Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 and Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 with a view to adapting them to developments in the sector
Date: 2017-05-31
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: access to a profession, administrative cooperation, carriage of goods, carriage of passengers, carrier, inland transport, international transport, road transport, transport policy, transport regulations

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 31.5.2017  COM(2017) 281 final 2017/0123 (COD)   Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 and Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 with a view to adapting them to developments in the sector   (Text with EEA relevance) {SWD(2017) 194 final} {SWD(2017) 195 final}  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

• 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1071/2009  on  access  to  the  occupation  of  road  transport  operator1  and 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1072/2009  on  access  to  the  international  road  transport  market2 
('Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009', 'Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009' or 'the Regulations') were 
adopted as part of a package of measures aimed at modernising the rules governing admission 
to the occupation of road transport operator and access to the road transport market.  

As  a  global  objective,  the  Regulations  support  the  good  functioning  of  the  single  market  in 
road transport, its efficiency and competitiveness.     

Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 lays down the provisions that undertakings must comply with, 
in  order  to  access  the  occupation  of  road  transport  operator  (passenger  and  freight).  It  also 
lays down certain provisions to regulate and enable enforcement by Member States. 

Regulation  (EC)  No  1072/2009  lays  down  the  provisions  that  undertakings  intending  to 
operate on the international road haulage market and on national markets other than their own 
(cabotage) must comply with. It includes provisions related to the documents to be issued to 
such  undertakings  by  the  Member  State  of  registration  (Community  license),  as  well  as  to 
drivers from third countries (driver attestation).  
An  ex-post evaluation  of  the  Regulations  was  carried  out  in  2014-20153 and  concluded  that 
the  Regulations  were  only  partly  effective  in  achieving  their  original  objective  of  creating 
suitable competitive conditions in the market. The main difficulties encountered were linked 
to  shortcomings  of  the  rules  and  their  enforcement.  This  proposal,  which  is  a  REFIT 
initiative,4 is also intended to correct these shortcomings.  

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

This proposal is part of a broader ongoing review of the road transport legislation. It is closely 
linked to other existing legal acts concerning road transport, in particular the social legislation 
for  road  transport  (Regulation  (EC)  No  561/2006,5  Directive  2002/15/EC,6  Directive 
2006/22/EC7  and  Regulation  (EU)  165/20148).  Better  enforcement  of  "market  rules",  as 
suggested  in  the  present  proposal,  will  therefore  be  made  easier  through  existing  synergies 
while, conversely, contributing to the enforcement of social legislation in an indirect manner.  

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

The proposal contributes directly to one of the priorities of the current Commission, namely to 
promote a deeper and fairer single market. Its main objective is to further improve the single 
market for road transport through amendments intended to eliminate causes for disparities and 
to ensure better enforcement of the rules. 

1 
2 
3  

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 

OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 51. 
OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 72. 
The Commission published a Staff Working Document with the results of this evaluation: 
https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/swd20160350.pdf 
Initiative No 10 in annex 2 to the Commission Work Programme 2017. 
OJ L 102, 11.4.2006, p. 1. 
OJ L 80, 23.03.2002, p. 35. 
OJ L 102, 11.4.2006, p. 35. 
OJ L 60, 28.2.2014, p.1. 

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This  proposal  meets  the  REFIT  objective  by  increasing  effectiveness  and  reducing  the 
administrative  and  regulatory  burden  for  businesses.  It  also  gives  the  Member  States  the 
possibility  of  reducing  certain  unnecessary  implementation  costs  relating  to  enforcement  of 
the rules.  

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The  legal  basis  for  the  Regulations  and  for  the  proposed  amendment  is  Article  91(1)of  the 
Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  ('TFEU')  (formerly  Article  71  TEC).This 
article provides the basis for the adoption of EU legislation laying down notably: (i) common 
rules applicable to international transport to or from the territory of a Member State or passing 
across  the  territory  of  one  or  more  Member  States  (Article  91(1)(a)  TFEU);  and  (ii)  the 
conditions under which non-resident carriers may operate transport services within a Member 
State (Article 91(1)(b) TFEU). 

• 

Subsidiarity  

The EU shares competence with Member States to regulate in the field of transport pursuant 
to Article 4(2)(g) TFEU. However, amendments to existing rules can only be made by the EU 
legislator itself. 

Besides,  the  existing  differences  in  Member  States  practices  and  weaknesses  in  respect  of 
enforcement  are  detrimental  to  the  operation  of  the  single  market,  are  intrinsically  tied  to 
shortcomings in harmonisation and can therefore effectively be addressed only by the Union. 

• 

Proportionality 

As  indicated  in  Section  6.3  of  the  impact  assessment  report,  the  policy  proposal  is 
proportionate  to  the  problems  that  have  been  identified  and  it  does  not  go  beyond  what  is 
needed  to  solve  them.  On  SMEs,  in  particular,  the  envisaged  policy  measures  would  in 
general  have  no  disproportional  impact.  The  proposal  is  mainly  focused  on  a  simplification 
and clarification of the existing regulatory framework, together with more robust enforcement 
requirements, and it does not create additional regulatory requirements for interested parties 
which would not be proportionate to the identified problems.      

• 

Choice of the instrument 

Since the legal acts to be amended are Regulations, the act amending them should in principle 
take the same form. 

3. 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluation/fitness check of existing legislation 

• 
The  Regulations  were  subject  to  an  ex-post  evaluation.9  This  evaluation  was  complemented 
by an external study.10 

On enforcement, the main issues identified are the following: 

9 
10 

See Footnote 3. 
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/facts-fundings/evaluations/doc/2015-12-ex-post-
evaluation-regulations-2009r1071-and-2009r1072.pdf. 

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– 

– 

There  are  different  levels  of  control  by  Member  States,  in  particular  on  the  stable 
establishment  and  good  repute  criteria  for  access  to  the  profession  and  illegal 
cabotage operations.  

There  is  a  lack  of  cooperation  between  (at  least  some)  Member  States,  notably  on 
compliance  with  the  stable  and  effective  establishment  criterion  for  access  to  the 
profession. 

Other  shortcomings  of  the  rules  concern  the  fact  that  some  rules  are  not  specific  on  given 
questions or leave explicit room for unilateral measures by Member States, all of which has 
led to differences in practice that are negative for the operation of the single market:  

– 

– 

– 

– 

The  definition  of  stable  and  effective  establishment,  including  the  term  operating 
centre,  leaves  open  many  questions.  As  a  consequence,  different  practices  have 
emerged.  

The period of time before good repute is reinstated is neither defined nor otherwise 
regulated  in  Regulation  (EC)  No  1071/2009,  and  varies  widely  between  Member 
States. 

Invoking  Article  3(2)  of  Regulation  No  1071/2009,  some  Member  States  impose 
additional conditions on access to the occupation of road haulier. 

The  cabotage  provisions  are  not  specific  on  certain  points  and  this  has  led  to 
differences in Member States practices. Some Member States accept several loading 
and/or unloading operations within the same cabotage operation, while others do not. 

Regulation  (EC)  No  1071/2009  leaves  Member  States  the  faculty  to  apply  its  provisions  to 
vehicles  the  permissible  laden  mass  of  which  does  not  exceed  3.5  tonnes  ('LCVs'),  which 
leads to different requirements for the same vehicles in different Member States. 

