Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, in the Group of Experts on the European agreement concerning the work of crews of vehicles engaged in international road transport (AETR) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Date: 2012-10-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: crew, driving period, international agreement, international road transport, speed control, traffic control

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 12.10.2012  
COM(2012) 589 final 

2012/0284 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, in the Group of Experts 
on the European agreement concerning the work of crews of vehicles engaged in 
international road transport (AETR) of the United Nations Economic Commission for 
Europe 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL  

Evolution of EU and AETR rules  

The European agreement concerning the work of crews of vehicles engaged in international 
road  transport  (European  Road  Transport  Agreement,  ERTA;  Accord  Européen  sur  les 
Transports  Routiers,  AETR)  lays  down  rules  on  the  driving  times  and  rest  periods  for 
professional drivers. This multilateral agreement has been elaborated under the auspices of the 
Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations (UNECE). It inspired similar rules 
within the European Union, namely Regulation (EC) 561/20061 on the driving time and rest 
periods and Regulation (EEC) 3821/852 on the tachograph which is the recording equipment 
used to check compliance with the rules on driving time and rest periods. The 27 EU Member 
States and 24 European and Central Asian countries are currently Contracting Parties to this 
agreement.  

In 2006 the EU introduced the digital tachograph as its obligatory equipment for monitoring 
driving times and rest periods, replacing the analogue tachograph, which has been in use since 
1985.  The  AETR  Contracting  Parties  agreed  subsequently  to  introduce  the  same  digital 
tachograph  in  their  vehicles  used  international  transport  as  from  2011.  They  agreed  at  this 
occasion to insert in AETR a new Article 22bis which provides that the specifications of the 
tachograph,  although  decided  unilaterally  by  the  EU  without  prior  consultation  of  non-EU 
Contracting  Parties  when  amending  Annex  IB  of  Regulation  (EEC)  3821/85,  are  extended 
automatically to all AETR Contracting Parties.  

On 19 July 2011, the Commission made a proposal to modify Regulation (EEC) 3821/85 on 
the  tachograph.  The  European  Parliament  voted  its  opinion  on  3  July  2012.  In  parallel,  the 
Council reached a general approach on 27 June in view of a position of the Council in first 
reading. The amended Regulation will introduce technological improvements which will have 
important  consequences  on  the  specifications  of  the  digital  tachograph.  In  this  context,  the 
Council inserted a recital according to which “the Commission will take the appropriate steps 
in  UNECE  to  ensure  the  necessary  coherence  between  Regulation  3821/85  and  the  AETR 
agreement.”  The  Commission's  communication  "Digital  Tachograph:  Roadmap  for  future 
activities"3 also outlined the need to adapt AETR to align it to the latest development in the 
field of tachograph. 

Complaints of non-EU AETR Contracting Parties  

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Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the 
harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport and amending Council Regulations 
(EEC) No 3821/85 and (EC) No 2135/98 and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85, OJ L 
102, 11.04.2006, p.1 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 of 20 December 1985 on recording equipment in road transport, 
OJ L 370, 31.12.1985, p. 8 
COM(2011) 454 final 

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In 2009 the Commission adopted Regulation (EU) 1266/20094, which inter alia addressed the 
so-called  "one  minute  issue"5  (as  from  1st  October  2011)  and  introduced  a  second  motion 
sensor (as from 1st October 2012). All tachographs fitted in vehicles after these dates were or 
will be required to  comply with  the new technical requirements.  By  virtue of Article 22bis, 
the  non-EU  Contracting  Parties  of  the  AETR  are  automatically  subjected  to  these  new 
obligations.  

they  consider  unbalanced  and 

Faced  with  these  developments  in  the  EU,  the  Russian  Federation,  Belarus,  Ukraine  and 
Turkey  became  increasingly  discontent  with  the  automaticity  of  the  mechanism  of  Article 
22bis,  which 
to  ensure  a  harmonised 
implementation of the digital tachograph. In 2011 they asked the UNECE competent body – 
the Working Party on Road Transport (SC.1) – to address formally this issue. In response to 
this request, in September 2011, SC.1 decided to create a Group of Experts on AETR in order 
to discuss the current situation in AETR and to make proposals for amending the agreement. 

