Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1101/89, Regulations (EC) No 2888/2000 and (EC) No 685/2001
Date: 2016-11-29
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: Bulgaria, Hungary, Switzerland, approximation of laws, carriage of goods, combined transport, inland transport, inland waterway shipping, road transport, transport document

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 29.11.2016  
COM(2016) 745 final 

2016/0368 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1101/89, Regulations (EC) No 2888/2000 and 
(EC) No 685/2001  

(Text with EEA relevance) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  following  proposal  for  repealing  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  1101/89, 
Regulations (EC) No 2888/2000 and (EC) No 685/2001 is submitted in the context of 
the  Commission's  REFIT  programme  and  commitment  on  better  regulation.  The 
objective  is  to  ensure  a  legislative  framework  that  is  fit  for  purpose  and  of  high-
quality,  as  referred  to  in  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  between  the  European 
Parliament,  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  and  the  European  Commission  on 
Better  Law-Making.  To  that  end,  the  Commission  has  identified  these  obsolete 
Regulations which the Commission is proposing to repeal. 

1.1. 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 1101/89 

Based  on  Article  91  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union, 
Regulation (EEC) No 1101/89 introduced arrangements for structural improvements 
in the inland waterway sector for the fleets operating on the linked inland waterway 
networks of Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Austria.    

The objective of that Regulation was to reduce overcapacity in the inland waterway 
fleets  by  means  of  vessel-scrapping  schemes  coordinated  at  Community  level. 
Regulation  (EEC)  No  1101/89  was  designed  to  be  limited  in  time  as  explained  in 
article 8(1). It stopped producing effect as of 28 April 1999. 

On  29  March  1999  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  718/1999  on  a  Community-fleet 
capacity policy to promote inland waterway transport was adopted in order to ensure 
that the appropriate tools continued to be available to the inland waterway transport 
sector  and  to  manage  the  fleet  capacity.  This  Regulation  entered  into  force  on  29 
April 1999 to succeed to Regulation (EEC) No 1101/89. 

1.2. 

Regulation (EC) No 2888/2000 

Based  on  Article  91  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union, 
Regulation  (EC)  No  2888/2000  distributed  the  quotas  for  heavy  goods  vehicles 
which the Community received from Switzerland for years 2001 to 2004 among its 
Member States.  

Article  8  of  the  Agreement  between  the  European  Community  and  the  Swiss 
Confederation  on  the  Carriage  of  Goods  and  Passengers  by  Rail  and  Road,  which 
was signed on 21 June 1999 and which entered into force on 1 June 2002, provided 
for such quotas for vehicles with a total weight between 34 tonnes and 40 tonnes as 
transitional arrangements for years 2001 to 2004.  

In  accordance  with  Article  8(6)  of  the  Agreement  and  with  effect  from  1  January 
2005,  all  vehicles  meeting  the  technical  standards  of  Directive  96/53/EC  (that  is  to 
say, up to a maximum weight of 40 tonnes) "shall be exempt, under Article 32, from 
any quota or authorisation arrangements." 

As from 2005 there is no longer a need to distribute quotas amongst  Member States, 
Regulation (EC) No 2888/2000 has become obsolete and should be repealed.  

1.1. 

Regulation (EC) No 685/2001 

Based  on  Article  91  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union, 
Regulation  (EC)  No  685/2001  lays  down  the  rules  for  the  distribution  between  the 
Member States of authorisations available to the Community by virtue of Article 6(2) 

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of  the  agreements  between  the  European  Community  and  the  Republic  of  Bulgaria 
and between the European Community and Romania establishing certain conditions 
for the carriage of goods by road and the promotion of combined transport.  

The Regulation has become obsolete as Bulgaria and Romania have acceded to the 
Union and as Member States they are no longer subject to a system of authorisations 
as far as access to the haulage market is concerned. 

RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND 
IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

2. 

N/A 

3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

The proposal consists of repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1101/89, Regulations (EC) 
No 685/2001 and (EC) No 2888/2000.  

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2016/0368 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1101/89, Regulations (EC) No 2888/2000 and 
(EC) No 685/2001  

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 91 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee1, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions2,  

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

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The  European  Parliament,  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  and  the  European 
Commission have confirmed their joint commitment to update and simplify legislation 
in the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 20163. 

In order to clean-up and reduce the volume of the legislative acquis, it is necessary to 
regularly analyse it and identify obsolete legislation. Repealing the obsolete legislation 
is  useful  for  keeping  the  legislative  framework  transparent,  clear  and  easy  to  use  by 
Member States and relevant stakeholders, in this case the road haulage sector. 
The  Council  adopted  Regulation  (EEC)  No  1101/894  in  1989.  Ten  years  later,  the 
Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 718/19995  in order to ensure that the appropriate 
tools continued to be available to the inland waterway transport sector and to manage 
the  fleet  capacity.  That  Regulation  covered  the  same  subject  matter  as  Regulation 
(EEC) No 1101/89, without repealing the latter.  

In accordance with Article 8(6) of the Agreement between the European Community 
and  the  Swiss  Confederation  on  the  Carriage  of  Goods  and  Passengers  by  Rail  and 
Road6,  all  vehicles  meeting  the  technical  standards  of  Council  Directive  96/53/EC7 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1. 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1101/89 of 27 April 1989 on structural improvements in inland waterway 
transport (OJ L 116, 28.4.1989, p. 25). 
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  718/1999  of  29  March  1999  on  a  Community-fleet  capacity  policy  to 
promote inland waterway transport (OJ L 90, 2.4.1999, p. 1). 
O.J. L 114, 30.4.2002, p. 91. 

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have been exempt from any quota or authorisation arrangements since 1 January 2005. 
Regulation  (EC)  No  2888/2000  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council8  which 
concerns the distribution of permits for heavy goods vehicles travelling in Switzerland 
should therefore be considered as obsolete.  

(5) 

Following the accession of both the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania to the Union 
on  1  January  2007,  Regulation  No  685/2001  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council9  is  no  longer  necessary  as  those  Member  States  are  no  longer  required  to 
obtain authorisation for the carriage of goods by road and the promotion of combined 
transport. 

(6) 

As  a  consequence,  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  1101/89,  Regulations  (EC)  No 
685/2001 and (EC) No 2888/2000 should be repealed, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  1101/89,  Regulations  (EC)  No  2888/2000  and  (EC)  No 
685/2001 are repealed. 

Article 1 

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

Article 2 

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

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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Council Directive 96/53/EC of 25 July 1996 laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the 
Community the maximum authorized dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum 
authorized weights in international traffic (OJ L 235, 17.9.1996, p. 59). 
Regulation (EC) No 2888/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on 
the distribution of permits for heavy goods vehicles travelling in Switzerland (OJ L 336, 30.12.2000, p. 
9). 
Regulation  (EC)  No  685/2001  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  4  April  2001 
concerning  the  distribution  of  authorisations  among  Member  States  received  through  the  Agreements 
establishing  certain  conditions  for  the  carriage  of  goods  by  road  and  the  promotion  of  combined 
transport  between  the  European  Community  and  the  Republic  of  Bulgaria  and  between  the  European 
Community and Romania (OJ L 108, 18.4.2001, p. 1). 

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