• 

Consultations of interested parties 

The  consultations  of  interested  parties  conducted  in  preparation  of  this  proposal  complied 
with  the  minimum  standards  for  the  consultation  of  interested  parties  set  out  in  the 
Commission Communication of 11 December 2002 (COM(2002) 704 final). 

The  consultation  process  included  two  types  of  actions  –  opinion  gathering  and  data 
collection. Open and targeted consultation methods and various consultation tools were used. 

As for the open consultation, an online public consultation took place between 15 June and 
15 September  2016.  The  main  objectives  were  (i)  to  gather  additional  information  on  the 
existence  of  the  problems  identified  during  the  ex-post  evaluation,  as  well  as  information 
allowing  the  quantification  of  the  problems  found  to  exist,  (ii)  to  seek  the  opinion  of 
interested parties on possible policy measures, and (iii) to assess the expected impacts of the 
possible  policy  measures.  The  Commission  received  175  contributions:  23  replies  from 
medium and large companies (hauliers and shippers with 50 or more employees); 18 replies 
from  small  companies  (hauliers  and  shippers  with  49  or  fewer  employees);  17  replies  from 
logistics  industry  representatives;  33  replies  from  associations  representing  road  transport 
workers;  48  replies  from  associations  of  road  transport  operators;  18  replies  from  national 
authorities and relevant associations; and 18 replies from other respondents.          

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Moreover, as part of the public consultation 22 position papers were received from a variety 
of  interested  parties  including  industry  associations,  workers  organisations,  national 
authorities, enforcement organisations, NGOs and experts. 

The consultation paper, the contributions received and a summary of these contributions are 
available on the webpage 'A road transport stategy for Europe' of the Directorate-General for 
Mobility and Transport and on the Commission's 'Your voice in Europe' website.11 

The targeted consultation process included the following:  

 

 

 

 

 

A SME panel survey focused on issues around the use of LCVs in road transport and 
the potential impact of policy measures related to the extension of the scope of the 
legal framework to cover LCVs. A total of 17 responses were received, including 7 
providers of road freight transport services using owned or hired vehicles for hire and 
reward, 7 firms that use owned or hired vehicles for the transport of their own goods 
('own account operators') and 8 users of road freight transport services. 

A survey of authorities to obtain the views of the national authorities on the policy 
measures proposed here in terms of their expected impact on the implementation and 
enforcement  of  the  legal  framework  and  to  obtain  data  or  estimates  of  the  possible 
costs  those  measures  could  entail  for  the  authorities.  A  total  of  18  responses  were 
received, covering 16 Member States12 and 1 from Euro-Contrôle-Route.  

A  survey  of  hauliers  to  obtain  relevant  data  from  transport  operators  on  costs  and 
characteristics of operations that could be used in the assessment of the impacts (as 
part  of  the  baseline  scenario)  and  also  their  views  and  estimates  on  the  costs  or 
savings from the policy measures under consideration. A total of 80 firms responded 
to the survey of hauliers.  

interviews  of 

interested  parties  (31 

Telephone 
interviews  of  national  and 
international  transport  companies  and  the  respective  associations  and  national 
authorities) to gather more detailed insight into the opinions of interested parties on 
the  different  measures  under  consideration,  obtain  data  or  estimates  of  costs  and 
views on possible difficulties that may arise in relation to each measure. 

Several  stakeholder seminars, meetings and  other  events were  organised during the 
course  of  the  ex-post  evaluation  and  impact  assessment  of  this  initiative,  involving 
the  social  partners  and  the  Commission  also  participated  in  several  initiatives 
organised by the social partners.  

The  information  gathered  during  the  consultation  confirmed  the  existence  of  the  main 
problems  identified  during  the  evaluation  phase,  as  well  as  the  pertinence  of  the  main 
objectives of the intervention. 

On the potential policy measures identified during the consultation, there was strong support 
for measures intended to strengthen enforcement. 

On  changes  to  the  cabotage  restrictions,  there  were  mixed  reactions,  with  some  groups  of 
interested  parties  supporting  changes  and  others  expressing  reluctance.  High-wage  Member 
States, supported by trade unions, tend to favour stricter rules on cabotage, whereas low-wage 

11  Please see http://ec.europa.eu/transport/node/4817. 
12 

BE, BG, CY, DE, EE, EL, FI, HR, HU, LU, LV, NL, PL, RO, SE, UK. 

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Member  States,  supported  by  most  of  the  hauliers'  associations,  tend  to  favour  further 
liberalisation of the cabotage rules.    

There  was  a  positive  reaction  to  the  idea  of  adopting  measures  intended  to  strengthen  the 
criteria underlying the requirement of a stable establishment. Many interested parties opined 
that  it  was  necessary  to  ensure  that  only  cases  of  real  activity  in  the  Member  State  of 
establishment qualify under the corresponding rules.   

The inclusion of LCVs in the scope of the Regulations was also seen as a positive measure by 
a majority of interested parties consulted.  

• 

Collection and use of expertise 

An  external  contractor  contributed  to  the  ex-post  evaluation  report  and  an  accompanying 
study for the impact assessment,13 which were concluded in April 2017. 

• 

Impact assessment 

The proposal is accompanied by an impact assessment, which has received a positive opinion 
with reservations from  the Regulatory Scrutiny Board.As detailed in Annex 1 to the impact 
assessment  report,  the  reservations  were  addressed  by  explaining  in  greater  detail  the 
magnitude  of  the  identified  problems  and  the  REFIT  nature  of  the  initiative,  improving  the 
rationale for the structure of the policy options and better explaining the interactions between 
this proposal and the initiative concerning road social legislation.  

Four  policy  packages  were  considered,  reflecting  an  increasing  level  of  regulatory 
intervention  and  entailing  an  increasing  level  of  expected  impacts.  The  first  policy  package 
focused  on  clarification  of  the  legal  framework.  The  second  policy  package  focused  on  the 
strengthening of enforcement. The third policy package focused on substantive changes in the 
rules, in particular on cabotage and establishment, on top of the measures covered by the first 
two  policy  packages.  The  fourth  policy  package  involved  an  extension  of  the  scope  of  the 
Regulations to LCVs.   

The  preferred  option  is  a  combination  of  the  third  policy  package,  with  amendments  to  the 
cabotage rules and the establishment provisions,and a partial extension of Regulation (EC) No 
1071/2009 to LCVs. 

Overall it is the most effective option and it is estimated to generate savings for businesses in 
the  range  of  EUR  2.7-5.2  billion  for  the  EU-28  in  2020-2035.  It  is  expected  to  reduce 
infringements of cabotage rules by up to 62% and to reduce the risk of formation of letterbox 
companies  by  around  10%,  which  should  have  a  positive  impact  on  working  conditions.  It 
should  also  lead  to  more  professionalisation  of  LCV  operators.  The  preferred  option  will, 
however,  trigger  increased  implementation  and  enforcement  costs  for  national  authorities  in 
the  range  of  EUR  65-166  million  for  the  EU-28  in  2020-2035.  The  partial  application  of 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1071/2009  to  LCVs  will  also  trigger  additional  compliance  costs  for 
businesses in the order of a 4-10% increase in operating costs. 

The proposal is in line with the preferred option in the impact assessment. 