inadequate 

Need for a common position of EU in AETR 

The  AETR  Expert  Group  met  twice,  on  2  March  and  6  June  2012.  During  these  meetings, 
non-EU  Contracting  Parties  confirmed  their  willingness  to  find  an  acceptable  solution 
allowing  their  involvement  in  the  decision  making  process  and  made  concrete  proposals  to 
that effect:  

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

Firstly, the Russian Federation presented a proposal for a new Article 22bis, which 
would replace the current mechanism of transposition into AETR of the EU acquis 
with a decision making process placed in the hands of all AETR Contracting Parties. 
An Administrative Committee, constituted of all Contracting Parties, would be set up 
and would be empowered to define the specifications of the digital tachograph. Each 
Contracting  Party  would  have  a  vote  and  decisions  would  be  taken  by  a  simple 
majority  of  those  present  and  voting.  A  quorum  of  half  of  the  Contracting  Parties 
would be required.  

Turkey asked the EU to make TACHOnet accessible by offering a technical solution 
that would suit the needs of all Contracting Parties in terms of privacy concerns and 
costs. It should be noted that currently the connections to TACHOnet are done on a 
voluntary  basis  by  using  sui  generis  solutions,  but  the  most  common  solution 
employed  is  the  indirect  connection  via  the  sTesta  point  of  access  of  a  given  EU 
Member  State  (only  Croatia  and  the  former  Yugoslav  Republic  of  Macedonia 
connect directly via sTesta).  

Ukraine  and  Turkey  asked  if  it  would  be  possible  for  the  EU  to  accede  to  AETR, 
given  its  central  role  in  the  devlopment  of  the  tachograph.  It  would  guarantee  and 
simplify  the  necessary  permanent  alignment  of  the  EU  legislation  with  the  AETR 
developments.  

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Commission  Regulation  (EU)  No  1266/2009  of  16  December  2009  adapting  for  the  tenth  time  to 
technical progress Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 on recording equipment in road transport, OJ 
L 339, 22.12.2009, p.3 
The rounding to 60 seconds in the recording of driving time in case of frequent and short stops. 

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It was also proposed that the future Administrative Committee should not only be empowered 
to adopt technical specifications of the digital tachograph, but also to modify the social rules 
which are in scope of the AETR. However, the Commission considers that this idea is out of 
scope, currently not justified and does not intend to propose any follow up to it.  

The next meetings of the Expert Group are scheduled on 25 October and 3 December 2012. It 
can be expected that the EU will be asked to take a clear and firm position so that the Expert 
Group can finalise its work. Given the importance and scope of the proposals made and since 
the matters covered by AETR are of exclusive competence  of  the  EU,  a  simple  on  the  spot 
coordination  would  not  be  sufficient  and  a  formal  coordinated  position  at  EU  level  is 
necessary.  

2. PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO AETR 

In view of the foregoing, it could be considered to preserve the current mechanism of Article 
22bis and to block the ongoing discussions in the AETR Expert Group. However, this would 
not be a veritable option. In such a scenario, the social and tachograph rules would no longer 
be properly enforced by the non-EU AETR countries. Declarations in this sense have already 
been made by Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. They warned that they would no longer accept to 
be obliged to use a device the technical content of which they cannot influence.  

It should be noted that some 8% of international transport by EU registered hauliers is with 
third  countries  on  an  EU  average,  the  overwhelming  part  of  it  with  AETR  countries.  The 
share  of  transport  with  non  EU  AETR  countries  can  be  more  than  30%  in  certain  Member 
States. Moreover the EU is a net exporter of manufactured goods to its AETR partners and the 
majority of these goods are carried out by EU hauliers. Any dispute between the EU and its 
AETR partners would therefore be detrimental to the EU's road freight transport industry.  

Recent developments in Russia create additional complications. The Russian fleet potentially 
in scope of the European social rules is estimated at 4 to 5 million vehicles. Currently, only a 
small percentange of those vehicles perform international transport in scope of AETR and are 
equipped  with  a  tachograph.  However,  this  situation  will  change,  as  Russia  has  decided  in 
2012  to  make  the  use  of  tachographs  mandatory  for  national  transport.  It  is  therefore  likely 
that Russia will be increasingly enclined to use its own tachograph in transports with the EU. 

