Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 on common rules for access to the international market for coach and bus services
Date: 2017-11-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: bus, carriage of passengers, freedom to provide services, international road transport, international transport, market access, road cabotage, services of general interest, transport licence

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 8.11.2017  COM(2017) 647 final 2017/0288 (COD)  Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 on common rules for access to the international market for coach and bus services (Text with EEA relevance) {SWD(2017) 358 final}  - {SWD(2017) 359 final}  - {SWD(2017) 360 final}  - {SWD(2017) 361 final}  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

This  proposal  is  part  of  the  second  mobility  package  which  aims  to  lead  the  fight  against 
climate  change,  make  European  industry  stronger  and  more  competitive,  and  improve  the 
quality  of  life  and  choice  of  citizens  for  their  daily  mobility.  The  freedom  to  move  freely 
across the Union's territory is an essential achievement of the European Union. It has enabled 
citizens  to  travel  smoothly  between  different Member  States  be it  for  their  jobs  or  to  go  on 
holidays.  This  proposal  will  improve  the  mobility  of  citizens  over  longer  distances  and 
increase  the  use  of  sustainable  transport  modes.  It  will  lead  to  services  that  are  more 
responsive to citizens needs, in particular for those on lower incomes, with the added benefit 
of providing environmental, economic and social benefits. The proposal benefits the growing 
global  demand  for  connectivity  from  all  geographical  areas  and  ensures  accessibility  for  a 
broader  range  of  the  population.  This  contributes  directly  to  the  Commission's  priorities  of 
Jobs and Growth and Energy Union.   

Regulation  (EC)  No  1073/2009  on  common  rules  for  access  to  the  international  market  for 
coach  services,  and  amending  Regulation  (EC)  No  561/20061  was  adopted  as  part  of  a 
legislative  package  with  Regulation  1071/2009  on  access  to  the  occupation  of  road 
transportoperator2.  Together,  these  two  regulations  regulate  the  conditions  for  accessing  the 
profession  and  the  market  in  the  field  of  transport  of  passengers  by  road.  Both  Regulations 
contribute  to  the  good  functioning  of  the  single  market  in  road  transport,  its  efficiency  and 
competitiveness. 

Regulation  (EC)  No  1073/2009  lays  down  the  provisions  that  undertakings  intending  to 
operate  on  the  international  road  passenger  transport  market  and  on  national  markets  other 
than the market of their Member State of establishment (known as cabotage operations) must 
comply with. It includes provisions on the documents to be issued to those undertakings by 
the  Member  State  of  registration  (Community  licence)  and  by  the  authorising  authority 
(Authorisation for a regular service). It sets provisions on the sanctions for infringements of 
those obligations as well as the provisions on cooperation between Member States. 

An ex-post evaluation of the Regulation  was carried out  from 2015 to  20173 and  concluded 
that  the  Regulation  is  only  partly  effective  in  achieving  its  original  objective  of  promoting 
coach and bus services as a sustainable alternative to individual car transport. It found that the 
opening of national markets for regular services by coach and bus creates a critical mass of 
operators who then also introduce international services, resulting in a greater impact on the 
number  of  international  routes  and  service  frequencies  than  pan-European  legislation  alone. 
Further  opening  of  national  markets  will  strengthen  the  development  of  the  international 
market  for  regular  services,  quite  apart  from  any  benefits  for  passengers  making  national 
journeys.  The  main  problems  identified  were  obstacles  in  national  markets  hindering  the 
development of inter-urban coach and bus services and a low share of sustainable passenger 
transport  modes.  This  proposal,  which  is  a  Regulatory  Fitness  and  Performance  (REFIT) 
initiative4, is intended to correct these shortcomings. 

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OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 88. 
OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 51. 
SWD (2017) 361 
Initiative No. 9, Annex 2, Commission Work Programme 2017 

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 • 

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 to the legislation on 
access  to  the  profession  (Regulation  (EC)  No  1071/2009),  on  social  legislation  (Regulation 
(EC)  No  561/20065,  Directive  2002/15/EC6,  Directive  2006/22/EC7  and  Regulation  (EU) 
165/20148, and the Eurovignette (Directive 1999/62/EC9). Facilitating the provision of inter-
urban  coach  and  bus  services,  as  suggested  in  the  present  proposal,  will  therefore  be  made 
easier through considering the internal market, social and posting of workers’ rules together to 
ensure both fair working conditions for drivers and fair competition between operators. 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

The  proposal  is  fully  consistent  with  the  priority  of  the  Commission  to  create  a  deeper  and 
fairer internal market. The internal market for the road passenger transport operations using 
coach and bus services will be strengthened. It is also in line with the objectives of the low 
emission  mobility  and  Energy  Union  objective  of  decarbonising  transport,  as  well  as  the 
common  transport  policy  as  described  in  the  2011  White  Paper  "Roadmap  to  a  Single 
European Transport Area - Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system"10. 
The  proposal  will  create  new  business  opportunities  for  operators  in  the  sector,  thus 
increasing jobs and growth opportunities as well as choice for passengers. This proposal also 
reduces  the  regulatory  burden  on  road  passenger  transport  operators  and  clarifies  the  legal 
framework - both of which are objectives of the EU's REFIT programme. 

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The  legal  basis  for  the  Regulation  and  for  the  proposed  amendment  derives  from  Title  VI 
(Transport)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  (TFEU),  in  particular 
Article  91  which  states,  inter  alia,  that  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  shall  lay 
down 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, as well as the conditions 
under which non-resident carriers may operate transport services within a Member State.  

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

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

Besides,  the  patchwork  of  rules  for  access  to  national  markets  for  coach  and  bus  services 
constrains carriers’ ability to develop services into pan-European coach networks and denies 
them  the  possibility  to  offer  integration  with  other  coach  services  and  transport  modes. 
Member  States  acting  alone  cannot  introduce  or  ensure  the  coherence  and  coordination  of 

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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. 
OJ L 187, 20.7.1999, p. 42. 
COM(2011) 144 final of 28.3.2011. 

