
tive 96/53/EC.

2.
Save as otherwise provided in Community legislation,
cabotage operations which form part of the transport services
provided for in Article 15(c) shall be subject to the laws, regula-
tions and administrative provisions in force in the host Member
State regarding authorisations, tendering procedures, the routes
to be operated and the regularity, continuity and frequency of
services as well as itineraries.

3.
The technical standards of construction and equipment
which must be met by vehicles used to carry out cabotage
operations shall be those laid down for vehicles put into circula-
tion in international transport.

The national

4.
laws, regulations and administrative provi-
sions referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be applied to non-
resident carriers under the same conditions as those imposed on
carriers established in the host Member State, so as to prevent
any discrimination on grounds of nationality or place of
establishment.

Article 17

Control documents for cabotage operations

Cabotage operations in the form of occasional services
1.
shall be carried out under cover of a journey form as referred to
in Article 12 which shall be kept on board the vehicle and be
presented at the request of any authorised inspecting officer.

Article 16

The following information shall be entered in the journey

2.
form:

Rules applicable to cabotage operations

(a) the points of departure and arrival of the service;

The performance of

1.
the cabotage operations shall be
subject, save as otherwise provided in Community legislation, to
the laws, regulations and administrative provisions in force in
the host Member State with regard to the following:

(a) the conditions governing the transport contract;

(b) the weights and dimensions of road vehicles;

(c) the requirements relating to the carriage of certain cate-
gories of passengers, namely schoolchildren, children and
persons with reduced mobility;

(d) the driving time and rest periods;

(e) the value added tax (VAT) on transport services.

(b) the date of departure and the date on which the service

ends.

The journey forms shall be supplied in books as referred
3.
to in Article 12 certified by the competent authority or body in
the Member State of establishment.

In the case of

the contract
4.
concluded between the carrier and the transport organiser, or a
certified true copy thereof, shall serve as the control document.

services,

regular

special

However, a journey form shall be filled out in the form of a
monthly statement.

The weights and dimensions referred to in point (b) of the first
subparagraph may, where appropriate, exceed those applicable
in the carrier's Member State of establishment, but they may
under no circumstances exceed the limits set by the host

The journey forms used shall be returned to the compe-
5.
tent authority or body in the Member State of establishment in
accordance with procedures to be laid down by that authority
or body.

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CHAPTER VI

Article 21

CONTROLS AND PENALTIES

Withdrawal of Community licences and authorisations

Article 18

Transport tickets

1.
Carriers operating a regular service, excluding special
regular services, shall issue transport tickets, either individual or
collective, which indicate:

(a) the points of departure and arrival and, where appropriate,

the return journey;

(b) the period of validity of the ticket;

(c) the fare of transport.

The transport ticket provided for in paragraph 1 shall be

2.
presented at the request of any authorised inspecting officer.

1.
The competent authorities of the Member State where the
carrier is established shall withdraw the Community licence
where the holder:

(a) no longer satisfies the conditions laid down in Article 3(1);

or

(b) has supplied inaccurate information concerning the data
which were required for the issue of the Community licence.

2.
The authorising authority shall withdraw an authorisation
where the holder no longer fulfils the conditions on the basis of
which the authorisation was issued under this Regulation,
in
particular where the Member State in which the carrier is estab-
lished so requests. That authority shall immediately inform the
competent authorities of the Member State concerned.

Article 19

Article 22

Inspections on the road and in undertakings

Sanctioning of

infringements by the Member State of

establishment

The authorisation or control document shall be carried on
the request of any

1.
the vehicle and shall be presented at
authorised inspecting officer.

2.
Carriers operating international carriage of passengers by
coach and bus shall allow all inspections intended to ensure that
operations are being conducted correctly,
in particular as
regards driving and rest periods. In the context of the imple-
mentation of this Regulation, authorised inspecting officers shall
be empowered to:

(a) check the books and other documentation relating to the

operation of the transport undertaking;

(b) make copies of, or take extracts from, the books and docu-

mentation on the premises;

(c) have access to all the transport undertaking's premises, sites

and vehicles;

(d) require the production of any information contained in

books, documentation or data bases.