• 

Regulatory fitness and simplification 

The proposal pursues the REFIT objective of increasing effectiveness and reducing regulatory 
burdens for businesses. This is done mainly through the mandatory acceptance of electronic 

13 See Footnote 10.  

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transport documents in international transport by national enforcement authorities and through 
clearer and more harmonised rules on access to the profession. While enforcement costs for 
public authorities  are expected to  increase, this increase is of a  much lower magnitude than 
the  savings  for  businesses  and  is  anyway  justified  by  the  improvement  in  the  competitive 
conditions,  with  fewer  infringements  of  cabotage  rules,  fewer  letterbox  companies  being 
created and better working conditions for transport workers. 

• 

Fundamental rights 

The  proposal  respects  the  fundamental  rights  and  observes  the  principles  recognised  in 
particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. In particular, insofar 
as  it  provides  for  additional  data  to  be  included  in  the  national  electronic  registers  of  road 
transport undertakings and to be processed by national authorities, it complies with Article 8 
of  the  Charter,  since  this  data  is  necessary  to  achieve  the  purpose  of  a  better  national  and 
cross-border enforcement of the provisions of the Regulations.  

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The proposal will have no implications on the Union budget. 

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

Information  on  the  prevalence  of  LCVs  in  national  and  international  transport  for  hire  and 
reward  should  be  further  developed.  Therefore,  close  monitoring  and  data  collection  is 
necessary to follow the market trends in this respect. This will be done through a combination 
of  national  data  gathering  and  Member  State  reporting.  This  monitoring  should  start 
immediately after the entry into force of the Regulations.    

• 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

The main elements of the proposal are the following: 

Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 

Article 1 – Subject matter and scope 

Current  Article  1(4)(a)  excludes  hauliers  operating  solely  with  LCVs  from  the  scope  of  the 
Regulation, unless otherwise provided by Member States (cf. introductory sentence). In order 
to ensure a minimum level of professionalisation of the LCV sector by way of common rules 
and  thus  to  approximate  competitive  conditions  between  operators,  it  is  proposed  to  delete 
this provision and to make certain rules mandatory for this category of operators as well.  

To this end, it is proposed to add a new paragraph 6 excluding hauliers operating solely with 
LCVs  from  some,  but  not  all  of  the  requirements  of  the  Regulation.  Requirements  on  the 
transport  manager,  good  repute,  professional  competence  and  obligations  related  to  those 
requirements are not proposed as mandatory, but Member States would keep the possibility to 
apply  them  as  hitherto.  By  contrast,  the  requirements  regarding  effective  and  stable 
establishment and appropriate financial standing are proposed to apply to such hauliers in all 
Member  States.  The  scope  for  differences  between  Member  States  would  be  reduced 
accordingly. 

Article 3 – Requirements for engagement in the occupation of road transport operator 

It  is  proposed  to  delete  paragraph  2,  which  so  far  permits  the  imposition  of  additional 
conditions on access to the occupation, beyond the four criteria laid down in Article 3(1). This 

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possibility  has  led  to  divergences  in  respect  of  the  conditions  for  access  to  the  profession. 
Therefore,  and  because  this  possibility  has  not  proven  to  be  required  in  light  of  imperative 
needs, it should be abolished. 

Article 5 – Conditions relating to the requirement of establishment 

It  is  proposed  to  clarify  the  terms  of  Article  5  to  ensure  that  undertakings  established  in  a 
Member State have a real and continuous activity there. In detail, the following is proposed: 
in point (a), a reference to commercial and labour contracts is added, which therefore would 
also need to be kept in the premises situated in the Member State of establishment; point (c) is 
split  into  points  (c)  and  (d)  to  better  distinguish  between  the  conduct  of  administrative  and 
commercial  activities  and  operations  involving  vehicles;  point  (e)  is  added  to  require 
undertakings  to  hold  assets  and  employ  staff  in  the  Member  State  of  establishment  in 
proportion to the establishment's activity.  

Article 6 – Conditions relating to the requirement of good repute 

In  Article  6,  a  number  of  amendments  are  proposed  to  clarify  and  further  harmonise  the 
assessment of good repute and to extend the list of infringements which may lead to loss of 
good repute. In detail, the following is proposed:  

Paragraph  1  is  amended  to  better  circumscribe  the  categories  of  persons  whose  conduct 
should be taken into account for the purposes of assessing an undertaking’s good repute. One 
additional  point  (vii)  is  added  in  point  (a)  of  the  third  subparagraph,  so  that  serious 
infringements of national tax rules are taken into account in the assessment of the good repute 
of  the  transport  manager  or  transport  undertaking.  Two  additional  points  (xi)  and  (xii)  are 
added in point (b) of the third subparagraph, so that serious infringements of EU rules on the 
posting of workers and the law applicable to contractual obligations are taken into account in 
the assessment of the good repute of the transport manager or transport undertaking. Article 
6(2)  is  amended  to  further  specify  the  administrative  procedure  which  must  be  followed  by 
the  competent  authority  of  the  Member  State  of  establishment  of  a transport  undertaking  or 
transport manager having committed a serious infringement of national or EU rules in order to 
determine  whether  the  transport  undertaking  or  transport  manager  concerned  has  lost  good 
repute.  A  new  paragraph  2a  replaces  former  point  (b)  of  Article  6(2)  and  specifies  that  the 
Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts establishing infringements of Union rules 
which may lead to the loss of good repute, in addition to those set out in Annex IV. In this 
context,  it  is  proposed  to  empower  the  Commission  to  define  the  degree  of  seriousness  of 
infringements also according to their potential to distort competition (which concerns notably 
cabotage  rules).  Infringements  likely  to  undermine  working  conditions  should,  because  of 
their competitive effects, be treated in the same way.14 

Article 7 - Conditions relating to the requirement of financial standing 

It is proposed to amend paragraph 1 to provide for specific, less demanding,conditions to be 
fulfilled by hauliers operating solely with LCVs. In paragraph 2, it is proposed to clarify the 
means  by  which  undertakings  may  prove  their  financial  standing  in  the absence  of certified 
annual  accounts,  in  order  to  enable  the  assessment  of  compliance  with  this  criterion  by 
enforcers, in particular for newly created undertakings which have no certified accounts yet. 

Article 13 – Procedure for the suspension and withdrawal of authorisations 

The  proposed  amendment  to  Article  13(1)(c)  clarifies  the  position  of  competent  authorities 
where undertakings no longer comply with the requirement of financial standing. Within the 

14 

The possibility for the Commission to define the degree of seriousness of infringements also according 
to their potential to create a risk of fatalities or serious injuries would remain. 

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time  limit  set,  the  undertaking  is  expected  to  demonstrate  that  that  requirement  is  again 
satisfied (and not only that it will be satisfied in the future). 

Article 14 – Declaration of unfitness of the transport manager 

It  is  proposed  to  specify  that,  after  having  lost  good  repute,  a  transport  manager  cannot  be 
rehabilitated  by  the  competent authority  earlier  than  one  year  from  the  date  of  loss of  good 
repute  (cf.  new  subparagraph  added  to  paragraph  1).  The  intention  is  to  avoid  important 
divergences on this point between Member States. 

Article 16 – National electronic registers 

In  paragraph 2, it is  proposed  to  add elements of information  to  be included in  the national 
electronic  registers.  This  should  allow  better  enforcement  of  the  rules  on  access  to  the 
profession. 

Article 18 – Administrative cooperation between Member States 

It  is  proposed  to  further  specify  the  terms  of  the  cooperation  between  Member  States.  In 
particular, it is proposed to set a maximum time period for Member States to reply to reasoned 
requests  from  other  Member  States  and  an  obligation  for  Member  States  to  conduct 
inspections  concerning  non-compliance  with  the  criteria  on  establishment  by  undertakings 
established in their territories on the basis of evidence provided by other Member States. 