It  appears  therefore  to  be  unequivocally  in  the  EU's  interest  to  engage  in  a  revision  of  the 
current  tachograph  system.  In  view  of  the  aforegoing,  the  Commission  proposes  an  EU 
position  concerning  the  following  amendments  to  AETR  to  be  taken  in  the  AETR  Expert 
Group.  

a. Modification of Art. 22bis  

A modification of Art. 22bis would lead to the establishment of an Administrative Committee 
in Geneva under the auspices of UNECE. As a consequence, non-EU AETR partners would 
be  able  to  influence  the  adaptation  of  tachograph  to  technical  progress  through  the 
Administrative  Committee.  This  newly  created  AETR  Committee  would  take  its  decisions 
with a simple or qualified majority.  

This scenario would create a problem of coherence between the specifications adopted by the 
Administrative Committee in Geneva and those adopted by the Commission after the opinion 
of  the  Committee  on  the  adaptation  to  technical  progress  established  by  Regulation  (EEC) 
3821/85.  The  possible  incoherence  would  encroach  on  the  powers  of  the  Committee 

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established  pursuant  to  Regulation  (EEC)  3821/85  and  would  require  an  increased  effort  of 
coordination  within  Member  States  and  within  the  EU  for  establishing  the  positions  to  be 
taken  in  the  UNECE  bodies,  as  the  Commission  would  not  be  able  to  express  officially  its 
position. If the EU becomes Contracting Party to the AETR, the coordinated Union position 
would be expressed by the European Commission.  

Moreover,  a  modification  of  Art.  22bis  would  require  strict  conditions  on  the  voting 
arrangements agreed for the newly created AETR Committee. Otherwise it may happen that 
notwithstanding  possible  EU  internal  coordination  the  number  of  Member  States  present 
during a meeting of this Committee could be insufficient to oppose inopportune amendments 
proposed by non-EU counterparts.  

For instance, according to the proposal made by the Russian Federation at the first meeting of 
the  Expert  Group,  the  decisions  could  be  taken  by  a  simple  majority  of  those  present  and 
voting,  with  a  required  quorum  of  half  of  the  current  51  AETR  Contracting  Parties.  In 
practice, that would mean that decisions could be taken in presence of at least 26 Contracting 
Parties  and  with  at  least  14  votes  in  favour.  But  at  the  meetings  dedicated  to  AETR  issues, 
typically only 6-7 EU Member States participate currently. On the contrary, the big non-EU 
stakeholders  (Russia,  Turkey,  Ukraine)  are  always  present  and  they  have  shown  a  good 
capacity of mobilising, when necessary, other Contracting Parties from CIS or Central Asian 
countries (e.g. Belarus, Kazakhstan). 

b. Modification of Art. 14 to allow for EU accession to AETR 

In  the  light  of  the  above,  the  accession  of  the  EU  to  AETR  should  be  envisaged.  The  EU 
accession would preserve a dominant EU position in the definition of the specifications of the 
tachograph.  It  would  guarantee  the  harmonised  development  of  the  EU  legislation  and  of 
AETR as the  rules adopted in Geneva would be directly applicable in the EU internal legal 
order,  after  their  publication  in  the  Official  Journal.  For  Member  States,  this  will  avoid  the 
legal uncertainty on whether AETR or the EU tachograph rules prevail.  

This modification would require to amend Article 14 of AETR to allow the participation of 
regional integration organisations. The accession itself would have to be done in a second step 
by a Council decision upon Commission proposal.  

It is important to recall that,  for  AETR purposes,  transport operations between EU Member 
States  are  considered  as  national  transport  operations  (AETR  applies  only  to  international 
transport  operations).  This  has  been  constantly  the  position  of  the  EU  and  of  its  Member 
States. When acceeding to AETR in the 70s, the Member States constituting the Communities 
at that time made a reservation which affirmed this principle. The principle continues to apply 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  some  EU  Member  States  entered  into  the  AETR  agreement  before 
acceeding  to  the  EU  and  therefore  did  not  enter  the  abovementioned  reservation. 
Consequently, when acceding, the EU should deposit a similar reservation which would, as a 
consequence, allow the EU to further develop its own digital tachograph, to be used in intra-
EU transports. 