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uniform market access rules needed for the emergence of a genuine internal market for road 
passenger transport. It is therefore necessary to provide rules at the EU level.  

• 

Proportionality 

As  indicated  in  Section  7.3  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.  The  proposal  only  contains  some  targeted  amendments  to  the 
Regulation  which  help  improve  the  existing  regulatory  framework  in  which  the  road 
passenger  transport  sector  in  the  EU  operates  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 act to be amended is a Regulation, the act amending it should in principle take 
the same form. 

3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

The staff working document to the ex-post evaluation of Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 has 
been adopted with this proposal11.  

The main issues identified are the following: 

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The inter-urban coach and bus sector has failed to grow at a rate comparable to that of 
other transport modes and its modal share has continued to decline over an extended 
period. 

There  are  obstacles  in  national  markets  hindering  the  development  of  inter-urban 
coach and bus services. 

International  regular  services  by  coach  and  bus,  without  competitive  inter-urban 
services, constitute less appealing service offerings to users.  

The  scope  of  the  objectives  of  the  original  Regulation  did  not  cover  the  problem  of 
discrimination in access to terminals. 

There are excessive administrative costs of entry. 

Stakeholder consultations 

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  five  separate  consultation  activities.  Open  and  targeted 
consultation methods and various consultation tools were used. 

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See Footnote 3. 

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As for the open consultation, there was a 13-week online public consultation (covering both 
ex-post  and  impact  assessment)  that  took  place  between  14  December  2016  and  15  March 
2017.  

The main objectives were to: 

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help check the problems faced by the sector, as identified in the ex-post evaluation; 

validate the objectives of the possible policy interventions; and  

obtain the opinion of interested parties on the appropriateness and expected impacts of 

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the interventions.  

It was comprised of two questionnaires, one for the general public and a more specialised one 
for  key  interested  parties.  The  Commission  received  171  contributions  in  total.  The  18 
contributions to the general questionnaire: 8 replies from citizens/consumers; 7 replies from 
companies;  2  replies  from  non-governmental  organisations;  and  1  reply  from  other 
respondents.  The  153  contributions  to  the  specialised  questionnaire:  68  replies  from 
companies engaged in the transport chain; 28 replies from non-governmental authorities; 17 
replies from road passenger transport workers; 7 replies from regulatory authorities; 3 replies 
from  EU  governmental  authorities;  3  replies  from  enforcement  authorities;  1  reply  from  a 
citizen/consumer; 1 reply from an academic; and 25 replies from other respondents. 

The targeted consultation involved sending a detailed questionnaire to key interested parties 
identified  during  the  inception  stage  of  the  study.  Four  different  questionnaires  were 
produced, each tailored to the type of interested party: 20 replies from Ministries/Regulators; 
2  replies  from  pan-European  organisations;  3  replies  from  operators;  and  6  replies  from 
operator associations.  

Interviews were conducted to gather more detailed insights into interested parties experiences 
as well as their views on the different measures under consideration. They also provided an 
opportunity  to  request  quantitative  data  required  for  the  impact  assessment.  In  each  case, 
specific  questions  were  submitted  in  advance  and/or  sought  clarification  on  information 
provided through the questionnaires. Interviews were conducted with 6 Ministries/Regulators; 
4 pan-European organisations; 4 operators; and 4 operator associations. 

A special Eurobarometer public opinion survey12 on coach services was conducted amongst 
Europeans in the EU-28. There were 27,901 interviews between  the 18 March 2017 and  27 
March 2017. The objective of this survey was to gather the opinion of Europeans on a series 
of issues related to satisfaction with current coach services in their Member State and reasons 
for using/ not using such services. The key findings of the survey are: 

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Across the EU, only a minority of respondents use coach services with over six in ten 
(64%) saying they never use coach services for domestic travel. 

The most common mentioned reason for using coach services is low prices (33%). 

The most commonly mentioned ways to make non-users of coach services more likely 
to  use  them  are  not  having  a  car  (37%),  lower  prices  (26%)  and  more  extensive 
network of routes and stations (11%). 

See https://data.europa.eu/euodp/it/data/dataset/S2144_87_1_457_ENG  

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Several seminars for interested parties, meetings and other events were organised during the 
course of the ex-post evaluation and the impact assessment. 

The  information  gathered  during  the  consultation  confirmed  the  existence  of  the  main 
problems identified during the ex-post evaluation. 

On  the  possible  policy  measures,  there  was  strong  support  among  all  interested  parties  to 
address  discrimination  in  providing  access  to  terminals.  There  were  mixed  reactions  to  the 
possible policy measures removing restrictions on access to inter-urban national markets with 
some  groups  of  interested  parties  supporting  changes  and  others  expressing  reluctance. 
Operator  representative  groups,  operators  and  individuals  working  within  the  industry  are 
generally  more  supportive  of  common  frameworks,  whereas  some  government  bodies, 
regulators and non-government organisations stress the need for market access arrangements 
reflecting the circumstances of individual Member States and providing protection for public 
service contracts. 

• 

Collection and use of expertise 

An  external  contractor  contributed  to  the  accompanying  support  study  for  the  impact 
assessment, which was concluded in August 201713. 

• 

Impact assessment 

This proposal is supported by an impact assessment, which was considered by the Regulatory 
Scrutiny Board (‘the Board’) on two occasions. It initially received a negative opinion on the 
24 July 2017 followed by a positive opinion with reservations on the 13 September 2017. All 
the Board's main comments were addressed in the revised version of the impact assessment. 
As mentioned in Annex 1 to the impact assessment report, the reservations were addressed as 
follows: 

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The argumentation is strengthened to clarify the need for action at the EU level; 

The problem definition is restructured and revised to take into account the low share 

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of sustainable transport modes; 

The  general  objectives  are  revised.  There  are  two  general  objectives  that  are 

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complementary and not mutually exclusive;  

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The likely responses to the introduction of commercial services and expected impacts 
on public service contracts are described and the models of contracts typically used to connect 
rural areas are presented; 

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The national differences in road and rail sectors are included; and 

Additional  information  on  terminals  is  presented  and  it  is  clarified  that  the  impact 

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assessment is focused on equal access to terminals.  