Article 26 – Reporting 

It is proposed to require that Member States report to the Commission information about the 
activities  of  hauliers  operating  with  LCVs  in  their  territory  (new  paragraph  3).  Draft  new 
paragraph  4  provides  that  the  Commission  shall  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council  by  the  end  of  2024  on  the  presence  of  LCV  operators  in  national  and  international 
road  transport  and  that,  on  this  basis,  it  will  reassess  whether  there  is  a  need  to  propose 
additional measures. 

Annex IV – Most serious infringements for the purposes of Article 6(2)(a) 

Paragraph  1,  point  (b)  is  amended  in  order  to  make  it  consistent  with  Regulation  (EC)  No 
561/2006 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport15 and to 
remove legal uncertainty in its implementation. 

Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 

Article 1 – Scope 

In paragraph 1a new subparagraph is added to clarify that the carriage of empty containers or 
pallets is to be considered as a carriage for hire and reward only if it is subject to a transport 
contract between a consignee and a consignor. 

Article 2 – Definitions 

Point  6  is  amended  to  clarify  that  a  cabotage  operation  can  involve  several  loading  points, 
several delivery points or several loading and delivery points. 

Article 8 – Cabotage – general principle 

The following amendments are proposed: 

In paragraph 2 the maximum number of cabotage operations which may be carried out in a 
host Member State following an incoming international carriage is removed, while reducing 
the  maximum  number  of  days  for  carrying  out  such  cabotage  operations.  In  line  with  the 

15 

See footnote no. 5. 

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conclusions of the Impact Assessment, these amendments render the rules easier to enforce.In 
paragraph 3, the requirement to produce evidence of each cabotage operation is suppressed, 
since  it  becomes  redundant  as  a  consequence  of  the  amendment  of  pararaph  2.  New  draft 
paragraph  4a  specifies  that  evidence  of  compliance  with  the  cabotage  restrictions  shall  be 
provided  during  the  duration  of  the  road  side  check  and  possibly  through  electronic  means, 
thereby  simplifying  procedures  and  removing  legal  uncertainty  regarding  the  timing  for  the 
presentation of the evidence. 

Article 10  – Safeguard procedure 

It  is  proposed  to  amend  Article  10(3)  to  update  the  reference  to  the  relevant  committee 
procedure, following the proposed deletion of Article 15.    

Article 10a  – Cabotage – checking systems 

Article 10a is added to require that Member States carry out a minimum amount of checks of 
compliance with the cabotage provisions (i.e. 2% of cabotage operations from 1 January 2020 
and 3% from 1 January 2022). It also requires Member States to carry out a minimum number 
of concerted roadside checks per year (3) on the cabotage provisions of the Regulation.  

Article 14a  – Liability 

It is proposed to specify that shippers and freight forwarders shall be subject to sanctions in 
case  they  knowingly  commission  transport  services  which  involve  infringements  of  the 
provisions of the Regulation. 

Article 17  – Reporting 

It is proposed to amend paragraphs 1 and 2, specifying the date by which Member States are 
required  to  report  to  the  Commission  on  the  number  of  Community  licences,  certified  true 
copies and driver attestations issued in  the  previous  calendar year,  i.e. by 31 January of the 
following year. New draft paragraph 3 requires Member States to report to the Commission 
on the number of cabotage checks performed during the previous year. 

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2017/0123 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 and Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 with a view 
to adapting them to developments in the sector  

(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(1) 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 Committee16, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions17, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

Experience  with  the  implementation  of  Regulations  (EC)  No  1071/200918  and  (EC) 
No 1072/200919 revealed that the rules provided for in those regulations offered scope 
for improvement on a number of points. 

So  far,  and  unless  otherwise  provided  for  in  national  law,  the  rules  on  access  to  the 
occupation  of  road  transport  operator  do  not  apply  to  undertakings  engaged  in  the 
occupation  of  road  haulage  operator  solely  by  means  of  motor  vehicles  with  a  
permissible  laden  mass  not  exceeding  3.5  tonnes  or  combinations  of  vehicles  not 
exceeding  that  limit.The  number  of  such  undertakings  which  are  active  in  both 
national and international transport operations has been increasing. As a result, several 
Member  States  have  decided  to  apply  the  rules  on  access  to  the  occupation  of  road 
those 
transport  operator,provided  for 
undertakings.  To  ensure  a  minimum  level  of  professionalisation  of  the  sector  using 
vehicles with a permissible laden mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes by way of common 
rules,  and  thus  to  approximate  competitive  conditions  between  all  operators,  this 
provision should  be deleted, whereas the requirements  regarding effective  and stable 
establishment and appropriate financial standing should be rendered mandatory. 

in  Regulation  (EC)  No  1071/2009,to 

16 
17 
18 

19 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1071/2009  establishing  common  rules  concerning  the  conditions  to  be  complied 
with to pursue the occupation of road transport operator and repealing Council Directive 96/26/EC (OJ 
L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 51). 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1072/2009  on  common  rules  for  access  to  the  international  road  haulage  market 
(OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 72). 

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11 

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(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

Currently,  Member  States  are  entitled  to  make  access  to  the  occupation  of  road 
transport operator subject to requirements additional to those specified in Regulation 
(EC)  No  1071/2009.  This  possibility  has  not  proven  to  be  necessary  in  order  to 
respond  to  imperative  needs  and  has  led  to  divergences  in  respect  of  such  access.  It 
should therefore be abolished. 

It  is  necessary  to  ensure  that  road  transport  operators  established  in  a  Member  State 
have a real and continuous presence in that Member State and conduct their business 
from  there.  Therefore,  and  in  light  of  experience,  it  is  necessary  to  clarify  the 
provisions regarding the existence of an effective and stable establishment. 

To  the  extent  that  access  to  the  occupation  depends  on  the  good  repute  of  the 
undertaking concerned, clarifications are needed as regards the persons whose conduct 
must be taken into account, the administrative procedures which must be followed and 
waiting  periods  in  respect  of  rehabilitation  once  a  transport  manager  has  lost  good 
repute. 

In view of their potential to considerably affect the conditions for fair competition in 
the road haulage market, serious infringements of national tax rules should be added to 
the items relevant to the assessment of good repute. 

In view of their potential to considerably affect the road haulage market, as well as the 
social  protection  of  workers,  serious  infringements  of  Union  rules  on  the  posting  of 
workers and the law applicable to contractual obligations should be added to the items 
relevant to the assessment of good repute.  

Given the importance of fair competition in the market, infringements of Union rules 
relevant to this issue should be taken into account in the assessment of the good repute 
of  transport  managers  and  transport  undertakings.  The  empowerment  of  the 
Commission  to  define  the  degree  of  seriousness  of  relevant  infringements  should  be 
clarified accordingly. 

National competent authorities have had difficulties identifying the documents which 
may  be  submitted  by  transport  undertakings  to  prove  their  financial  standing,  in 
particular  in  the  absence  of  certified  annual  accounts.  The  rules  regarding  evidence 
required to prove financial standing should be clarified.  