It follows that the voting rules of the Administrative Committee would have to be designed to 
ensure  an  influential  role  for  the  EU.  For  instance  by  means  of  a  qualified  majority  of  two 
thirds  of  those  present  and  voting  (the  EU  delivering  in  block  the  votes  of  currently  27 
Contracting Parties out of 51 potentially present). A quorum of half of the Contracting Parties 
would  be  required.  The  EU  would  coordinate  its  position  on  the  basis  of  a  Commission’s 

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proposal by using the procedure of Article 218 (9) of the TFEU, which allows the Council to 
adopt a position on the Union's behalf in a body set up by an agreement.  

It  should  be  noted  that  such  an  option  reflects  establised  practices  in  international  technical 
agreements. For  instance  the procedure  envisaged would be exactly the one provided in the 
so-called "Revised 1958 Agreement" on the type approval of vehicles6.  

The  envisaged  accession  of  the  Union  would  be  consistent  with  the  so-called  "AETR 
jurisprudence" of the Court of Justice. In its landmark ruling of 19717, the Court stated that 
the area of work of crews of vehicles in road transport with third countries was a Community 
exclusive  competence,  and  established  the  principle  of  parallelism  between  internal  and 
external competences8. The EU has external exclusive competence on the subjects dealt with 
by  AETR  under  the  provisions  of  article  3(2)  TFEU,  because  AETR  affects  common  rules 
adopted by the European Union since long ago, as outlined by the AETR case-law of the ECJ. 
An additional argument is that recital 10 of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 provides that, since 
the  subject  matter  of  the  AETR  falls  within  the  scope  of  the  Regulation,  the  power  to 
negotiate and conclude the Agreement lies with the European Union9. 

In addition, Article 3 of Council Regulation (EEC) n° 2829/77 of 12 December 1977 on the 
bringing  into  force  of  the  European  agreement  concerning  the  work  of  crews  of  vehicles 
engaged in international road transport (AETR)10 states that "Agreements to be reached with 
third countries pursuant to Article 2 (2) of the AETR shall be concluded by the Community. 
The measures provided for under Article 3 (2) of the AETR shall be adopted by the Council 
on a proposal from the Commission".  

c. New article 10bis - Interconnection of national registers on driver cards 

In accordance with Requirement 268a of Annex IB of Regulation (EEC) 3821/85, which was 
introduced  by  Commission  Regulation  (EU)  No  1266/2009,  Member  States  are  obliged  to 
exchange data electronically in order to ensure the uniqueness of the tachograph driver cards 
that they issue. This obligation extends to non-EU Contracting Parties of AETR, by virtue of 
Article 22bis.  

To facilitate the compliance with this requirement at the EU level, the Commission developed 
and successfully implemented TACHOnet, an IT application allowing the interconnection of 
national  registers  for  driver  cards,  to  verify  across  Europe  the  uniqueness  of  such  cards,  in 
view  of  preventing  frauds.  The  legal  basis  for  TACHOnet  is  currently  a  Commission 

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10 

Agreement concerning the adoption of uniform technical prescriptions for wheeled vehicles, equipment 
and parts which can be fitted to and/or be used on wheeled vehicles and the conditions for reciprocal 
recognition  of  approvals  granted  on  the  basis  of  these  prescriptions  -  Revision  2  -  Including  the 
amendments which entered into force on 16 October 1995, OJ L 346, 17.12.1997, p. 81–94 
Judgment of the Court of Justice, AETR, Case 22/70 (31 March 1971) 
In  particular,  the  Court  stated  that  "to  the  extent  to  which  Community  rules  are  promulgated  for  the 
attainment  of  the  objectives  of  the  Treaty,  the  Member  States  cannot,  outside  the  framework  of  the 
Community  Institutions,  assume  obligations  which  might  affect  those  rules  or  alter  their  scope".  In 
addition "these Community powers exclude the possibility of concurrent powers on the part of Member 
States,  since  any  steps  taken  outside  the  framework  of  the  Community  Institutions  would  be 
incompatible with the unity of the common market and the uniform application of community law."  
Article  3  of  Regulation  3820/85  established  this  ground  for  EU  competence  in  a  clear  way:  "The 
Community  shall  enter  into  any  negotiation  with  third  countries  which  may  prove  necessary  for  the 
purpose of implementing this Regulation". See also Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 543/69. 
OJ L 34 of 24.12.1977, p.11. 

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recommendation11,  which  would  be  replaced  by  a  dedicated  provision  inserted  in  the 
amendment  of  Regulation  (EEC)  3821/85  currently  being  discussed  in  the  European 
Parliament and the Council.  