The impact assessment considered two sets of policy packages.  

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The first set addressed the problems of ‘Excessive administrative costs of entry’ and 
‘Restricted access to national inter-urban markets’.  

See Footnote 3. 

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– 

The second set of two policy packages addressed the problem of ‘Restricted access to 
key infrastructure’.  

The  problems  associated  with  market  access  and  the  problems  associated  with  access  to 
terminals are not interlinked and the geographical scope of the effect is different in each case. 
More specifically, major restrictions on market access apply in only 14 member states, while 
the  problem  of  discriminatory  access  to  terminals  is  encountered  across  the  EU-28.  In  both 
sets  the  policy  packages  were  defined  so  as  to  reflect  the  increasing  levels  of  regulatory 
intervention and of expected impacts. 

The  first  policy  package  would  open  access  to  the  market  for  regular  services  with  the 
possibility  to  refuse  authorisation  if  the  economic  equilibrium  of  an  existing  public  service 
contract is compromised.  

The second policy package provides Member States with possibility to refuse authorisation if 
the economic equilibrium of an existing public service contract is compromised by a proposed 
new service carrying passengers over distances of less than 100 kilometres as the crow flies.  

The  third  policy  package  gets  rid  of  the  authorisation  process  for  regular  services  carrying 
passengers over distances of 100 kilometres or more as the crow flies.  

The fourth policy package encourages operators and managers of terminals to provide access 
to  carriers  operating  regular  services  on  fair  and  reasonable  grounds  and  without 
discrimination between operators.  

The  fifth  policy  package  involved  equal  access  rules  requiring  operators  and  managers  of 
terminals  to  provide  access  to  carriers  operating  regular  services  on  fair  and  reasonable 
grounds and without discrimination between operators. 

The assessment showed that the best way forward would be a combination of the second and 
fifth policy packages. Overall this is considered to be the most effective combination and it is 
estimated to generate administrative savings for businesses and administrations in the range of 
EUR 1,560 million for the EU-28 over the assessment period (2015-2035). This combination 
would also have a positive impact on transport as such by leading to an increase of the activity 
of coach transport by more than 11 % in 2030 relative to the baseline and increase its modal 
share  by  almost  one  percentage  point.  It  would  improve  the  connectivity  of  disadvantaged 
social groups by 62 billion passenger-kilometres in 2030 while creating 85,000 new jobs and 
contribute to lower accident  costs of €2.8 billion for the EU-28 over the assessment period. 
Equally,  it  would  have  a  positive  impact  on  the  environment  with  a  EUR  183  million  net 
cumulative savings in CO2 emissions costs and net cumulative savings in air pollution costs 
of EUR 590 million for the EU-28. It is expected that this option would trigger a limited shift 
from  rail  to  road  transport  and  bring  about  a  decrease  in  the  modal  share  of  rail  of  0.4 
percentage points in 2030 relative to the Baseline (from 8.4 % to 8 %) with a loss of revenue 
for rail public service contracts of 1.4 % and an increase in subsidy for coach public service 
contracts  of  less  than  1  %.  This  would  not  undermine  the  sustainability  of  public  service 
contracts serving remote urban areas. 

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

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Regulatory fitness and simplification 

The proposal pursues the REFIT objective of increasing effectiveness and reducing regulatory 
burdens  for  businesses.  This  is  done  mainly  by  speeding  up  the  authorisation  procedure  by 

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reducing  the  number  of  grounds  for  refusing  the  authorisation  of  a  new  coach  line.  The 
authorisation procedure is simpler and more transparent which effectively lowers the barrier 
for new entrants.  Operators benefit because  fewer refusal grounds provides them with  more 
certainty when they are assessing the viability of a new line. The improved access to terminals 
will  reduce  the  delay  for  undertakings  gaining  access  to  terminals  and  enable  them  to 
commence  the  new  coach  lines  earlier  securing  incremental  revenue  more  quickly.  Finally, 
getting  rid  of  the  journey  form  will  result  in  carrier  having  less  administrative  work  to 
perform. 

• 

Fundamental rights 

The  proposal  respects  the  fundamental  rights  and  observes  the  principles  recognised  in 
particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union14. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The proposal has no implications on the Union budget. 

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

The  Commission  will  monitor  and  evaluate  the  implementation  and  effectiveness  of  the 
Regulation. The Commission will  submit  a  report on the implementation  and  effects of this 
Regulation  at  the  latest  five  years  after  the  date  it  commences  to  apply.  By  liberalising  the 
national markets for regular coach and bus services, this Regulation is expected to contribute 
to a better functioning of the road passenger transport market. The relevant information is to 
be gathered from national competent authorities and through a survey among road passenger 
transport operators. 

• 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

The main elements of the proposal are the following: 

Chapter I – GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Article 1 – Scope 

Currently Article 1(4) includes national road passenger services for hire or reward operated on 
a temporary basis by a non-resident carrier within the scope of the Regulation. It is proposed 
to amend this provision to include within the scope of the Regulation all regular services for 
hire and reward operated by a non-resident carrier. 

Article 2 – Definitions 

It is proposed to amend point 2 to clarify that express services are to be considered as regular 
services.  

It is proposed to amend point 7 to update the definition following the liberalisation of national 
regular services. 

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Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, OJ C 326, 26.10.2012, p. 391. 

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It  is  proposed  to  add  new  definitions  of  a  terminal  and  of  a  terminal  operator.  These 
definitions are a necessary precursor to regulating access to terminals. 

It is proposed to add a new definition of viable alternative to clarify which other terminal(s) a 
terminal operator should indicate to the carrier when it refuses access to its own terminal. 