(10)  Undertakings engaged in the occupation of road haulage operator solely by means of 
motor  vehicles  with  a  permissible  laden  mass  not  exceeding  3.5  tonnes  or  with 
combinations  of  vehicles  not  exceeding  that  limit  should  have  a  minimum  level  of 
financial  standing,  to  ensure  that  they  have  the  means  to  carry  out  operations  on  a 
stable and long-lasting basis. However, since the operations concerned are generally of 
a  limited  size,  the  corresponding  requirements  should  be  less  demanding  than  those 
applicable to operators using vehicles or combinations of vehicles above that limit.    

(11)  The information about transport operators contained in the national electronic registers 
should be as complete as possible to allow national authorities in charge of enforcing 
the relevant rules to have a sufficient overview of the operators being investigated. In 
particular, information regarding the registration number of the vehicles at the disposal 
of  operators,  the  number  of  employees  they  hire,  their  risk  rating  and  their  basic 
financial  information  should  allow a  better  national  and  cross-border  enforcement  of 
the provisions of Regulations(EC) No 1071/2009 and (EC) No 1072/2009. The rules 
on the national electronic register should therefore be amended accordingly. 

(12)  The definition of the most serious infringement concerning exceeding the daily driving 
time, as provided for in Annex IV of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, does not fit the 

EN 

12 

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existing  relevant  provision  laid  down  in  Regulation  (EC)  No  561/2006  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council20. That inconsistency leads to uncertainty and 
diverging  practices  among  national  authorities  and  ensuing  difficulties  in  the 
enforcement  of  the  rules  in  question.  That  definition  should  therefore  be  clarified  to 
ensure consistency between the two Regulations. 

(13)  The  rules  on  national  transport  performed  on  a  temporary  basis  by  non-resident 
hauliers  in  a  host  Member  State  ('cabotage')  should  be  clear,  simple  and  easy  to 
enforce, while broadly maintaining the level of liberalisation achieved so far.  

(14)  To  this  end,  and  in  order  to  facilitate  checks  and  to  eliminate  uncertainty,  the 
limitation  on  the  number  of  cabotage  operations  subsequent  to  an  international 
carriage should be abolished, while the number of days available for such operations 
should be reduced. 

(15)  The means by which road transport operators can prove compliance with the rules for 
cabotage  operations  should  be  clarified.  The  use  and  transmission  of  electronic 
transport information should be recognised as such means, which should simplify the 
provision  of  relevant  evidence  and  its  treatment  by  the  competent  authorities.  The 
format used for that purpose should ensure reliability and authenticity. Considering the 
increasing  use  of  efficient  electronic  exchange  of  information  in  transport  and 
logistics,  it  is  important  to  ensure  coherence  in  the  regulatory  frameworks  and 
provisions addressing the simplification of administrative procedures.  

(16)  Transport  undertakings  are  the  addressees  of  the  rules  on  international  carriage  and 
are,  as  such,  subject  to  the  consequences  of  any  infringements  committed  by  them. 
However,  in  order  to  prevent  abuses  by  undertakings  contracting  transport  services 
from  road  haulage  operators,  Member  States  should  also  provide  for  sanctions  on 
shippers and freight forwarders in case they knowingly commission transport services 
which involve infringements of the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009. 

(17) 

(18) 

Insofar as this Regulation introduces a degree of harmonisation in certain areas so far 
not  harmonised  by  Union  law,  in  particular  in  respect  of  transport  with  light 
commercial vehicles and enforcement practices, its objectives, namely to  approximate 
conditions of competition and improve enforcement,cannot be sufficiently achieved by 
the Member States but can rather, by reason of the nature of the objectives pursued in 
combination  with  the  cross-border  nature  of  road  transport,  be  better  achieved  at 
Union  level.  Therefore,  the  Union  may  adopt  measures,  in  line  with  the  principle  of 
subsidiarity  as  set  out  in  Article  5  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union.  In  accordance 
with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not 
go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives pursued. 

In order to take into account market developments and technical progress 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 to amend Annexes I, II and 
III to Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, to supplement that Regulation by drawing up a 
list of categories, types and degrees of seriousness of serious infringements which, in 
addition to those set out in Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, may lead to 
the  loss  of  good  repute  and  to  amend  Annexes  I,  II  and  III  to  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1072/2009.  It  is  of  particular  importance  that  the  Commission  carry  out  appropriate 

20 

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, 11.4.2006, p. 1). 

EN 

13 

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in 

consultations  during  its  preparatory  work,  including  at  expert  level,  and  that  those 
the 
consultations  be  conducted 
Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 201621. In particular, 
to  ensure  equal  participation  in  the  preparation  of  delegated  acts,  the  European 
Parliament and the Council should receive all documents at the same time as Member 
the 
States'  experts,  and 
Commission's expert groups meetings dealing with the preparation of delegated acts. 

their  experts  should  systematically  have  access 

the  principles 

laid  down 

line  with 

to 

in 

(19)  Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 and Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 should therefore 

be amended accordingly, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

Article 1 is amended as follows: 

(a)  paragraph 4 is amended as follows: 

(i) point (a) is deleted; 

(ii) point (b) is replaced by the following: 

'(b) undertakings engaged in road passenger transport services exclusively for 
non-commercial purposes or which have a main occupation other than that of 
road passenger transport operator. 

Any  carriage  by  road  for  which  no  remuneration  is  received  and  which  does 
not create any income, such as carriage of persons for charity purposes or for 
strictly  private  use,  is  to  be  considered  as  carriage  exclusively  for  non-
commercial purposes;'; 

(b) 

the following paragraph 6 is added: 

'6. Article 3(1)(b) and (d) and Articles 4, 6, 8, 9, 14, 19 and 21 shall not apply 
to undertakings engaged in the occupation of road haulage operator solely by 
means  of  motor  vehicles  with  a  permissible  laden  mass  not  exceeding  3.5 
tonnes  or  combinations  of  vehicles  with  a  permissible  laden  mass  not 
exceeding 3.5 tonnes. 

Member States may, however: 

(a) 

(b) 

require those undertakings to apply some or all of the provisions referred 
to in the first subparagraph; 

lower  the  limit  referred  to  in  the  first  subparagraph  for  all  or  some 
categories of road transport operations.';  

(2) 

(3) 

in Article 3, paragraph 2 is deleted; 

Article 5 is amended as follows: 

(a)  point (a) is replaced by the following: 

21 

OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1. 

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14 

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'(a) have premises in which it keeps its core business documents, in particular 
its  commercial  contracts,  accounting  documents,  personnel  management 
documents,  labour  contracts,  documents  containing  data  relating  to  driving 
time and  rest  and any other document to  which the competent  authority must 
have access in order to verify compliance with the conditions laid down in this 
Regulation;'; 

(b)  point (c) is replaced by the following: 

'(c)  conduct  effectively  and  continuously  its  administrative  and  commercial 
activities  with  the  appropriate  administrative  equipment  and  facilities  at 
premises situated in that Member State;'; 

(c) 

the following point (d) is added: 

'(d) manage the transport operations carried out with the vehicles referred to in 
point  (b)  with  the  appropriate  technical  equiment  situated  in  that  Member 
State;'; 

(d) 

the following point (e) is added: 

'(e)  hold  assets  and  employ  staff  proportionate  to  the  activity  of  the 
establishment.'; 

(4) 

Article 6 is amended as follows: 

(a)  paragraph 1 is amended as follows: 

