Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament pursuant to Article 294 (6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the position of the Council at first reading on the adoption of an amended proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the framework for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and for interfaces with other transport modes (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2010-05-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: data protection, environmental protection, information technology, intelligent transport system, personal data, road safety, road transport, transport infrastructure, transport safety

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 18.5.2010 
COM(2010)251 final 

2008/0263 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to Article 294 (6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

concerning the 

position of the Council at first reading on the adoption of an amended proposal for a 
Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the framework for 
the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and for 
interfaces with other transport modes 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

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2008/0263 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

conforming to Article 294 (6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

concerning the 

position of the Council at first reading on the adoption of an amended proposal for a 
Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the framework for 
the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and for 
interfaces with other transport modes 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and 
the Council 
COM(2008)0887 - 2008/0263(COD) 

16 December 2008 

Date  of  the  opinion  of  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee: 

13 May 2009 

Date of the opinion of the European Parliament, first reading: 

23 April 2009 

Date of adoption of the position of the Council : 

10 May 2010 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL 

The  deployment  of  intelligent  transport  systems  (hereafter:  ITS)  in  road  transport  has  been 
much slower than in other modes of transport and ITS services have been often deployed on a 
fragmented basis. Voluntary agreements and standardisation have failed to deliver significant 
progress in terms of deployment and use of such systems. Therefore, the Commission has put 
forward  an  action  plan  and  a  proposal  for  a  framework  directive  on  the  deployment  of 
Intelligent  Transport  Systems  in  the  field  of  road  transport  and  for  interfaces  with  other 
transport modes. 

Whereas the action plan outlines six priority areas and the related measures for speeding up 
the deployment and interoperability of ITS in road transport across the European Union, the 
directive provides the legal framework for the implementation of the actions required for an 
effective and coordinated deployment and use of ITS. Within the context of this framework, 
the  proposal  envisages  the  delegation  of  powers  to  the  Commission  to  adopt,  through 
delegated  acts, 
the  compatibility, 
the  detailed  specifications  necessary 
interoperability and continuity for the deployment and operational use of ITS. 

to  ensure 

3. 

COMMENTS ON THE POSITION OF THE COUNCIL  

The  position  of  the  Council  has  slightly  modified  the  initial  Commission  proposal.  Taking 
into account the amendments proposed by the European Parliament, it has clarified the scope 
of the Directive by specifying the priority areas and by focusing, in the first instance, on six 

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priority  actions  for  the  development  and  use  of  specifications  to  be  adopted  by  the 
Commission. The Council position has also reinforced the importance, in the context of ITS 
deployment,  of  protection  of  personal  data  and  of  liability  issues,  as  underlined  by  the 
European Parliament and in the opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor.  

With  the  slight  modifications  as  compared  to  the  initial  proposal  of  the  Commission,  the 
Council  position  in  1st  reading  reflects  the  agreement  reached  between  the  institutions  and 
confirmed by an exchange of letters between the president of Coreper I and the chair of the 
Transport and Tourism committee of the European Parliament in March 2010.  

The  Commission  considers  that  this  agreement  is  fully  in  line  with  the  objective  of  its 
proposal, and therefore can support it. 

The  agreement  foresees  three  Commission  statements  and  one  statement  by  the  three 
institutions, which are contained in the Annex to the Communication and shall be published in 
the Official Journal together with the legislative act. 

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ANNEX I 

Commission statements 

Commission Statement on the deployment of ITS priority actions 

1. Article 6(2) of the text of the Council position at first reading is worded as follows:  

"1a.  The Commission shall aim at adopting specifications  for  one  or  more  of  the  priority 
actions by …1. 

At the latest 12 months after the adoption of the necessary specifications for a priority action, 
the Commission shall, where appropriate, after conducting an impact assessment including a 
cost-benefit  analysis,  present  a  proposal  to  the  European Parliament  and  the  Council  in 
accordance with Article 294 of the TFEU on the deployment of that priority action. " 

2. On the basis of the information currently available, the Commission takes the view that for 
the adoption of the necessary specifications for the priority actions as referred to in Article 3, 
the following indicative time table could be envisaged:  

Specifications for : 

No later than 
end of : 

the  provision  of  EU-wide  multimodal  travel  information  services  as  set 
out in Article 3(a) 

the provision of EU-wide real-time traffic information services as set out 
in Article 3(b) 

the data and procedures for the provision, where possible, of road safety 
related minimum universal traffic information free of charge to users as 
set out in Article 3(c) 

the harmonised provision for an interoperable EU-wide eCall as set out in 
Article 3(d) 

the provision of information services for safe and secure parking places 
for trucks and commercial vehicles as set out in Article 3(e) 

the  provision  of  reservation  services  for  safe  and  secure  parking  places 
for trucks and commercial vehicles as set out in Article 3(f) 

2014 

2013 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2013 

Table 1 : Indicative time-table for the adoption of specifications for prioirty actions 

This indicative timetable is based upon  the assumption that agreement on the ITS Directive 
between the EP and the Council is reached through early second reading at the beginning of 
2010." 

1 

Please insert the date : 30 months following the date of entry into force of this Directive 

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Commission Statement on liability  

"The  deployment  and  use  of  ITS  applications  and  services  may  raise  a  number  of  liability 
issues  that  can  be  a  major  barrier  to  wide  market  penetration  of  some  ITS  services. 
Addressing these issues constitutes one of the priority actions put forward by the Commission 
in its ITS Action Plan.  

Taking  into  account  existing  national  and  Community  legislation  on  liability,  and  notably 
Directive  1999/34/EC,  the  Commission  will  carefully  monitor  the  developments  in  the 
Member  States  concerning  the  deployment  and  use  of  ITS  applications  and  services.  If 
necessary  and  appropriate,  the  Commission  will  elaborate  guidelines  on  liability,  notably 
describing  the  stakeholders'  obligations  in  relation  to  the  implementation  and  use  of  ITS 
applications and services." 

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Commission Statement concerning the notification on delegated acts 

"The European Commission takes note that except in cases where the legislative act provides 
for  an  urgency  procedure,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  consider  that  the 
notification of delegated acts shall take into account the periods of recess of the institutions 
(winter, summer and European elections), in order to ensure that the European Parliament and 
the  Council  are  able  to  exercise  their  prerogatives  within  the  time  limits  laid  down  in  the 
relevant legislative acts, and is ready to act accordingly." 

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ANNEX II 

Institutional statement 

Statement by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission 

on Article 290 TFEU 

"The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission declare that the provisions of this 
Directive  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  any  future  position  of  the  institutions  as  regards  the 
implementation  of  Article  290  TFEU  or  individual  legislative  acts  containing  such 
provisions." 

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