Article 20

Mutual assistance

1.
In the event of a serious infringement of Community road
transport legislation committed or ascertained in any Member
State, in particular with regard to the rules applicable to vehi-
cles, driving and rest periods for drivers and the provision
without authorisation of parallel or
temporary services, as
referred to in Article 5(1), fifth subparagraph, the competent
authorities of the Member State of establishment of the carrier
who committed the infringement shall take appropriate action
to pursue the matter which may lead, inter alia, to the imposi-
tion of the following administrative penalties:

(a) temporary or permanent withdrawal of some or all of the

certified true copies of the Community licence;

(b) temporary or permanent withdrawal of

the Community

licence.

These penalties may be determined after the final decision on
the matter has been taken and shall have regard to the serious-
ness of the infringement committed by the holder of the Com-
munity licence and to the total number of certified true copies
of that licence that he holds in respect of international traffic.

2.
The competent authorities of the Member State of estab-
lishment shall communicate to the competent authorities of the
Member State in which the infringements were ascertained, as
soon as possible and at the latest within two months after their
final decision on the matter, which,
if any, of the penalties
provided for in paragraph 1 have been imposed.

Member States shall assist one another in ensuring the applica-
tion and monitoring of this Regulation. They shall exchange
information via the national contact points established pursuant
to Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No …/2009.

If such penalties are not imposed, the competent authorities of
the Member State of establishment shall state the reasons
therefor.

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3.
The competent authorities shall ensure that the penalties
imposed on the carrier concerned are, as a whole, proportionate
to the infringement or infringements which gave rise to such
penalties, taking into account any penalty for the same infringe-
ment imposed in the Member State in which the infringement
was ascertained.

This Article is without prejudice to the possibility of the
4.
competent authorities of the Member State of establishment of
the carrier to institute proceedings before a national court or
tribunal. In case such proceedings are brought, the competent
authority in question shall inform the competent authorities of
the Member States in which the infringements were committed
thereof.

5. Member States shall ensure that carriers have the right to
appeal against any administrative penalty imposed on them
pursuant to this Article.

Article 23

Sanctioning of infringements by the host Member State

1. Where the competent authorities of a Member State are
aware of a serious infringement of this Regulation or of Com-
munity road transport legislation attributable to a non-resident
carrier, the Member State within the territory of which the
infringement
to the competent
authorities of the carrier's Member State of establishment, as
soon as possible and at the latest within two months after their
final decision, the following information:

is ascertained shall

transmit

(a) a description of the infringement and the date and time

when it was committed;

(b) the category, type and seriousness of the infringement; and

(c) the penalties imposed and the penalties executed.

The competent authorities of
the host Member State may
request the competent authorities of the Member State of estab-
lishment to impose administrative penalties in accordance with
Article 22.

2. Without prejudice to criminal prosecution, the competent
authorities of the host Member State may impose penalties on
non-resident carriers who have committed infringements of this
Regulation or of national or Community road transport legisla-
tion in their territory on the occasion of a cabotage operation.
The penalties shall be imposed on a non-discriminatory basis
and may, inter alia, consist of a warning, or, in the event of a
serious infringement, a temporary ban on cabotage operations
within the territory of the host Member State where the infrin-
gement was committed.

Article 24

Entry in the national electronic registers

Member States shall ensure that serious infringements of Com-
munity road transport legislation attributable to carriers estab-
lished in their territory, which have led to the imposition of a
penalty by any Member State, as well as any temporary or
permanent withdrawal of the Community licence or of the certi-
fied true copy thereof are recorded in the national electronic
register of road transport undertakings. Entries in the register
which concern a temporary or permanent withdrawal of a Com-
munity licence shall remain in the database for at least two
years from the time of the expiry of the period of withdrawal,
in the case of temporary withdrawal,or from the date of with-
drawal, in the case of permanent withdrawal.

CHAPTER VII

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 25

Agreements between Member States

1. Member States may conclude bilateral and multilateral
agreements on the further liberalisation of the services covered
in particular as regards the authorisation
by this Regulation,
control
simplification or
system and the
documents.

abolition of

2. Member States shall inform the Commission of any agree-
ments concluded under paragraph 1.

Article 26

Committee procedure

1.
The Commission shall be assisted by the committee estab-
lished by Article 18(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85
in road
of 20 December 1985 on recording equipment
transport (1).

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1)
to (4) and (5)(b), and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall
apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

Article 27

Penalties

Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable
to infringements of the provisions of this Regulation and shall
take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented.
The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and
dissuasive. Member States shall notify those provisions to the
Commission by … (*) and shall notify it without delay of any
subsequent amendment affecting them.

3. Member States shall ensure that carriers have the right to
appeal against any administrative penalty imposed on them
pursuant to this Article.

