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 Council's position at the first reading with a view to the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on tachographs in road transport, repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 3821/85 on recording equipment in road Transport and amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and the Council on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport
Date: 2013-11-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: digital technology, driving period, road safety, road transport, safety standard, speed control, technological change, working conditions

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 18.11.2013  
COM(2013) 816 final 

2011/0196 (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 

Council's position at the first reading with a view to the adoption of a Regulation of the 
European Parliament and of the Council on tachographs in road transport, repealing 
Council Regulation (EC) No 3821/85 on recording equipment in road Transport and 
amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and the Council on 
the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

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2011/0196 (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 

Council's position at the first reading with a view to the adoption of a Regulation of the 
European Parliament and of the Council on tachographs in road transport, repealing 
Council Regulation (EC) No 3821/85 on recording equipment in road Transport and 
amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and the Council on 
the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and 
to the Council 
(document COM(2011) 451 final – 2011/0196(COD): 

19/07/2011 

Date of the opinion of the European Committee of Regions: 

No opinion 

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

07/12/2011 

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

03/07/2012 

Date  of  adoption  of  the  Council's  political  agreement  in  view  of  a 
Council’s position at first reading: 

29/10/2012 

Date of adoption of the Council's position at first reading: 

15/11/2013 (?) 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSAL FROM THE COMMISSION 

The Commission submitted to the Council and the European Parliament the above-mentioned 
proposal on 19 July 2011. The proposal amends Council Regulation 3821/85 of 20 December 
1985  on  recording  equipment  in  road  transport.  This  proposal  also  amends  Regulation 
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.  The  Communication 
from the Commission - "Digital tachograph: Roadmap for future activities" - accompanies the 
above-mentioned proposal and was transmitted in parallel to the European Parliament and to 
the Council. 

The  proposal  introduces  a  number  of  technological  improvements  to  the  digital  tachograph 
such  as  a  satellite  positioning  function  (GNSS),  a  remote  communication  function  for 
enforcement filtering purposes and an ITS interface to make possible the use of data from the 
digital tachograph in on-board computers for other purposes than the control of driving times. 

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This new generation of tachographs ('smart tachographs') is foreseen to be introduced in 2018 
- 2019.  

The  revision  also  improves  other  aspects  such  as  laying  down  new  rules  to  improve  the 
trustworthiness of workshops, to exchange information between Member States on the cards 
issued  to  drivers  (TACHOnet  system),  to  personalise  the  cards  by  merging  them  with  the 
driving  licence,  rules  on  the  training  of  enforcers  and  on  the  harmonisation  of  sanctions. 
Finally, it applies the same radius of 100 km for all distance-based exemptions to the rules on 
driving times that Member States can introduce (in Art. 13 of Regulation 561/2006).  

The European Data Protection Supervisor issued an opinion on the Commission's proposal on 
5  October  2011.  The  opinion  of  the  Economic  and  Social  Committee  was  issued  on  7 
December  2011  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  decided  not  to  draw  up  an  opinion  or 
report.  

The  European  Parliament's  Committee  on  Transport  and  Tourism  appointed  Ms  Silvia-
Adriana Ticău (RO, S&D) as rapporteur. The vote in Plenary took place on 3 July 2012. See 
SP(2012) 449/2. 

The  Council  reached  a  political  agreement  on  this  file  on  29  October  2012,  under  Cypriot 
Presidency. 

3. 

COMMENTS ON THE POSITION OF THE COUNCIL 

3.1. 

General comments on the position of the Council 

In general, the Commission welcomes positively the position of the Council at first reading, 
as  this  position  is  in  line  with  the  main  objectives  of  the  Commission's  initial  proposal, 
namely to increase the security of the tachograph system (reducing fraud and the manipulation 
of the tachograph), to reduce administrative costs and to improve the efficiency of the control 
of  the  system.  The  Council's  amendments  were  introduced as a result of further analysis on 
the  expected  impact  of  some  of  the  measures  proposed  by  the  Commission,  and  reflect  the 
importance attached by Member States to the application of the most cost-efficient measures, 
to  the  need  to  reinforce  the  protection  of  personal  data  in  the  Regulation  and  to  the 
clarification of the provisions on the technical and functional requirements of the tachograph. 
The Council's amendments were discussed at length and were endorsed by the Commission.  

Without  opposing  the  adoption  of  the  final  text  resulting  from  negotiations  between  the  co-
legislators,  the  Commission  will  however  make  statements  on  three  points  on  which  it 
repeatedly voiced its disagreement during the negotiations. These statements are attached.  

3.2. 