(i) the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

'In determining whether an undertaking has satisfied that requirement, Member 
States  shall  consider  the  conduct  of  the  undertaking,  its  transport  managers, 
executive  directors,  general  partners  in  the  case  of  partnerships,  other  legal 
representatives  and  any  other  relevant  person  as  may  be  determined  by  the 
Member  State.  Any  reference  in  this  Article  to  convictions,  penalties  or 
infringements  shall  include  convictions,  penalties  or  infringements  of  the 
undertaking itself, its transport managers, executive directors, general partners 
in  the  case  of  partnerships,  other  legal  representatives  and  any  other  relevant 
person as may be determined by the Member State.'; 

(ii) in point (a) of the third subparagraph the following point (vii) is added: 

'(vii)tax law.'; 

(iii) in point (b) of the third subparagraph the following points (xi) and (xii) are 
added: 

'(xi)the posting of workers; 

(xii) the law applicable to contractual obligations.'; 

(b)  paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

'2. For the purposes of point (b) of the third subparagraph of paragraph 1,where 
the  transport  manager  or  the  transport  undertaking  has  been  convicted  of  a 
serious criminal offence or has incurred a penalty for one of the most serious 
infringements of Union rules as set out in Annex IV, in one or more Member 
States,  the  competent  authority  of  the  Member  State  of  establishment  shall 
carry out and complete in an appropriate and timely manner an administrative 

EN 

15 

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procedure,  which  shall  include,  if  appropriate,  an  on-site  inspection  at  the 
premises of the undertaking concerned.  

During  the  administrative  procedure,  the  transport  manager  or  other  legal 
representatives of the transport undertaking, as the case may be, shall be given 
the right to present their arguments and explanations.    

During  the  administrative  procedure,  the  competent  authority  shall  assess 
whether,  due  to  specific  circumstances,  the  loss  of  good  repute  would 
constitute  a  disproportionate  response  in  the  individual  case.  In  that 
assessment,  the  competent  authority  shall  take  into  account  the  number  of 
serious  infringements  of  national  and  Union  rules  as  referred  to  in  the  third 
subparagraph  of  paragraph  1,  as  well  as  the  number  of  most  serious 
infringements  of  Union  rules  as  set  out  in  Annex  IV,  for  which  the  transport 
manager  or  the  transport  undertaking  have  been  convicted  or  had  penalties 
imposed on them. Any such finding shall be duly reasoned and justified. 

Where  the  competent  authority  finds  that  the  loss  of  good  repute  would  be 
disproportionate, it shall decide that the undertaking concerned continues to be 
of good repute. The reasons for this decision shall be recorded in the national 
register. The number of such decisions shall be indicated in the report referred 
to in Article 26(1). 

Where the competent authority does not find that the loss of good repute would 
be  disproportionate,  the  conviction  or  penalty  shall  lead  to  the  loss  of  good 
repute;'; 

(c) 

the following paragraph 2a is inserted: 

'2a. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in line with Article 
24 establishing a list of categories, types and degrees of seriousness of serious 
infringements  of  Union  rules  as  referred  to  in  point  (b)  of  the  third 
subparagraph of paragraph 1 which, in addition to those set out in Annex IV, 
may  lead  to  the  loss  of  good  repute.  Member  States  shall  take  into  account 
information on those infringements, including information received from other 
Member States, when setting the priorities for checks pursuant to Article 12(1). 

 To that end, the Commission shall: 

lay  down  the  categories  and  types  of  infringement  which  are  most 

(a) 
frequently encountered; 

define  the  degree  of  seriousness  of  infringements  according  to  their 
(b) 
potential  to  create  a  risk  of  fatalities  or  serious  injuries  and  to  distort 
competition  in  the  road  transport  market,  including  by  undermining  the 
working conditions of transport workers; 

the 

provide 

frequency  of  occurrence  beyond  which 

repeated 
 (c) 
infringements  shall  be  regarded  as  more  serious,  taking  into  account  the 
number  of  drivers  used  for  the  transport  activities  managed  by  the  transport 
manager.'; 

(5) 

Article 7 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

in paragraph 1, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

'In order to satisfy the requirement laid down in Article 3(1)(c), an undertaking 
shall,  on  a  permanent  basis,  be  able  to  meet  its  financial  obligations  in  the 

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16 

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course  of  the  annual  accounting  year.  The  undertaking  shall  demonstrate,  on 
the basis of annual accounts certified by an auditor or a duly accredited person, 
that, every year, it has at its disposal equity capital totalling at least EUR 9 000 
when only one vehicle is used and EUR 5 000 for each additional vehicle used. 
Undertakings  engaged  in  the  occupation  of  road  haulage  operator  solely  by 
means  of  motor  vehicles  with  a  permissible  laden  mass  not  exceeding  3.5 
tonnes  or  combinations  of  vehicles  with  a  permissible  laden  mass  not 
exceeding  3.5  tonnes  shall  demonstrate,  on  the  basis  of  annual  accounts 
certified by an auditor or a duly accredited person, that, every year, they have 
at  their  disposal  equity  capital  totalling  at  least  EUR  1 800  when  only  one 
vehicle is used and EUR 900 for each additional vehicle used.'; 

(b)  paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

'2.By  way  of  derogation  from  paragraph  1,  in  the  absence  of  certified  annual 
accounts  the  competent  authority  shall  agree  that  an  undertaking  demonstrate 
its  financial  standing  by  means  of  a  certificate,  such  as  a  bank  guarantee,  a 
document  issued  by  a  financial  institution  establishing  access  to  credit  in  the 
name  of  the  undertaking,  or  another  binding  document  proving  that  the 
undertaking has at its disposal the amounts specified in the first subparagraph 
of paragraph 1.';  

(6) 

in Article 8, paragraph 9 is replaced by the following: 

'9. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in line with Article 24 to 
amend  Annexes  I,  II  and  III  in  order  to  adapt  them  to  market  developments  and 
technical progress.'; 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

in Article 11(4), the third subparagraph is deleted; 

in Article 12(2), the second subparagraph is deleted; 

in Article 13(1), point (c) is replaced by the following: 

'(c)a time limit not exceeding six months where the requirement of financial standing 
is not satisfied, in order to demonstrate that that requirement is again satisfied on a 
permanent basis.'; 

(10) 

in Article 14(1), the following second subparagraph is added: 

'The competent authority shall not rehabilitate the transport manager earlier than one 
year from the date of the loss of good repute.';  

(11) 

Article 16 is amended as follows: 

(a)  paragraph 2 is amended as follows: 

(i) the following points (g), (h), (i) and (j) are added: 

'(g) the registration numbers of the vehicles at the disposal of the undertaking 
pursuant to Article 5(b); 

(h) the number of employees; 

(i) the total assets, liabilities, equity and turnover during the last two years; 

(j)  the  risk  rating  of  the  undertaking  pursuant  to  Article  9  of  Directive 
2006/22/EC.'; 

(ii) the second, third and fourth subparagraphs are replaced by the following: 

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'Member States may choose to keep the data referred to in points (e) to (j) of 
the  first  subparagraph  in  separate  registers.  In  such  a  case,  the  relevant  data 
shall  be  available  upon  request  or  directly  accessible  to  all  the  competent 
authorities of the Member State in question. The requested information shall be 
provided within five working days of receipt of the request. The data referred 
to in points (a) to (d) of the first subparagraph shall be publicly accessible, in 
line with the relevant provisions on personal data protection. 