Article 3a – Regulatory body 

It is proposed to add a new Article requiring Member States to designate a Regulatory body 
which  should  be  independent  from  any  other  public  authority.  The  objective  of  that 
requirement  is  to  avoid  any  conflicts  of  interest  when  a  regulatory  body  is  conducting  an 
economic  analysis  to  determine  if  economic  equilibrium  of  a  public  service  contract  is 
compromised,  or  when  is  acting  as  an  appeal  body  for  access  to  terminals.  The  designated 
body  may  be  a  new  or  an  existing  body.  The  procedures  provided  for  appointing  the  staff 
should  contribute  to  its  independence.  The  body  should  be  able  to  obtain  the  information 
requested and enforce its decisions by means of appropriate penalties. Finally, the size of the 
Regulatory body in each Member State should be proportionate to the level of road passenger 
transport activities in that Member State.  

Chapter II – COMMUNITY LICENCE AND MARKET ACCESS 

Article 5 – Access to market 

It  is  proposed  to  delete  subparagraph  five  of  Article  5(3)  as  it  is  considered  that  the 
requirement  to  communicate  the  names  of  carriers  and  their  connection  points  en  route  to 
competent  authorities  has  lost  its  relevance  and  generates  an  unnecessary  administrative 
burden. 

Article 5a – Access to terminals 

It is proposed to add a new Article requiring that carriers are granted access rights to terminals 
on  fair,  equitable,  non-discriminatory  and  transparent  terms  for  the  purpose  of  operating 
regular services. The conditions for access to terminals should be published.  

Article 5b – Procedure for granting access to terminals 

It  is  proposed  to  add  a  new  Article  to  provide  the  procedure  for  accessing  terminals. 
Applications for access should only be refused if there is a lack of capacity in the terminal. 
Decisions  on  applications  for  access  are  to  be  taken  within  two  months  and  shall  contain  a 
proper  statement  of  reasons.  Carriers  shall  have  the  possibility  to  appeal  decisions  to  the 
Regulatory body. The decision of the regulatory body should be binding. 

Chapter III – REGULAR SERVICES SUBJECT TO AUTHORISATION 

Article 8 – Authorising procedure for the international carriage of passengers over a distance 
of less than 100 kilometres as the crow flies 

Article 8 is amended to provide the authorisation procedure for international regular services 
carrying passengers over a distance of less than 100 kilometres as the crow flies. Authorising 
authorities are required to seek the agreement of other Member States where passengers are 
picked  up  and  set  down  and  are  carried  over  distances  of  less  than  100  kilometres. 
Authorisations  shall  be  granted  unless  rejection  is  justified  under  the  clearly  specified 

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grounds. If the competent authorities cannot reach agreement on the authorisation the matter 
may be referred to the Commission. The Commission is required to take a decision which will 
continue to apply until the authorising authority adopts its decision.  

Article 8a – Authorising procedure for the international carriage of passengers over a distance 
100 kilometres or more as the crow flies 

Article  8a  is  added  to  provide  the  procedure  for  authorising  international  regular  services 
carrying passengers over distances of 100 kilometres as the crow flies. The refusal of a new 
service cannot be justified on the grounds that it compromises the economic equilibrium of a 
public service contract.  

Article 8b – Authorising procedure for national regular services 

Article 8b is proposed to be added to provide the authorising procedure for national  regular 
services. Authorisation for a new service carrying passengers over distance of less than 100 
kilometres as the crow flies can be rejected if it compromises the economic equilibrium of a 
public service contract. Given the differences in the way Member States organise the different 
modes of public transport in their territories and the different geographical circumstances of 
Member  States,  the  distance  threshold  may  be  increased  to  up  to  120  kilometres  if  the  new 
service  is  proposed  to  serve  a  place  of  departure  and  a  destination  already  served  by  more 
than one public service contract.  

Article 8c – Decisions by authorising authorities 

Article 8c is proposed to be added to specify the decisions of authorising bodies. It provides 
for  authorising  authorities  to  grant  authorisations,  grant  authorisations  with  limitations,  or 
that  decisions  refusing  authorisations  or  granting 
reject  authorisations.  It  requires 
authorisations  with  limitations  are  justified.  It  specifies  the  grounds  for  rejecting  an 
application. 

Article 8d – Limitation of the right of access 

Article  8d  is  proposed  to  be  added  to  provide  the  procedure  for  protecting  public  service 
contracts.  Member  States  may  reject  applications  for  authorisations  if  they  compromise  the 
economic  equilibrium  of  a  public  service  contract.  Only  specified  interested  parties  may 
request  the  regulatory  body  to  conduct  the  economic  analysis.  The  regulatory  body  can 
conclude  the  authorisation  can  be  granted,  granted  subject  to  conditions,  or  rejected.  The 
conclusions of the regulatory body should be binding. 

Chapter IV – SPECIAL REGULAR SERVICES EXEMPT FROM AUTHORISATION 

Article 12 – Control documents 

It is proposed to delete Article 12(1) to (5) to abolish the journey form as a control document 
for occasional services. This should eliminate an unnecessary administrative burden.  

Article 13 – Local excursions 

It is proposed to delete Article 13 as local excursions are liberalised under Article 15 making 
this Article redundant. 

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Chapter V - CABOTAGE 

Article 15 – Authorised cabotage operations 

It is proposed to amend this Article to specify that the requirement for regular services to be 
performed as part of a regular international service and the prohibition of cabotage operations 
in the form of regular services being carried out independent of a regular service are deleted. 
Local excursions are an authorised cabotage operation and are covered by subparagraph (b).  

Article 17 – Control documents for cabotage operations 

It is proposed to delete Article 17 so that journey forms are no longer required for cabotage 
operations  in  the  form  of  occasional  services.  The  control  documents  for  special  regular 
services are specified in Article 12(6). 

Chapter VI – CONTROLS AND PENALTIES 

Article 19 – inspections on the road and in undertakings 

It  is  proposed  to  specify  in  Article  19(2)  that  carriers  operating  cabotage  operations  in  the 
form of regular services are required to allow inspections as these services will be permitted 
to operate independent of operating international carriage of passengers. 