Detailed Commission comments  

3.2.1.  Nature of the legal act (delegated acts/implementing acts)  

In order to adopt the technical specifications of the future smart tachograph, the Commission 
proposed  that  the  power  to  adopt  acts  in  accordance  with  Article  290  of  the  Treaty  on  the 
Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of the 
adaptation of Annexes I, IB and II to technical progress and the supplementing of Annex IB 
with the technical specifications necessary for the automatic recording of the location data, for 
enabling  remote  communication  and  for  ensuring  an  interface  with  Intelligent  Transport 
Systems (Articles 4, 5, 6 and 38 of the Commission proposal). 

As a result of negotiations with the Parliament, the co-legislators decided to include the main 
technical requirements from the above Annexes in the text of the Regulation, on the basis of 
which  the  Commission  should  establish  relevant  detailed  provisions  through  implementing 

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acts  at  a  later  stage  to  ensure  uniform  application  throughout  the  EU  Member  States. 
Provisions on definitions, on technical requirements and data to be recorded, on the functions 
of the digital tachograph and on display and warning signals, were therefore added to the text 
of  the  Regulation,  with  which  the  Commission  agrees.  Throughout  the  negotiations,  the 
Commission maintained the necessity of use of delegated acts.  

The  Commission  will  not  oppose  the  adoption  of  the  text  as  agreed  by  the  co-legislators. 
Nevertheless,  the  Commission  will  recall  in  a  statement  (attached)  that  the  question  of 
delimitation between Articles 290 and 291 TFEU is currently under examination by the Court 
of justice in the "biocides" case." 

3.2.2.  Technical amendments 

The Commission accepts the amendments agreed between the Council and Parliament on the 
following technical issues : 

(a) 

Recording of location data (Article 8) 

The  Commission  welcomes  the  recording  of  location  points  every  three  hours  of 
accumulated  driving  time  in  order  to  improve  compliance  by  professional  road 
transport drivers with the legislation in force.  

(b) 

Equipment of control officers with the remote early detection technology (Article 9) 

After  15  years  following  the  introduction  of  the  smart  tachograph,  Member  States 
will  have  to  equip  their  control  authorities  to  an  appropriate  extent  with  remote 
equipment,  also  taking  into  account  the  national  enforcement  strategies  of  Member 
States.  Until  that  date,  it  will  be  optional  to  equip  the  control  authorities  with  the 
remote access technology.  

(c) 

Interface with Intelligent Transport Systems (Article 10) 

The  Council  considered  it  crucial  to  keep  a  sufficient  degree  of  flexibility  so  that 
transport  undertakings  remain  able  to  choose  whether  or  not  to  connect  the 
tachograph  to  external  devices.  Therefore,  the  Council  provided  that  tachographs 
may be equipped with standardised interfaces allowing the data recorded or produced 
by  tachograph  to  be  used  by  an  external  device,  subject  to  certain  conditions.  In 
addition,  the  Council's  text  clarifies  that  the  access  to  personal  data  by  an  external 
device connected to the interface can only be given after the explicit consent of the 
driver to which the data relates.  

The Commission accepted the above amendments as a step in the right direction but 
warned the co-legislators that rendering the ITS interface optional was significantly 
reducing the intention of the initial proposal.  

(d) 

Inclusion of weight sensors in the smart tachograph (Recital 6) 

Like  the  Council,  the  Commission  did  not  share  the  Parliament's  assessment  that 
there is a direct link between the inclusion of weight sensors in the smart tachographs 
and an improved control of driving and resting times. Therefore, the Commission is 
satisfied with the insertion in the text of a recital only, referring in general terms to a 
future assessment to be made by the Commission concerning the potential for weight 
sensors to contribute to an improved compliance of road transport legislation.  

(e) 

Tachograph driver cards for non-resident drivers (Article 26 paragraph 4) 

The  Commission  agrees  with  the  new  provision  which  allows  Member  States  to 
issue,  under  restrective  conditions,  temporary  and  non  renewable  driver  cards  for  a 

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maximum  period  of  185  days.  This  new  provision  offers  a  practical  solution  to  an 
operationalproblem as it covers the situation of those drivers from non-EU and non- 
ERTA (European Agreement concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles engaged in 
International  Road  Transport)  countries  performing  occasional  transport  operations 
in  the  EU,  or  of  those  drivers  holding  EU  citizenship,  but  who  lost  their  residence 
status in the EU and consequently face difficulties in obtaining a regular driver card.  

(f) 

Retrofitting of vehicles with digital tachographs (Article 3 paragraph 4) 

The Commission did not include any provisions on the retrofitting of vehicles with 
the  smart  tachographs  in  its  original  proposal,  but  can  accept  the  principle  of 
retrofitting  as  agreed  to  in  this  position  given  the  practical  implications  should  be 
manageable .  

3.2.3.  Non-technical amendments related to the functioning of the tachograph system 

(a) 

Elimination of the requirement for drivers to present forms attesting to their activities 
while being away from the vehicle (Article 34 paragraph 3 in fine).  

The Commission supports this provision as it further reduces administrative burden. 