(1) OJ L 370, 31.12.1985, p. 8.
(*) Two years from the date of entry into force of this Regulation.

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Member States shall ensure that all such measures are taken
without discrimination as to the nationality or place of estab-
lishment of the carrier.

Article 28

Reporting

Every two years Member States shall communicate to the
1.
Commission the number of authorisations for regular services
issued the previous year and the total number of authorisations
for regular services valid at the end of this reporting period.
This information shall be given separately for each country of
the regular service. Member States shall also
destination of
communicate to the Commission the data concerning cabotage
operations, in the form of special regular services and occasional
services, carried out during the reporting period by resident
carriers.

2.
Every two years the competent authorities in the host
Member State shall send the Commission statistics on the
number of authorisations issued for cabotage operations in the
form of the regular services referred to in Article 15(c).

3.
The Commission shall establish the format of the table to
be used for the communication of the statistics referred to in
paragraph 2. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential
elements of
this Regulation by supplementing it, shall be
adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scru-
tiny referred to in Article 26(2).

4. Member States shall inform the Commission no later than
31 January of every year of the number of carriers holding a
Community licence as at 31 December of the previous year and
of the number of certified true copies corresponding to the
number of vehicles in circulation on that date.

CHAPTER VIII

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 29

Repeals

Regulations (EEC) No 684/92 and (EC) No 12/98 are hereby
repealed.

References to the repealed Regulations shall be construed as
references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance
with the correlation table set out in Annex III.

Article 30

Entry into force

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

It shall apply from … (*).

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

Done at, …

For the European Parliament

The President

…

For the Council

The President

…

(*) Two years from the date of entry into force of this Regulation.

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ANNEX I

SECURITY FEATURES OF THE COMMUNITY LICENCE

The Community licence must have at least two of the following security features:

— a hologram;

— special fibres in the paper which become visible under UV-light;

— at least one microprint line (printing visible only with a magnifying glass and not reproduced by photocopying

machines);

— tactile characters, symbols or patterns;

— double numbering: serial number and issue number;

— a security design background with fine guilloche patterns and rainbow printing.

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ANNEX II

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ANNEX III

CORRELATION TABLE

Regulation (EEC) No 684/92

Regulation (EC) No 12/98

This Regulation

Article 1

Article 2, point 1.1

Article 2, point 1.2

Article 2, point 1.3

Article 2(1)

Article 2(2)

Article 1

Article 2(2), Article 5(1)

Article 2(3), Article 5(2)

Article 5(1), fifth subparagraph

Article 2, point 3.1

Article 2(3)

Article 2(4), Article 5(3)

Article 2, point 3.3

Article 2, point 3.4

Article 2, point 4

—

Article 3

Article 3a

Article 4

Article 5

Article 6

Article 7

Article 8

Article 9

Article 10

Article 11

Article 12

Article 13

Article 5(3)

Article 5(3)

Article 2(5), Article 5(5)

Article 2(5), (6), (7) and (8)

Article 3

Article 4

Article 5

Article 6

Article 7

Article 8

Article 9

Article 10

Article 11

Article 12

Article 13

Article 5(5)

Article 14

Article 15

Article 16

Article 4(3)

Article 17

Article 28(3)

Article 26

—

Article 1

Article 2(4)

Article 3

Article 4

Article 5

Article 6

Article 7

Article 8

Article 9

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Regulation (EEC) No 684/92

Regulation (EC) No 12/98

This Regulation

Article 14

Article 15

Article 16(1)

Article 16(2)

Article 16(3)

Article 16(4)

Article 16(5)

Article 16a

Article 17

Article 18

Article 19

Article 20

Article 21

Article 22

Annex

Article 11(1)

Article 11(2)

Article 11(3)

Article 11(4)

Article 12

Article 13

Article 10

Article 14

Article 15

Article 18

Article 19

Article 20

Article 21(1)

Article 21(2)

Article 22(1)

Article 23(1)

Article 22(2)

Article 23(2)

Article 23(2)

—

Article 22(5), Article 23

—

Article 26

—

Article 25

Article 27

Article 29

Article 30

Annex II

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STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL'S REASONS

I. INTRODUCTION

The Commission presented the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council
establishing common rules concerning the conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of
road transport operator on 25 May 2007 as one of
the so-called ‘Road
Package’ (1).

the three proposals of

On 5 June 2008, the European Parliament voted its opinion at 1st reading.