Chapter VII – IMPLEMENTATION 

Article 28 – Reporting 

It  is  proposed  to  lay  down  reporting  obligations  so  that  the  Commission  has  consistent  and 
reliable  information  from  all  Member  States  to  enable  it  to  monitor  and  evaluate  the 
implementation and effectiveness of the legislation. Draft new paragraph 5 provides that the 
Commission shall report to the European Parliament and to the Council within 5 years after 
the date of application of the Regulation on the extent to which the Regulation has contributed 
to a better functioning road passenger transport market. 

EN 

11 

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2017/0288 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 on common rules for access to the 
international market for coach and bus services 

(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 Committee15,  
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions16,  

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

The application of Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council17 has revealed that operators in national markets are facing obstacles to the 
development  of  inter-urban  coach  services.  Moreover,  road  passenger  transport 
services have not kept pace with the evolving needs of citizens in terms of availability 
and quality and sustainable transport modes continue to have a low modal share. As a 
consequence,  certain  groups  of  citizens  are  placed  at  a  disadvantage  in  terms  of 
availability  of  passenger  transport  services,  and  there  are  more  road  accidents, 
emissions and congestion due to greater use of cars. 

To ensure a coherent framework for the inter-urban carriage of passengers by regular 
coach and bus services throughout the Union, Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 should 
apply  to  all  inter-urban  carriage  by  regular  services.  The  scope  of  that  Regulation 
should therefore be extended.  

An independent and impartial regulatory body should be designated in each Member 
State  to  ensure  the  proper  functioning  of  the  road  passenger  transport  market.  That 
body  may  also  be  responsible  for  other  regulated  sectors  such  as  rail,  energy  or 
telecommunications. 

(4) 

Commercial  regular  service  operations  should  not  compromise  the  economic 
equilibrium  of  existing  public  service  contracts.  For  this  reason,  the  regulatory  body 

15 
16 
17 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 on 
common  rules  for  access  to  the  international  market  for  coach  and  bus  services,  and  amending 
Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 (OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 88). 

EN 

12 

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(5) 

(6) 

should  be  able  to  carry  out  an  objective  economic  analysis  to  ensure  that  this  is  the 
case.  

Regular  services  in  the  form  of  cabotage  operations  should  be  conditional  on  the 
possession  of  a  Community  licence.  In  order  to  facilitate  effective  controls  of  those 
services  by  enforcement  authorities,  the  rules  regarding  the  issuing  of  Community 
licences should be clarified. 

In order to ensure fair competition in the market, operators of regular services should 
be  provided  with  access  rights  to  terminals  in  the  Union  on  fair,  equitable,  non-
discriminatory  and  transparent  terms.  Appeals  against  decisions  rejecting  or  limiting 
access should be lodged with the regulatory body. 

(7)  While  maintaining  authorisation  for  regular  services,  certain  rules  regarding  the 

authorisation procedure should be adapted. 

(8) 

Authorisation for both national and international regular services should be subject to 
an authorisation procedure. Authorisation should be granted, unless there are specific 
grounds for refusal attributable to the applicant, or the service would compromise the 
economic  equilibrium  of  a  public  service  contract.  A  distance  threshold  should  be 
introduced  to  ensure  that  commercial  regular  service  operations  do  not  compromise 
the  economic  equilibrium  of  existing  public  service  contracts.    In  the  case  of  routes 
already  served  by  more  than  one  public  service  contract,  it  should  be  possible  to 
increase that threshold. 

(9) 

Non-resident  carriers  should  be  able  to  operate  national  regular  services  under  the 
same conditions as resident carriers.  

(10)  Administrative formalities should be reduced as much as possible without abandoning 
the  controls  and  penalties  that  guarantee  the  correct  application  and  effective 
enforcement  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1073/2009.  The  journey  form  constitutes  an 
unnecessary administrative burden and should therefore be abolished.  

(11)  Local excursions are an authorised cabotage operation and are covered by the general 
rules on cabotage. The article on local excursions should therefore be deleted. 

(12) 

(13) 

(14) 

In view of the importance of effective enforcement of Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009, 
the  rules  on  inspections  at  the  roadside  and  in  undertakings  should  be  amended  to 
include cabotage operations.  

Insofar as this Regulation harmonises the rules in national markets for regular coach 
and  bus  services  and  access  to  terminals,  its  objectives,  namely  the    promotion  of 
inter-urban  mobility  and  the  increase  of  the  modal  share  of  sustainable  passenger 
transport modes, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States. 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 and II to 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1073/2009,  and  to  supplement  that  Regulation  with  rules 
concerning  the format of certificates for own-account transport operations, the format 
of  applications  for  authorisations  and  authorisations  themselves,  the  procedure  and 
criteria  to  be  followed  to  determine  if  a  proposed  service  would  compromise  the 

EN 

13 

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economic  equilibrium  of  a  public  service  contract,  and  the  reporting  obligations  of 
Member  States.  It  is  of  particular  importance  that  the  Commission  carry  out 
appropriate  consultations  during  its  preparatory  work,  including  at  expert  level,  and 
that  those  consultations  be  conducted  in  line  with  the  principles  laid  down  in  the 
Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making 18. 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  the 
Member States’ experts, and the European Parliament and the Council experts should 
systematically  have  access  to  the  Commission’s  expert  group  meetings  dealing  with 
the preparation of delegated acts. 

(15)  Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

in Article 1, paragraph 4 is replaced by the following: 

Article 1 

This  Regulation  shall  apply  to  national  road  passenger  services  for  hire  or 

“4. 
reward operated by a non-resident carrier as provided for in Chapter V.”; 

(2) 

Article 2 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

point 2 is replaced by the following: 

“2. 
‘regular services’ means services which provide for the carriage of passengers 
at  specified  intervals  along  specified  routes,  either  without  intermediate  stopping 
points  or  with  passengers  being  picked  up  and  set  down  at  predetermined  stopping 
points;”; 

(b) 

point 7 is replaced by the following: 

‘cabotage  operation’  means  a  national  road  passenger  transport  service 

“7. 
operated for hire or reward in a host Member State;”;  

(c) 

the following points 9 to 11 are added: 

‘terminal’ means any facility with a minimum area of 600m2, which provides a 
“9.  
parking place that is used by coaches and buses for the setting down or picking up of 
passengers; 

‘terminal  operator’  means  any  entity  responsible  for  granting  access  to  a 

10.  
terminal;  

‘viable  alternative’  means  another  terminal  which  is  economically  acceptable 

11.  
to the carrier, and allows it to operate the passenger service concerned.”; 

(3) 

the following Article 3a is inserted before Chapter II: 

“Article 3a 

Regulatory body 

1. 
Each  Member  State  shall  designate  a  single  national  regulatory  body 
for  the  road  passenger  transport  sector.  That  body  shall  be  an  impartial 
authority  which  is,  in  organisational,  functional,  hierarchical  and  decision 

18 

OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1. 