(b) 

Proper equipment and training of control officers (Articles 38 and 39) 

The Commission accepts the outcome of negotiations between co-legislators on this 
point. 

The Commission agreed to this position and following the adoption of the Regulation 
will adopt measures, specifying the content of the initial and continuing training of 
control  officers.  This  content  shall  be  included  in  the  training  delivered  to  control 
officers in the Member States. 

(c) 

Reinforcing the trustworthiness of workshops (Article 24) 

The Commission agrees to the reduction in the frequency of the regular audits of the 
procedures applied by the workshops when handling the tachograph from one to two 
years,  as  the  Commission's  initial  proposal  of  10%  for  the  unannouced  technical 
audits  of  workshops  and  one  year  period  of  validity  of  the  workshop  card  was 
maintained.  

3.2.4.  Non-technical amendments related to data protection provisions, infringements and 

date of entry into force 

(a) 

Reinforcement of data protection (Article 7) 

The Commission agrees with the new provisions on protection of personal data.. 

(b) 

Harmonisation of infringements and penalties (Article 41) 

The Commission accepts the outcome of negotiations between co-legislators on this 
point. 

(c) 

Responsibility of transport undertakings (Article 33) 

The Commission accepts the outcome of negotiations between co-legislators on this 
point. 

(d) 

Entry into force (Article 48) 

The Commission accepts the outcome of negotiations between co-legislators on this 
point. The smart tachograph would be required - for vehicles registered for the first 
time  -  40  months  after  the  entry  into  force of  the  technical  specifications  for  smart 

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tachographs.  The  Commission  intends  to  establish  those  specification  at  the  latest 
within two years after the publication of the new Regulation.  

3.2.5.  Amendments  to  Regulation  561/2006  on  the  harmonisation  of  certain  social 

legislation relating to road transport 

The  Commission  welcomes  the  fact  that  its  proposed  amendments  to  Article  13(1)  of 
Regulation 561/2006, which allows Member States to grant exemptions from the provisions 
of the Regulation within a radius of 100 km radius from the base of the undertaking, subject 
to certain conditions, were kept and agrees with the introduction of the so-called "craftsmen 
exemption" in Article 3 of Regulation 561/2006, which defines the scope of that Regulation. 

4. 

THE COMMISSION'S CONCLUSION 

The  present  proposal  is  particularly  important  to  reach  the  objectives  set  out  in  its 
communication "Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a competitive and 
resource efficient transport system" adopted on 28 March 2011.  

Despite  the  weakening  of  several  provisions,  the  Commission  considers  that  the  Council’s 
position  still  reflects  the  main  objectives  of  its  proposal  and  therefore  believes  that  the 
legislative process should be concluded with the vote by the European Parliament of its early 
second reading position, which following the results of the informal trilogue of 14 May 2013, 
position.
should 

coincide 

Council 

with 

the 

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1) Commission statement concerning Regulation (EC) 561/2006  

COMMISSION STATEMENTS 

In order to ensure an effective and uniform implementation of the legislation on driving times 
and rest periods, the Commission will continue to monitor closely the implementation of that 
legislation and, where necessary, take the appropriate initiatives. 

2) Commission statement concerning implementing acts 

The  Commission  considers  that  the  future  acts,  which  the  Commission  has  been  given  the 
power  to  adopt  by  the  legislative  act  in  order  to  set  out  the  detailed  provisions  and 
specifications  for  the  tachograph,  tachograph  cards  and  record  sheets,  as  well  as  the  type 
approval requirements, aim at supplementing the technical specifications set out in the basic 
act and should therefore be delegated acts to be adopted on the basis of article 290 TFEU. The 
Commission  will  not  stand  against  the  adoption  of  the  text  as  agreed  by  the  co-legislators. 
Nevertheless, the Commission recalls that the question of delimitation between Articles 290 
and 291 TFEU is currently under examination by the Court of justice in the "biocides" case." 

3) Commission statement concerning the use of Article 5 (4) subparagraph 2 letter b) of 
Regulation 182/2011 

The  Commission  underlines  that  it  is  contrary  to  the  letter  and  to  the  spirit  of  Regulation 
182/2011 (OJ L 55 of 28.2.2011, p. 13) to invoke Article 5 § 4, subparagraph 2, point b) in a 
systematic manner. Recourse to this provision must respond to a specific need to depart from 
the rule of principle which is that the Commission may adopt a draft implementing act when 
no opinion is delivered. Given that it is an exception to the general rule established by Article 
5 § 4 recourse to subparagraph 2, point b), cannot be simply seen as a "discretionary power" 
of the legislator, but must be interpreted in a restrictive manner and thus must be justified. 

While  the  Commission  notes  the  agreement  reached  by  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council on the recourse to this provision it regrets that such justification is not reflected in a 
recital.  

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