On 9 January 2009, the Council adopted its Common Position in accordance with Article 251 of the
Treaty.

In carrying out its work, the Council took account of the opinion of the European Economic and Social
Committee. The Committee of Regions decided not to give an opinion on the three proposals.

II. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION

1. General

Following the ‘Conclusions on the contribution of the transport sector to the Lisbon strategy’ of the
Spring 2007 European Council, the Commission decided to issue proposals to review the existing legis-
lative framework on access to the profession of transport operator and access to the international road
haulage market as well as to the international market for coach and bus services, in order to, inter alia,
ensure that administrative burdens were appropriate and proportionate. As a whole, these new proposals
seek to modernise, replace and merge provisions governing road transport operators for both, goods
and passengers, and access to the road transport markets.

The proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules for
access to the market of coach and bus services proposal replaces two regulations currently applicable (2).
The principal objective is to simplify the authorisation procedure for international regular passenger
services in order to reach a better harmonisation and to promote fairer competition within the internal
market.

The Common Position as agreed by the Council establishes a coherent framework for the international
carriage of passengers by coach and bus throughout the Community. It foresees a simpler and faster
procedure to authorise international regular services. It also simplifies and standardises the format of the
Community license and the certified true copies in order to reduce administrative burden and delays,
especially at road side checks. Furthermore, the Common Position strengthens the exchange of informa-
tion between Member States by establishing national contact points which are to be set up pursuant to
the Regulation on the admission to the occupation of road transport operator.

2. Key policy issues

i) Clarification of the scope, the definitions and the principles

The Council followed largely the Commission proposal and its Common Position foresees that this regu-
lation applies to all international carriage on the territory of the Community, including carriage from
and to third countries, and to national road passenger services operated by a non-resident undertaking
on a temporary basis (‘cabotage’). As regards international carriage, the Council established a comprehen-
sive definition: for carriages, to or from a third country it is stipulated that, as long as there is no agree-
ment between the Community and the third country in question, the Regulation does not apply to that
part of the journey carried out within the Member State of picking up or setting down of passengers. It
does, however, apply within a Member State crossed in transit. In order to facilitate effective controls by
enforcement authorities, especially those outside the Member State in which the carrier is established,
carriers are required to carry a certified true copy of the Community licence aboard each of their vehi-
cles when performing an international carriage.

(1) The other 2 legislative proposals concern:

— a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules for access to the

international road haulage market (recast)

— a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing common rules concerning

the conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of road transport operator.

(2) Regulations (EEC) No 684/92 and (EC) No 12/98.

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The European Parliament decided to follow the Commission's approach and did not adopt amendments
on this issue.

ii) Community licence and certified copies

The Commission proposal foresees the issuing of a Community licence for a renewable period of five
years. Moreover, it obliges the Member States to record the serial numbers of the licence and the certified
true copies in the national electronic register of road transport undertakings provided for in the proposal
for a regulation on the admission to the transport operator.

The Council in its Common Position allows a more flexible approach and a longer period of validity for
the Community licence, given that the aforementioned register will allow an immediate verification of
the current status of a transport undertaking. The Common Position therefore extends the validity of the
renewable Community licence to ‘up to 10 years’, introduces the (comitology) regulatory procedure with
scrutiny to care for future necessary technical adaptations of the validity of the Community licence, and
also amends accordingly the provisions concerning the verification of conditions for the issuing and
renewal of the licence.

In order to avoid possible falsifications of the above documents, the Council decided to amend Annex I
by adding a series of security features, of which at least two have to be included in the documents. The
European Parliament decided to follow the Commission's approach and did not adopt amendments on
this issue.

iii) Procedure to authorise international regular services

The Council followed largely the Commission proposal and its Common Position foresees a streamlined
and simplified procedure as compared to the one laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 684/92. Authorisa-
tion will henceforth be granted except in the following two cases: the service applied for would seriously
affect the viability of a comparable service covered by one or more public service contracts on the direct
sections concerned conforming to Community law, or the principal purpose of the service is not to
carry passengers between stops located in different Member States. In this context Member States have
to set up non-discriminatory criteria when evaluating the viability of a public service contract during the
authorisation procedure for international regular services. The Council
followed the Commission's
approach that the authorities of Member States whose territory is merely crossed in transit, but where
no passengers are picked up or set down, will simply be informed once the Member States concerned
have agreed to authorise the service in question. However, the Council in addition set a two months
deadline for the Commission to reach a decision on authorisation in cases the authorising authority is
unable to reach such decision.