EN 

14 

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making terms, legally distinct and independent from any other public or private 
entity.  It  shall  be  independent  from  any  competent  authority  involved  in  the 
award of a public service contract.  

The regulatory body may be responsible for other regulated sectors.  

The regulatory body for the road passenger transport sector shall have 
2. 
the  necessary  organisational  capacity  in  terms  of  human  and  other  resources, 
which  shall  be  proportionate  to  the  importance  of  that  sector  in  the  Member 
State concerned. 

3. 

(a) 

The regulatory body shall perform the following tasks: 

carry  out  economic  analyses  of  whether  a  proposed  new  service  would 
compromise the economic equilibrium of a public service contract; 

(b) 

collect and provide information on access to terminals; and 

(c)  decide on appeals against decisions of terminal operators.  

The  regulatory  body  may,  in  exercising  its  tasks,  request  relevant 
4. 
information from the competent authorities, terminal operators, applicants for 
authorisation and any third party involved within the territory of the Member 
State concerned.  

Information requested shall be supplied within a reasonable period set by the 
regulatory body and not exceeding one month. In justified cases, the regulatory 
body may extend the time limit for submission of information by a maximum 
of  two  weeks.  The  regulatory  body  shall  be  able  to  enforce  requests  for 
information  by  means  of  penalties  which  are  effective,  proportionate  and 
dissuasive.   

Member States shall ensure that decisions taken by the regulatory body 
5. 
are  subject  to  judicial  review.  That  review  may  have  suspensive  effect  only 
when  the  immediate  effect  of  the  regulatory  body’s  decision  may  cause 
irretrievable or manifestly excessive damages for the appellant. This provision 
is without prejudice to the powers of the court hearing the appeal as conferred 
by constitutional law of the Member State concerned. 

6. 

Decisions taken by the regulatory body shall be made public.”;  

(4) 

Article 4 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

paragraph 1 is replaced with the following: 

International carriage of passengers and cabotage operations by coach and bus 
“1. 
shall  be  carried  out  subject  to  possession  of  a  Community  licence  issued  by  the 
competent authorities of the Member State of establishment.”; 

(b)  

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

“The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 26 
amending Annexes I and II in order to adapt them to technical progress.”; 

(5) 

Article 5 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

(b) 

in paragraph 3, the fifth subparagraph is deleted; 

in paragraph 5, the third subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

EN 

15 

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“The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 26 
establishing the format of the certificates.”; 

(6) 

the following Article 5a is inserted: 

“Article 5a 

Access to terminals 

1. 
Terminal operators shall grant carriers  the right to access terminals for 
the  purpose  of  operating  regular  services  including  any  facilities  or  services 
provided  in  that  terminal  under  fair,  equitable,  non-discriminatory  and 
transparent conditions.  

Terminal  operators  shall  endeavour  to  accommodate  all  requests  for 

2. 
access in order to ensure optimum use of terminals.   

Requests for access may be refused only on the grounds of lack of capacity.  

Where  a  terminal  operator  refuses  a  request  for  access,  it  shall  indicate  any 
viable alternatives.  

Terminal  operators  shall  publish  at  least  the  following  information  in 

3. 
two or more official languages of the Union: 

(a) a list of all services provided, and the prices for those services; 

(b) the rules for scheduling the allocation of capacity;  

(c) the current timetable and capacity allocation. 

That information shall be made available free of charge in electronic format by 
the terminal operator and the regulatory body on request, and where they have 
websites, on those websites.  

The information shall be kept up to date and amended as necessary.”; 

(7) 

the following Article 5b is inserted: 

“Article 5b 

Procedure for granting access to terminals 

A carrier seeking access to a terminal shall submit an application to the 

1. 
terminal operator. 

2. 
If access cannot be granted as requested in the application, the terminal 
operator  shall  initiate  consultations with  all  interested  carriers  with  a  view  to 
accommodating the application.  

3. 
The  terminal  operator  shall  take  a  decision  on  any  application  for 
access  to  a  terminal  within  two  months  of  the  date  of  submission  of  the 
application by the carrier. Decisions on access shall state the reasons on which 
they are based.  

Applicants  may  appeal  against  decisions  by  terminal  operators.  

4. 
Appeals shall be lodged with the regulatory body. 

5. 
Where  the  regulatory  body  hears  an  appeal  against  a  decision  by  a 
terminal operator, it shall adopt a reasoned decision within a fixed timeframe 
and, in any case within three weeks from receipt of all relevant information. 

EN 

16 

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The  decision  of  the  regulatory  body  on  the  appeal  shall  be  binding.  The 
regulatory  body  shall  be  able  to  enforce  it  by  means  of  penalties  which  are 
effective, proportionate and dissuasive 

The decision shall be subject to judicial review only.";  

(7) 

Article 6 is amended as follows: 

in  paragraph  1,  the  first  sentence  of  the  first  subparagraph  is  replaced  by  the 

(a) 
following: 

“Authorisations shall be issued in the name of the carrier, in paper or electronic format 
and shall be non-transferable.”; 

(b) 

paragraph 4 is replaced by the following: 

The  Commission  is  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts  in  accordance  with 

“4. 
Article 26 establishing the format of the authorisations.”; 

(8) 

Article 7 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following: 

Applications  for  authorisation  of  regular  services  shall  be  submitted  to  the 

“1. 
authorising authority in paper or electronic format. 