In  any  case,  the  data  referred  to  in  points  (e)  to  (j)  of  the  first  subparagraph 
shall  only  be  accessible  to  authorities  other  than  the  competent  authorities 
where  they  are  duly  endowed  with  powers  relating  to  supervision  and  the 
imposition of penalties in the road transport sector and their officials are sworn 
to, or otherwise are under a formal obligation of secrecy.'; 

(b)  paragraph 4 is replaced by the following: 

'4. Member States shall take all necessary measures to ensure that all the data 
contained in the national electronic register is kept up to date and is accurate.'; 

(c)  paragraph 7 is deleted; 

(12) 

Article 18 is replaced by the following: 

'Article 18 

Administrative cooperation between Member States 

1.  Member  States  shall  designate  a  national  contact  point  responsible  for  the 
exchange  of  information  with  the  other  Member  States  on  the  application  of 
this Regulation. Member States shall inform the Commission of the names and 
addresses  of  their  national  contact  points  by  31  December  2018.  The 
Commission  shall  draw  up  a  list  of  all  contact  points  and  forward  it  to  the 
Member  States.Member  States  shall 
the 
Commission any changes to the contact points.   

immediately  communicate 

to 

2. A Member State which receives notification of a serious infringement which 
has  resulted  in  a  conviction  or  a  penalty  in  another  Member  State  during  the 
last two years shall record that infringement in its national electronic register. 

3.  Member  States  shall  reply  to  requests  for  information  from  all  competent 
authorities  of  other  Member  States  and,  where  necessary,  carry  out  checks, 
inspections  and  investigations  concerning  compliance  with  the  requirement 
laid  down  in  Article  3(1)(a)  by  road  transport  operators  established  in  their 
territory. Requests for information by competent authorities of Member States 
shall  be  reasoned.  To  this  end,  requests  shall  include  credible  indications  of 
possible infringements of Article 3(1)(a). 

4.  Where  the  requested  Member  State  considers  that  the  request  is 
insufficiently reasoned,it shall inform the requesting Member State accordingly 
within  ten  working  days.  The  requesting  Member  State  shall  further 
substantiate the request. Where this is not possible, the request may be rejected 
by the Member State. 

5. Where it is difficult or impossible to comply with a request for information 
or  to  carry  out  checks,  inspections  or  investigations,  the  Member  State  in 
question  shall  inform  the  requesting  Member  State  accordingly  within  ten 

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18 

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working days, with reasons. The Member States concerned shall discuss with 
each other with a view to finding a solution for any difficulty raised. 

6. In response to requests under paragraph 3, Member States shall supply the 
requested  information  and  carry  out  the  required  checks,  inspections  and 
investigations within twenty-five working days from the receipt of the request, 
unless  they  have  informed  the  requesting  Member  State  that  the  request  is 
insufficiently  reasoned  or  of  the  impossibility  or  the  difficulties  pursuant  to 
paragraphs 4 and 5. 

7. Member States shall ensure that the information transmitted to them in line 
with  this  Article  is  used  only  in  respect  of  the  matter(s)  for  which  it  was 
requested. 

8. Mutual administrative cooperation and assistance shall be provided free of 
charge. 

9. A request for information shall not preclude the competent authorities from 
taking measures in line with the relevant national and Union law to investigate 
and prevent alleged breaches of this Regulation.'; 

(13) 

(14) 

Article 24 is deleted; 

the following Article 24a is inserted: 

'Article 24a 

Exercise of the delegation 

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject 
to the conditions laid down in this Article.  

2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 6(2) and Article 8(9) 
shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from 
[date of entry into force of this (amending) Regulation].  

3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 6(2) and Article 8(9) may be 
revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision 
to  revoke  shall  put  an  end  to  the  delegation  of  the  power  specified  in  that 
decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in 
the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. 
It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.  

4.  Before  adopting  a  delegated  act,  the  Commission  shall  consult  experts 
designated by each Member State in line with the principles laid down in the 
Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016.* 

5.  As  soon  as  it  adopts  a  delegated  act,  the  Commission  shall  notify  it 
simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.  

6. A delegated act adopted under Article 6(2) and Article 8(9) shall enter into 
force  only  if  no  objection  has  been  expressed  either  by  the  European 
Parliament or  by the Council  within two months  of notification  of that act to 
the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, 
the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission 
that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the 
initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council. 

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(15) 

(16) 

___________________ 

* OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1.'; 

in Article 25, paragraph 3  is deleted; 

in Article 26, the following paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 are added: 

'3.  Every  year,  Member  States  shall  draw  up  a  report  on  the  use  of  motor  vehicles 
with a permissible laden mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes or combinations of vehicles 
with  a  permissible  laden  mass  not  exceeding  3.5  tonnes  in  their  territory  and  shall 
forward it to the Commission no later than 30 June of the year after the end of the 
reporting period.This report shall include: 

(a)  the  number  of  authorisations  granted  to  operators  engaged  in  the  occupation  of 
road  haulage  operator  solely  by  means  of  motor  vehicles  with  a  permissible  laden 
mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes or combinations of vehicles with a permissible laden 
mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes; 

(b) the number of vehicles  with  a permissible laden mass not  exceeding 3,5 tonnes 
registered in the Member State in each calendar year; 

(c) the overall number of vehicles with a permissible laden mass not exceeding 3,5 
tonnes registered in the Member State as of 31 December of each year; 

(d)  the  estimated  share  of  motor  vehicles  with  a  permissible  laden  mass  not 
exceeding 3.5 tonnes or combinations of vehicles with a permissible laden mass not 
exceeding 3.5 tonnes in the overall road transport activity of all vehicles registered in 
the Member State, broken down by national, international and cabotage operations. 

4.  On  the  basis  of  the  information  gathered  by  the  Commission  under  paragraph  3 
and  of  further  evidence,  the  Commission  shall,by  31  December  2024  at  the  latest, 
present a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the evolution of the 
total  number  of  motor  vehicles  with  a  permissible  laden  mass  not  exceeding  3.5 
tonnes or combinations of vehicles with a  permissible laden mass not exceeding 3.5 
tonnes engaged in national and international road transport operations. On the basis 
of this report, it shall reassess whether it is necessary to propose additional measures. 

5. Every year Member States shall report to the Commission on the requests made by 
them under Article 18(3) and (4), on the replies received from other Member States 
and on the actions that they have taken on the basis of the information provided.'; 

(17) 

in Annex IV, in point 1, point (b) is replaced by the following: 

'(b) exceeding, during a daily working period, the maximum daily driving time limit 
by a margin of 50 % or more.'; 

Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 is amended as follows: 

Article 2 

(1) 

in paragraph 1 of Article 1, the following subparagraph is added: 

'The carriage of empty containers or pallets shall be considered as carriage of goods 
for hire or reward whenever it is subject to a transport contract.'; 

(2) 

Article 2 is amended as follows: 

(a)  point 6 is replaced by the following: 

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'6.‘cabotage  operation’  means  national  carriage  for  hire  or  reward  carried  out  on  a 
temporary basis in a host Member State, involving the carriage from the picking up 
of  the  goods  at  one  or  several  loading  points  until  their  delivery  at  one  or  several 
delivery points, as specified in the consignment note;'; 

(3) 

Article 4 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

in paragraph 2, the third subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

'The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in line with Article 14b 
to  amend  this  Regulation  to  adapt  the  maximum  period  of  validity  of  the 
Community licence to market developments.'; 

(b) 

in paragraph 4, the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

'The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in line with Article 14b 
to amend Annexes I and II in order to adapt them to technical progress.'; 

(4) 

in Article 5, paragraph 4 is replaced by the following: 