The European Parliament, on the contrary, deleted the possibility for the Member State to suspend or to
withdraw an authorisation in case it seriously affects the viability of a public service contract.

iv) Cabotage

As regards cabotage, the Council followed broadly the Commission proposal. Hence, the rules on cabo-
tage remain in substance largely unchanged. In particular, the Council approved the deletion of the
provision of Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 12/98 on safeguard measures in case of serious distur-
bances of a national transport market. This provision has never been used since the opening up of
national markets for cabotage and can therefore be considered redundant. As concerns the cabotage
operations in the course of a regular international service, the Council specifies that this means ‘the
picking up and setting down of passengers’ within the same Member State, in compliance with the
provisions of this Regulation, provided that it is not the principal purpose of this service.

Furthermore, the Council in conformity with the European Parliament deleted in its Common Position
any reference to working time provisions as concerns the rules applicable to cabotage transport opera-
tions since no harmonised Community rules are in place.

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v) Cooperation between Member States

Following the Commission proposal and in order to facilitate and strengthen the exchange of informa-
tion between national authorities, the Council decided to include in its Common Position a provision
obliging the Member States to exchange information via the national contact points. The Council also
followed the Commission proposal concerning the obligation for the Member States to enter into their
national register of road transport undertakings all serious infringements of Community transport legis-
lation which have led to the imposition of a penalty. Moreover, the Council decided to enter into the
national registers any temporary or permanent withdrawal of the Community licence or of the certified
true copies. The latter entries will remain in the data base for two years.

The provisions concerning the establishment of national contact points as well as the national registers
are also contained in the draft Regulation on the admission to the occupation of road transport
operator.

The European Parliament decided to follow the Commission proposal and did not adopt amendments
on this issue.

vi) Sanctioning of infringements

With a view to harmonizing the current monitoring and control systems employed by Member States,
the Commission proposes to enhance the power and means of the national authorities who are habili-
tated to deliver and withdraw the Community licence. The proposal therefore contains an obligation for
the competent authority of the Member State of establishment of the undertaking to issue a warning,
when a undertaking committed a serious infringement or repeated minor infringements of road trans-
port legislation. This obligation also applies to cases where the undertaking committed such an infringe-
ment in another Member State. A further provision clarifies the sanctions that the Member State may
impose on undertakings established within its territory, namely the temporary or partial withdrawal of
certified copies of the Community licence, the Community licence itself or driver attestations.

The Common Position as agreed by the Council followed to a large extent the Commission's approach
towards serious infringements. However, the Council decided against the issuing of a warning and
agreed to leave the choice of action to the Member States. Moreover, the Council agreed to leave the
weighting of repeated minor infringements to the discretion of the Member States. The Common Posi-
tion also introduces the obligation for the competent authority of the Member State of establishment of
the undertaking to communicate to the competent authority of the Member State in which an infringe-
ment was ascertained whether and which penalties have been imposed. This communication has to be
issued within two months after the final decision on the matter has been taken.

The Commission proposal also introduces a new procedure to be followed by the Member State which
ascertains a serious infringement committed by a non-resident underdating. Following this procedure,
the Member State has to communicate the information within one month to the Member State of estab-
lishment which may impose administrative sanctions. The Member State of establishment of the under-
taking concerned has three months to inform the other Member State of the follow-up.

The Council Common Position takes over this provision but allows two months for the communication.
The Council Common Position does not contain any obligation for the Member State of establishment
of the undertaking to report on the follow-up.

The European Parliament also decided against the inclusion of provisions concerning repeated minor
infringement. Moreover, it voted in favour of a provision allowing the imposition of fines as a possible
penalty.

3. Other amendments adopted by the European Parliament

Further amendments not included in the Common Position concern:

— 1 January 2009 as a fixed date of application of this Regulation;

— the reference to the Directive on the posting of workers as rules applicable to cabotage;

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— the possibility to exempt cross-border regular services not extending more than 50 km beyond the

border Member States from the authorisation procedure;

— the widening of the permission of local excursion; and

— the reintroduction of the ‘12 days rule’ in the legislation on driving and rest times.

III. CONCLUSION

In establishing its Common Position, the Council has taken full account of the proposal of the Commis-
sion and the European Parliament's opinion at first reading. With respect to the amendments proposed
by the European Parliament, the Council observes that a considerable number of amendments have —
in spirit, partially or fully — already been included in its Common Position.