The  Commission  is  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts  in  accordance  with 

 2. 
Article 26 establishing the format of the applications.”; 

(9) 

Article 8 is replaced by the following: 

“Article 8 

Authorisation procedure for the international carriage of passengers over a distance of 
less than 100 kilometres as the crow flies 

1. 
Authorisations  shall  be  issued  in  agreement  with  the  competent 
authorities of all the Member States in whose territories passengers are picked 
up or set down and are carried over distances of less than 100 kilometres as the 
crow  flies.  The  authorising  authority  shall  send  a  copy  of  the  application, 
together with copies of any other relevant documentation, within two weeks of 
receipt of the application to such competent authorities with a request for their 
agreement.  At  the  same  time,  the  authorising  authority  shall  forward  those 
documents  to  the  competent  authorities  of  other  Member  States  whose 
territories are crossed, for information. 

The competent authorities of the Member States whose agreement has 
2. 
been  requested  shall  notify  the  authorising  authority  of  their  decision  within 
three months. The time limit shall be calculated from the date of receipt of the 
request  for  agreement  which  is  demonstrated  by  the  acknowledgement  of 
receipt.  If  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  States  whose  agreement 
has been requested do not agree, they shall state the reasons.    

If the competent authorities of the Member States whose agreement has been 
requested  do  not  reply  within  the  time  limit  laid  down  in  the  first 
subparagraph, they shall be deemed to have given their agreement.  

The authorising authority shall take a decision on the application within 

3. 
four months of the date of submission of the application by the carrier. 

EN 

17 

  EN 

 
Authorisation shall be granted unless refusal can be justified on one or 

4. 
more of the grounds listed in points (a) to (d) of Article 8c(2). 

5. 
If one of the competent authorities does not agree to the authorisation, 
the  matter  may  be  referred  to  the  Commission  within  two  months  following 
receipt of its reply. 

6. 
After having consulted the Member States of the competent authorities 
which disagreed, the Commission shall, within four months from receipt of the 
communication  from  the  authorising  authority,  take  a  decision.  The  decision 
shall take effect 30 days after its notification to the Member States concerned. 

7. 
The  Commission  decision  shall  apply  until  such  time  as  the  Member 
States  reach  an  agreement  and  the  authorising  authority  adopts  a  decision  on 
the application.  

 (10) 

the following Articles 8a to 8d are inserted: 

“Article 8a 

Authorisation procedure for the international carriage of passengers over a distance of 
100 kilometres or more as the crow flies 

The authorising authority shall take a decision on the application within 

1. 
two months of the date of submission of the application by the carrier. 

Authorisation shall be granted unless refusal can be justified on one or 

2. 
more of the grounds listed in points (a) to (c) of Article 8c(2). 

3. 
The authorising authority shall forward to the competent authorities of 
all Member States in whose territories passengers are picked up or set down, as 
well  as  to  the  competent  authorities  of  Member  States  whose  territories  are 
crossed  without  passengers  being  picked  up  or  set  down,  a  copy  of  the 
application, together with copies of any other relevant documentation, and its 
assessment, for information.  

Article 8b 

Authorisation procedure for national regular services 

The authorising authority shall take a decision on the application within 
1. 
two  months  of  the  date  of  submission  of  the  application  by  the  carrier.  This 
may be extended to four months where an analysis is requested in accordance 
with Article 8c(2)(d). 

Authorisations  for  national  regular  services  shall  be  granted  unless 
2. 
refusal can be justified on one or more of the grounds listed in points (a) to (c) 
of Article 8c(2) and, if the service is carrying passengers over a distance of less 
than 100 kilometres as the crow flies, Article 8c(2)(d). 

3. 
The  distance  referred  to  in  paragraph  2  may  be  increased  to  120 
kilometres if the regular service to be introduced will serve a point of departure 
and  a  destination  which  are  already  served  by  more  than  one  public  service 
contract.  

Article 8c 

Decisions of authorising authorities  

EN 

18 

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1. 
Following  the  procedure  laid  down  in  Articles  8,  8a  or  8b,  the 
authorising authority shall grant the authorisation, grant the authorisation with 
limitations or reject the application. The authorising authority shall inform all 
the competent authorities referred to in Article 8(1) of its decision. 

Decisions  rejecting  an  application  or  granting  authorisation  with 

2. 
limitations shall state the reasons on which they are based.  

Authorisation shall be granted unless rejection can be justified on one or more 
of the following grounds: 

the applicant is unable to provide the service which is the subject of the 

(a) 
application with equipment directly available to it; 

the applicant has not complied with national or international legislation 
(b) 
on road transport, and in particular the conditions and requirements relating to 
authorisations  for  international  road  passenger  services,  or  has  committed 
serious  infringements  of  Union    road  transport  legislation  in  particular  with 
regard  to  the  rules  applicable  to  vehicles  and  driving  and  rest  periods  for 
drivers; 

in the case of an application for renewal of authorisation, the conditions 

(c) 
of authorisation have not been complied with; 

(d) 
a  regulatory  body  establishes  on  the  basis  of  an  objective  economic 
analysis  that  the  service  would  compromise  the  economic  equilibrium  of  a 
public service contract. 

Authorising  authorities  shall  not  reject  an  application  solely  on  the  grounds 
that the carrier offers lower prices than those offered by other road carriers or 
the fact that the link in question is already operated by other road carriers. 

3. 
Member  States  shall  ensure  that  decisions  taken  by  the  authorising 
authority  are  subject  to  judicial  review.  That  review  may  have  suspensive 
effect  only  when  the  immediate  effect  of  the  authorising  authority’s  decision 
may cause irretrievable or manifestly excessive damages for the appellant. This 
provision is without prejudice to the powers of the court hearing the appeal as 
conferred by constitutional law of the Member State concerned. 

Article 8d 

Limitation of the right of access 

1. 
Member  States  may  limit  the  right  of  access  to  the  international  and 
national  market  for  regular  services  if  the  proposed  regular  service  carries 
passengers over distances of less than 100 kilometres as the crow flies and if 
the  service  would  compromise  the  economic  equilibrium  of  a  public  service 
contract. 