The proposed amendments of AETR should be used to introduce a new article (Article 10bis) 
in  the  text  of  the  AETR,  which  would  make  more  transparent  the  obligation  enshrined  in 
Requirement  268a  and  confirm  the  mandatory  character  of  the  electronic  exchange  of  data 
concerning the driver cards between Contracting Parties. It would generalise and make more 
viable in the long term a practice already in place in several non EU Contracting Parties who 
decided  on  a  voluntary  basis  to  join  TACHOnet  on  the  basis  of  bilateral  agreements  with 
individual Member States.  

Under  Directive  95/46/EC12,  the  transfers  of  data  are  only  possible  to  third  countries  which 
ensure an adequate level of protection of the personal data. It is therefore proposed to insert an 
obligation to Contracting Parties to ensure an adequate level of protection of personal data in 
the new Article 10 bis. 

Article 25 (2) of the Directive provides that the adequacy of the level of protection afforded 
by a third country has to be assessed in the light of the circumstances, including the nature of 
the data and the purpose of the proposed processing operation. In this respect, it is to be noted 
that  the  sensitivity  of  the  data  concerning  tachograph  cards  is  rather  low.  The  information 
stored in national registers (interconnected via TACHOnet within the EU) is limited and quite 
generic  (name  and  surname  of  driver,  date  and,  if  available,  place  of  birth;  driving  licence 
number  and  country  of  issue  of  driving  licence;  status  of  the  driver  card  and  driver  card 
number) and in any case already enterily available to the non-EU control officer in the course 
of roadside checks. The autorities having access to these information would be limited to card 
issuing  authorities  and  control  officers  appointed  to  check  the  compliance  with  the  rules  on 
driving time and rest periods of professional drivers. Moreover the purpose of the electronic 
exchange of information is only to guarantee that the national registers of AETR Contracting 
Parties do not contain several active driver cards delivered to a same driver.  

In  these  circumstances,  it  can  be  reasonably  assumed  that  all  or  most  non-EU  AETR 
Contracting  Parties  are  able  to  ensure  an  adequate  level  of  protection  of  the  personal  data 
related to tachograph cards. In any case, in accordance with Article 25 (4) of the Directive, if 
it is found that a third country does not ensure such an adequate level of protection, Member 
States would be allowed to take the measures necessary to prevent any transfer of data to the 
country in question.  

Moreover, it should be noted that TACHOnet uses an EU's internal IT communication system 
(sTESTA)  about  which  there  are  restrictions  on  export  and  implementation  applicable  to 
certain  non-EU  States.  Among  non-EU  AETR  countries,  only  those  countries  which  are 
candidates  to  accession  to  the  EU  are  able  to  connect  to  TACHOnet  directly  vis  sTESTA. 
Amongst  the  others,  some  could  arrange,  on  a  voluntary  basis,  indirect  connection  with 
individual Member States on the basis of the aforementioned bilateral agreements. However, 

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Commission  recommendation  of  13  January  2010  on  the  secure  exchange  of  electronic  data  between 
Member States to check the uniqueness of driver cards that they issue, OJ L9/10, 14.01.2010 
Directive  95/46/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  24  October  1995  on  the 
protection of  individuals  with  regard  to  the  processing of  personal  data and on  the free  movement  of 
such data 

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this  later  solution  is  burdensome  for  the  parties  involved,  is  suboptimal  by  multiplying  the 
connection points and does not cover all the Contracting Parties.  

It  might  therefore  be  necessary  to  create  an  alternative  IT  system  to  offer  to  non-EU 
Contracting  Parties  an  alternative  electronic  mean  of  exchanging  information  with  the 
Member  States  (and  countries  candidates  to  accession)  taking  into  acount  the  security 
constraints of the current TACHOnet and sTESTA systems. The Commission is in the process 
of  launching  a  study  to  identify  the  available  technical  possibilities  for  instance  by  using  a 
secured internet-based connection. The results of the study should be available by the end of 
2013.  

3. PROCEDURE TO REVISE AETR 

Articles 20 and 21 of the AETR establish the mechanism for the revision of the agreement. 
Article  21  is  of  particular  interest  for  the  EU  because  it  allows  for  a  "silent"  revision 
procedure  which  does  not  suppose  the  ratification  by  Contracting  Parties  of  the  proposed 
amendments. Since this procedure does not foresee a formal negotiation procedure, it appears 
appropriate to have recourse to a Council decision establishing a common position.  