'4. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in line with Article 
14b to amend Annex III in order to adapt it to technical progress.'; 

(5) 

Article 8 is amended as follows: 

(a)  paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

'2. Once the goods carried in the course of an incoming international carriage 
from  another  Member  State  or  from  a  third  country  to  a  host  Member  State 
have  been  delivered,  hauliers  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  be  allowed  to 
carry out, with the same vehicle or, in the case of a coupled combination,  the 
motor  vehicle  of  that  same  vehicle,  cabotage  operations  in  the  host  Member 
State  or  in  contiguous  Member  States.  The  last  unloading  in  the  course  of  a 
cabotage operation shall take place within 5 days from the last unloading in the 
host Member State in the course of the incoming international carriage.'; 

(b) 

in paragraph 3, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

'National road haulage services carried out in the host Member State by a non-
resident  haulier  shall  only  be  deemed  to  comply  with  this  Regulation  if  the 
haulier can produce clear evidence of the preceding international carriage.'; 

(c) 

the following paragraph 4a is inserted: 

'4a. Evidence referred to in paragraph 3 shall be presented or transmitted to the 
authorised  inspecting  officer  of  the  host  Member  State  on  request  and  within 
the  duration  of  the  roadside  check.  It  may  be  presented  or  transmitted 
electronically,  using  a  revisable  structured  format  which  can  be  used  directly 
for  storage  and  processing  by  computers,  such  as  the  eCMR.*  During  the 
roadside  check,  the  driver  shall  be  allowed  to  contact  the  head  office,  the 
transport  manager  or  any  other  person  or  entity  which  may  provide  the 
evidence referred to in paragraph 3. 

_________________ 

*  Electronic  consignment  note  under  the  'Convention  on  the  Contract  for  the  International 
Carriage of Goods by Road'.'; 

(6) 

in Article 10(3), the first subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

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'The Commission shall examine the situation on the basis in particular of the relevant 
data  and,  after  consulting  the  committee  established  pursuant  to  Article  42(1)  of 
Regulation  (EC)  No  165/2014  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council,** 
shall  decide within one month of receipt  of the Member State’s request whether or 
not safeguard measures are necessary and shall adopt them if they are necessary. 

________________ 

** Regulation (EC) No 165/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 February 2014 
on  tachographs  in  road  transport,  repealing  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3821/85  on  recording 
equipment in road transport and amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament 
and of the Council on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport (OJ L 
60, 28.2.2014, p. 1).'; 

(7) 

the following Article 10a is inserted: 

'Article 10a 

Checks 

1.  Each  Member  State  shall  organise  checks  in  such  a  way  that,  as  from  1 
January  2020,  in  every  calendar  year  at  least  2  %  of  all  cabotage  operations 
performed in their territory are checked. They shall increase the percentage to 
at  least  3  %  from  1  January  2022.  The  basis  for  the  calculation  of  that 
percentage shall be the total cabotage activity in the Member State in terms of 
tonnes-kilometres in year t-2, as reported by Eurostat. 

2. Member States shall target those undertakings which are classed as posing 
an increased risk of infringing the provisions of the present Chapter, applicable 
to  them.  For  that  purpose,  Member  States  shall,  within  the  risk  classification 
system  established  by  them  under  Article  9  of  Directive  2006/22/EC  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council*** and extended in accordance with 
Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 of the European Parliament and 
of  the  Council,****treat  the  risk  of  such  infringements  as  a  risk  in  its  own 
right. 

3.  Member  States  shall,  at  least  three  times  per  year,  undertake  concerted 
roadside checks on cabotage operations. Such checks shall be undertaken at the 
same  time  by  the  national  authorities  in  charge  of  enforcing  the  rules  in  the 
field of road transport of two or more Member States, each operating in its own 
territory.  The  national  contact  points  designated  in  accordance  with  Article 
18(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council****  shall  exchange  information  on  the  number  and  type  of 
infringements detected after the concerted roadside checks have taken place. 

______________________ 

*** Directive 2006/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on 
minimum  conditions  for  the  implementation  of  Council  Regulations  (EEC)  No  3820/85  and 
(EEC) No 3821/85 concerning social legislation relating to road transport activities (OJ L 102, 
11.4.2006, p. 35). 

****Regulation  (EC)  No  1071/2009  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  21 
October  2009  establishing  common  rules  concerning  the    conditions  to  be  complied  with  to 
pursue the occupation of road transport operator and repealing Council Directive 96/26/EC (OJ 
L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 51).';    

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(8) 

the following Articles 14a and 14b are inserted: 

'Article 14a 

Liability 

Member  States  shall  provide  for  sanctions  against  consignors,  freight 
forwarders,  contractors  and  subcontractors  for  non-compliance  with  Chapters 
II and III, where they knowingly commission transport services which involve 
infringements of this Regulation. 

Article 14b 

Exercise of the delegation 

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject 
to the conditions laid down in this Article.  

2.  The  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  referred  to  in  Article  4(2)  and  (4)  and 
Article  5(4)  is  conferred  on  the  Commission  for  an  indeterminate  period  of 
time from [date of entry into force of this (amending) Regulation].  

3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 4(2) and (4) and Article 5(4) 
may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A 
decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in 
that  decision.  It  shall  take  effect  the  day  following  the  publication  of  the 
decision  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European  Union  or  at  a  later  date 
specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in 
force.  

4.  Before  adopting  a  delegated  act,  the  Commission  shall  consult  experts 
designated by each Member State in line with the principles laid down in the 
Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016.***** 

5.  As  soon  as  it  adopts  a  delegated  act,  the  Commission  shall  notify  it 
simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.  

6.  A  delegated  act  adopted  under  Article  4(2)  and  (4)  and  Article  5(4)  shall 
enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European 
Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of 
that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of 
that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the 
Commission  that  they  will  not  object.  That  period  shall  be  extended  by  two 
months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council. 

___________________ 

*****OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1.'; 

(9) 

(10) 

Article 15 is deleted; 

Article 17 is replaced by the following: 

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'Article 17 

Reporting 

1.  By  31  January  of  every  year,  at  the  latest,  Member  States  shall  inform  the 
Commission  of  the  number  of  hauliers  possessing  Community  licences  as  of  31 
December  of  the  previous  year  and  of  the  number  of  certified  true  copies 
corresponding to the vehicles in circulation on that date. 

2.  By  31  January  of  every  year,  at  the  latest,  Member  States  shall  inform  the 
Commission of the number of driver attestations issued in the previous calendar year 
as well as the total number of driver attestations as of 31 December of the previous 
calendar year. 

3.  By  31  January  of  every  year,  at  the  latest,  Member  States  shall  inform  the 
Commission  on the number of cabotage  checks performed  in  the previous calendar 
year pursuant to Article 10a. This information shall include the number of vehicles 
checked and the number of tonnes-kilometres checked.'; 

Article 3 

Review 

1. 
The Commission shall evaluate the implementation of this Regulation, in particular 
the impact of Article 2 amending Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009, by [3 years 
after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] and report to the European Parliament and 
the Council on the application of this Regulation. The report by the Commission shall, if 
appropriate, be accompanied by a legislative proposal.  
2. 
Following the report referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall regularly 
evaluate this Regulation and submit the evaluation results to the European Parliament and the 
Council.  
3. 
by relevant proposals. 

Where appropriate, the reports referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be accompanied 

Article 4 

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 [xx]. 

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

EN 

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Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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