2. 
The competent authorities that awarded a public service contract or the 
public service operators performing the public service contract may request the 
regulatory body to carry out an analysis of whether the economic equilibrium 
of the public service contract would be compromised.  

The regulatory body shall examine the request and decide whether to carry out 
the economic analysis. It shall inform the interested parties of its decision.  

EN 

19 

  EN 

3. 
Where  the  regulatory  body  carries  out  an  economic  analysis,  it  shall 
inform all  interested parties of the results of that analysis and its conclusions 
within six weeks following receipt of all relevant information. The regulatory 
body  may  conclude  that  the  authorisation  is  to  be  granted,  is  to  be  granted 
subject to conditions or is to be rejected. 

The  conclusions  of  the  regulatory  body  shall  be  binding  on  the  authorising 
authorities. 

The  competent  authorities  and  the  public  service  operators  shall 
4. 
provide the regulatory body with the necessary information for the purposes of 
paragraphs 2 and 3.  

5. 
The  Commission  is  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts  in  accordance 
with  Article  26  establishing  the  procedure  and  criteria  to  be  followed  for  the 
application of this Article."; 

(11) 

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

“Articles  8,  8a,  8b  and  8c  shall  apply,  mutatis  mutandis,  to  applications  for  the 
renewal of authorisations or for alteration of the conditions under which the services 
subject to authorisation must be carried out.”; 

(12) 

the title of Chapter IV is replaced by the following: 

“SPECIAL REGULAR SERVICES EXEMPT FROM AUTHORISATION” 

(13) 

in Article 12, paragraphs 1 to 5 are deleted; 

(14)  Article 13 is deleted; 

(15)  Article 15 is replaced by the following: 

“Article 15 

Authorised cabotage operations 

Cabotage operations shall be authorised for the following services: 

(a) 
special regular services carried out on a temporary basis provided that 
they are covered by a contract concluded between the organiser and the carrier; 

(b) 

(c) 

occasional services carried out on a temporary basis; 

regular services performed in accordance with this Regulation.”; 

(16)  Article 17 is deleted; 

(17) 

in Article 19(2), the first sentence is replaced by the following: 

“2. 
Carriers  operating  cabotage  or  international  carriage  of  passengers  by  coach 
and  bus  shall  allow  all  inspections  intended  to  ensure  that  operations  are  being 
conducted correctly, in particular as regards driving and rest periods.”; 

(18)  Article 20 is replaced by the following: 

“Article 20 

Mutual assistance 

Member  States  shall  assist  one  another  in  ensuring  the  application  and 
1. 
monitoring  of  this  Regulation.  They  shall  exchange  information  via  the  national 
contact points established pursuant to Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009. 

EN 

20 

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2. 
The regulatory bodies shall cooperate when carrying out economic analyses of 
whether proposed regular services would compromise a public service contract for the 
international  operation  of  public  transport  services.  The  authorising  authority    shall 
consult  the  regulatory  bodies  of  all  other  Member  States  through  which  the 
international  regular  service  concerned  runs  and,  where  appropriate, shall  request  all 
necessary information from them before taking its decision.”; 

(19)  Article 26 is replaced by the following: 

“Article 26 

Exercise of the delegation 

The  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  is  conferred  on  the  Commission 

1. 
subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.  

2. 
The  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  referred  to  in  Articles  4(2),  5(5), 
6(4),  7(2),  8d(5)  and  28(3)  shall  be  conferred  on  the  Commission  for  an 
indeterminate period of time from [date of entry into force of this Regulation]. 

3. 
The  delegation  of  power  referred  to  in  Articles  4(2),  5(5),  6(4),  7(2), 
8d(5) and 28(3) 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 accordance with the principles laid down 
in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making. 

As  soon  as  it  adopts  a  delegated  act,  the  Commission  shall  notify  it 

5. 
simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council. 

A  delegated  act  adopted  pursuant  to  Articles  4(2),  5(5),  6(4),  7(2), 
6. 
8d(5) and 28(3) 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.”; 

(20)  Article 28 is replaced by the following: 

“Article 28 

Reporting 

1. 
Each  year,  by  31  January  at  the  latest,  and  for  the  first  time  by  31 
January […the first January following the entry into force of this Regulation] 
Member  States  shall  communicate  to  the  Commission  the  number  of 
authorisations  for  regular  services  issued  the  previous  year  and  the  total 
number  of  authorisations  for  regular  services  valid  on  31  December  of  that 
year.  That  information  shall  be  given  separately  for  each  Member  State  of 
destination of the regular service. Member States shall also communicate to the 

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Commission  the  data  concerning  cabotage  operations,  in  the  form  of  special 
regular  services  and  occasional  services,  carried  out  during  the  previous  year 
by resident carriers. 

2. 
Each  year,  by  31  January  at  the  latest  and,  for  the  first  time  by  31 
January […the first January following the entry into force of this Regulation], 
the  competent  authorities  in  the  host  Member  State  shall  provide  the 
Commission with statistics on the number of authorisations issued for cabotage 
operations in the form of the regular services referred to in Article 15(c) during 
the previous year. 

3. 
The  Commission  is  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts  in  accordance 
with  Article  26  to  establish  the  format  of  the  table  to  be  used  for  the 
communication of the statistics referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 and the data 
to be provided. 

4. 
Each  year,  by  31  January  at  the  latest  and,  for  the  first  time  by  31 
January […the first January following the entry into force of this Regulation], 
Member States shall inform the Commission of the number of carriers holding 
a  Community  licence  as  of  31  December  of  the  previous  year  and  of  the 
number  of  certified  copies  corresponding  to  the  number  of  vehicles  in 
circulation on that date. 

5. 
By [please insert the date calculated 5 years after date of application of 
this  Regulation],  the  Commission  shall  submit  a  report  to  the  European 
Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the  application  of  this  Regulation.  The  report 
shall  include  information  on  the  extent  to  which  this  Regulation  has 
contributed to a better functioning road passenger transport market." 

Article 2 

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. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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