In line with the EU position adopted pursuant to Article 218 (9) TFEU, Member States shall 
be  acting  jointly  in  the  interest  of  the  Union  in  engaging  the  revision  of  the  AETR,  in  line 
with the duty of sincere cooperation pursuant to Article 4(3) TEU  

Given the time necessary to complete the procedures needed to amend AETR, it is appropriate 
to  find  a  transitional  solution  to  consult  AETR  countries  in  the  decisions  on  changes  to 
tachograph taken at the level of the EU. In this respect, the Commission has already proposed 
in its proposal to amend Regulation (EEC) N° 3821/85 to create a "Tachograph Forum" which 
would  involve  experts  from  both  EU  Member  States  and  non  EU  Contracting  Parties.  The 
intention  of  the  Commission  is  to  consult  this  Forum  before  any  decisions  on  the  technical 
updates of Annex IB.  

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2012/0284 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, in the Group of Experts 
on the European agreement concerning the work of crews of vehicles engaged in 
international road transport (AETR) of the United Nations Economic Commission for 
Europe 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 90, in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After having informed the European Parliament, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

As stated by the Court of Justice13 the area of the work of crews of vehicles engaged in 
road  transport  is  an  exclusive  external  competence  of  the  European  Union.  This 
competence  has  been  exercised  internally  notably  by  the  adoption  of  Council 
Regulation (EEC) No 543/69 of 25 March 1969 on the harmonization of certain social 
legislation  relating  to  road  transport14,  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3820/85  of  20 
December  1985  on  the  harmonization  of  certain  social  legislation  relating  to  road 
transport15, Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 of 20 December 1985 on recording 
equipment in road transport16 and more recently by Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of 
the European Parliament and of the Council17. Since the subject matter of the AETR 
falls within the scope of Regulation 561/2006, the power to negotiate and conclude the 
Agreement lies with the Union. The rules in the area of the work of crews of vehicles 
engaged  in  road  transport  with  third  countries,  including  the  rules  on  the  recording 
equipment  used  to  ensure  their  compliance,  are  a  matter  falling  both  under  the  EU 
Regulations  and  under  the  AETR  agreement.  It  is  imperative  that  these  rules  are 
harmonized; 

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17 

Judgment of the Court of Justice of 31 March 1971, AETR, Case 22/70. 
OJ L 77, 29.3.1969, p.49. 
OJ L 370, 31.12.1985, p. 1.  
OJ L 370, 31.12.1985, p. 8. 
OJ L 102, 11.4.2006, p. 1. 

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(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

The particular circumstances in which the AETR negotiations took place warrant, by 
way of exception, a procedure whereby the Member States of the Union individually 
deposited  the  instruments  of  ratification  or  accession  in  a  concerted  action  but 
nonetheless acted in the interest and on behalf of the Union; 

The  next  meeting  of  the  Expert  Group  will  take  place  on  3  December  2012.  At  that 
occasion;  the  expert  group  will  possibly  examine  proposals  which  are  leading  to  an 
amendment of AETR. This will produce legal effects as referred to in Article 218 (9) 
TFEU.  

The  EU  Member  States  as  Contracting  Parties  of  AETR  are  under  an  obligation  to 
cooperate in order to engage the mechanism for the revision of the AETR Agreement 
established  in  particular  in  its  Article  21,  in  accordance  with  Council  Regulation 
(EEC)  2829/77  of  12  December  1977  on  the  bringing  into  force  of  the  European 
Agreement  concerning  the  work  of  crews  of  vehicles  engaged  in  international  road 
transport (AETR)18 and in line with the duty of sincere cooperation pursuant to Article 
4 (3) TEU; 

In order to achieve a pan-European harmonization in the field of recording equipment 
in road transport (tachographs), it is necessary that a unique decision-making process 
is put in place, which takes into account the prerogatives of the European Union and 
the interests of third countries which are Contracting Parties to the AETR Agreement; 

Article  22bis  of  the  AETR  Agreement  currently  provides  that  changes  to  Council 
Regulation  (EEC)  No  3821/85  concerning  the  digital  tachograph  are  automatically 
taken  over  by  all  AETR  Contracting  Parties,  without  any  formal  consultation  before 
the adoption of the changes by the European Union. As outlined in the Commission's 
communication  "Digital  Tachograph  :  Roadmap  for  future  activities"19,  the  current 
mechanism  jeopardises  the  correct  and  harmonised  implementation  of  the  measures 
introduced in the proposed revision of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 and the 
digital tachograph by non-EU Contracting Parties. It is therefore in the interest of the 
European  Union  to  improve  the  decision-making  process  as  regards  digital 
tachographs  and  AETR  and  amend  accordingly  Article  22bis,  by  creating,  in  the 
framework  of  United  Nations  Economic  Commission  for  Europe  (UNECE),  an 
Administrative  Committee  that  would  define  the  technical  specifications  of  the 
tachograph for the entire AETR area.  

The  specificities  of  the  AETR  Agreement  and  of  the  envisaged  decision  making 
process in its newly created committee under Article 22bis in addition to the fact the 
European Union has exclusive competence in the area of the work of crews of vehicles 
engaged  in  road  transport  justifies  the  accession  of  the  European  Union  to  AETR, 
which would also be in line with the AETR Court ruling in the case 22/70 and would 
also  guarantee  the  effective  representation  of  the  EU’s  interests  in  the  UNECE 
proceedings.  After  its  accession,  the  Union's  position  adopted  by  the  Council,  in 
accordance with Article 218 (9) TFEU will be expressed by the Commission on behalf 
of the EU who will exercise in the Administrative Committee the votes of all Member 
States.  

18 
19 

OJ L 334, 24.12.1977, p. 11.  
COM(2011) 454 final 

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(8) 

(9) 

Currently Article 14 of AETR does not open the accession to AETR to bodies other 
than States members of the UNECE and States admitted to UNECE in a consultative 
capacity.  For  that  reason,  in  order  to  allow  the  accession  of  the  European  Union  to 
AETR,  Article  14  should  be  amended  and  should  provide  that  European  regional 
integration organizations are able to accede to AETR.  

In  order  to  effectively  implement  Requirement  268a  of  Annex  IB  of  Regulation 
3821/85  and,  to  ensure  a  more  effective  scrutiny  and  control  of  driver  cards  in  the 
AETR  area,  and  to  facilitate  the  task  of control  officers,  national  electronic  registers 
should  be  established  and  provision  made  for  the  interconnection  of  those  registers. 
The  provisions  for  the  interconnection  should  be  established  respecting  the  internal 
security  requirements  of  the  Contracting  Parties  and  ensuring  an  adequate  level  of 
protection of personal data exchanged, in line with the highest international standards.  

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

(1) The position of the Union in the Group of Experts on the European agreement concerning 
the  work  of  crews  of  vehicles  engaged  in  international  road  transport  (AETR)  shall  be  in 
accordance  with  the  Annex  to  this  Decision  and  shall  be  expressed  by  the  Member  States 
which are members of AETR, acting jointly in the interest of the Union.  

The Member States shall communicate these proposed amendments to the Secretary-General 
of the United Nations, in accordance with the procedure described in article 21 (1) of AETR.  

(2) Formal and minor changes to this position may be agreed without requiring that position 
to be amended. 

Article 2 

This decision is addressed to the Member States.  

This Decision shall enter into force on [ ....].  

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX I 

New wording of Article 22 bis (Procedure for the amendment of Appendix 1B) 

Article 22 bis is replaced by the following Article:  

1.  An Administrative Committee shall be established which shall be responsible for deciding 
on  amendments  to  Appendix  1B  of  the  present  Agreement.  The  Administrative 
Committee shall be composed of all the Contracting Parties to the Agreement.  

2.  The  administrative  Committee  shall  be  based  in  Geneva.  Its  sessions  shall  normally  be 

held in Geneva. The Committee may decide to hold sessions in other locations.  

3.  The  Executive  Secretary  of  the  United  Nations  Economic  Commission  for  Europe  shall 

provide the Committee with appropriate secretarial services.  

4.  The Committee shall elect a chair and two vice-chairs every two years.  
5.  The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall convene the Administrative Committee 
under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe when needed 
and in any case once per year.  

6.  Any  Contracting  Party  may  propose  amendments  to  Appendix  1B  of  the  present 
Agreement.  Any  amendment  proposal  shall  be  submitted  to  the  Secretariat  of  the 
Economic  Commission  for  Europe,  in  writing,  3  months  before  the  meeting  of  the 
Administrative Committee at which it is proposed for adoption. The text of any proposed 
amendment shall be communicated in the three ECE languages to all Contracting Parties 
at  least  one  month  before  the  meeting  of  the  Administrative  Committee  at  which  it  is 
proposed for adoption. 

7.  A quorum of not less than one half plus one of the Contracting Parties shall be required to 
be  present  for  the  Administrative  Committee  to  be  able  to  adopt  decisions.  For  the 
determination of the quorum Regional Integration organizations, being Contracting Parties 
to  this  Agreement,  vote  with  the  number  of  votes  of  their  Member  States  without  their 
presence in the vote being necessary. 

8.  The  Administrative  Committee  shall  adopt  decisions  by  majority  vote  of  those 

Contracting Parties present and voting.  

9.  For  the  purpose  of  taking  decisions,  each  Contracting  Party  shall  have  a  vote.  The 
representative of a Regional Integration organization Contracting Party to the Agreement 
delivers the votes of its constituent Member States without being their presence in the vote 
necessary. 

10. If  a  proposal  for  the  amendment  of  Appendix  1B  to  this  Agreement  leads  to  the 
amendment  of  other  articles  or  annexes  of  the  Agreement,  the  amendments  to  the 
Appendix cannot enter into force before entry into force of amendments relating to other 
parts of the Agreement. If, in such a case, the amendments to Appendix 1B are presented 
simultaneously with the amendments relating to other parts of the Agreement, the date of 
their entry into force shall be determined by the date established pursuant to application of 
procedures,  which  are  described  in  general  in  Article  21,  taking  into  account  the  date 
specified in the amendment to Appendix 1B, in the case envisaged by paragraph 7 of this 
article.  

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Possible wording of Article 14 (Accession to AETR of regional integration organizations) 

ANNEX II 

Article 14 is modified as follows:  

Paragraph 1a is inserted:  

"This  Agreement  shall  also  be  open  for  signature  by  regional  integration  organizations.  For 
the purpose of this Agreement, a "regional integration organization" means any organization 
which is constituted by sovereign States of a given region which has competence in respect of 
certain matters governed by this Agreement and has been duly authorized to sign and to ratify, 
accept, approve or accede to this Agreement" 

Paragraph 5 is modified as follows:  

5. In respect of each State or regional integration organizations which ratifies, or accedes 
to,  this  Agreement  after  the  deposit  of  the  eighth  instrument  of  ratification  or  accession  as 
referred to in paragraph 4 of this article, the Agreement shall enter into force one hundred and 
eighty  days  after  the  deposit  by  that  State  or  regional  integration  organization  of  its 
instrument of ratification or accession. 

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Possible wording of a new Article 10bis 

ANNEX III 

1.  In  order  to  ensure  that  drivers  do  not  already  hold  a  valid  driver  card  in  the  sense  of 
Appendix  1B  of  the  Annex  to  the  Agreement,  Contracting  Parties  shall  maintain  national 
electronic registers containing the following information on driver cards for a period at least 
equivalent to their period of validity:  

- Surname and first name of the driver 

- Birth date and, if available, place of birth of the driver 

- Driving licence number and country of issue of driving licence (if applicable) 

- Status of the driver card 

- Driver card number 

2. Contracting Parties shall take all necessary measures to ensure that the electronic registers 
are  interconnected  and  accessible  throughout  their  territories  to  card  issuing  authorities  and 
control  officers  appointed  to  check  the  compliance  with  the  rules  on  driving  time  and  rest 
periods of professional drivers.  

3. When issuing, replacing and, when necessary, renewing a driver card, Contracting Parties 
shall  verify  through  electronic  data  exchange  that  the  driver  does  not  already  hold  another 
valid  driver  card.  Contracting  Parties  shall  ensure  an  adequate  level  of  protection  of  the 
personal  data  exchanged,  in  line  with  the  highest  international  standards.  This  shall  include 
that  the  data  exchanged  be  limited  to  the  data  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  this  verification 
and  not  used  for  any  other  purpose  without  the  prior  authorisation  of  the  Contracting  Party 
providing the personal data.  

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