Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on common rules ensuring basic road freight connectivity with regard to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the Union
Date: 2018-12-19
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: United Kingdom, carriage of goods, road transport, transport regulations, withdrawal from the EU

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 19.12.2018  COM(2018) 895 final 2018/0436 (COD)  Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on common rules ensuring basic road freight connectivity with regard to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the Union (Text with EEA relevance)  
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

The  United  Kingdom  submitted  on  29  March  2017  the  notification  of  its  intention  to 
withdraw from the Union pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. This means 
that, if the Withdrawal Agreement1 is not ratified, the Unions’ primary and secondary law will 
cease  to  apply  to  the  United  Kingdom  from  30  March  2019  (‘the  withdrawal  date’).  The 
United Kingdom will then become a third country. 

Within  the  Union,  the  freedom  for  the  Member  States'  road  haulage  operators  (Union  road 
haulage operators) to provide international carriage of goods by road is regulated primarily on 
the basis of Regulation (EC) No 1072/20092, which lay down the common rules for the access 
to the occupation of road transport operator and for access to the international road haulage 
market, respectively.  

In the absence of a withdrawal agreement, road freight transport services between the United 
Kingdom  and the Member States would cease to be governed by the said Regulations upon 
withdrawal.  This  would  result  in  the  loss  of  validity  of  Community  licences  issued  by  the 
United  Kingdom  to  road  haulage  operators  until  the  withdrawal  date,  and  thereby  loss  of 
access to the Union’s road haulage market for holders of such licences. Similarly, European 
Union road haulage operators, on the basis of the existing Community licences, would equally 
lose automatic access to the United Kingdom’s road freight transport market.  

It follows that, in the absence of a withdrawal agreement, as from 30 March 2019 there would 
be  no  basis  in  Union  law  for  the  provision  of  road  freight  transport  services  between  the 
United  Kingdom  and  the  Member  States  by  road  haulage  operators.  The  multilateral  quota 
system  of  the  European  Conference  of  Ministers  of  Transport  (ECMT)  would  become  the 
only legal  framework on which the continuation of such services could  be  based, subject  to 
the  possession  of  an  ECMT  permit.  A  vehicle  equipped  with  an  ECMT  permit  may  carry 
goods between any of the 43 countries participating in the system, among which are 26 of the 
EU-27  Member  States  (all  but  Cyprus),  the  United  Kingdom,  and  16  other  countries. 
Following an international haulage operation from the country of registration of the vehicle to 
another  ECMT  country,  up  to  three  operations  where  the  country  of  registration  is  not 
involved are possible before the vehicle has to return to the country where it is registered. 

The number of ECMT permits is  limited for  each Member State and they  are distributed  at 
national  level  by  the  competent  authorities  of  each  Member  State.  Permits  for  2019  have 
already been distributed and their number cannot be increased at short notice. ECMT quotas 
are  set  annually  and  any  changes  to  the  number  of  permits  allocated  to  an  ECMT  country 
have to be agreed unanimously by all ECMT countries.  

By example, in 2019 there will be annual permits for 23,252 vehicles registered in the EU-27. 
In  addition,  there  will  be  984  annual  permits  for  the  United  Kingdom  and  23,472  annual 
permits for vehicles from other countries participating in the system. Considering the volumes 
of road freight transport services and the goods carried by road between the United Kingdom 
and the Member States (around 50 million tonnes in 2017; some 30 million tonnes from the 

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https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf. 
Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 on 
common rules for access to the international road haulage market, OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p.72. 

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EU-27 to the United Kingdom and some 20 million tonnes from the United Kingdom to the 
EU-27),  it  is  evident  that  reliance  solely  on  the  ECMT  quota  system  does  not  currently 
constitute an adequate solution to ensure basic road freight transport connectivity immediately 
after  the  withdrawal  date  in  the  absence  of  a  withdrawal  agreement.  The  Union  and  the 
Member States should work to ensure that an adequate number of permits be available within 
the ECMT system, so as to ensure basic connectivity. 

The carriage of goods by road between the United Kingdom and the Member States is almost 
entirely in the hands of United Kingdom and Union road haulage operators. The loss by those 
operators of their right to provide road freight transport between the United Kingdom and the 
Member  States  would  therefore  result  in  serious  disruptions  including  in  respect  of  public 
order. 

It  is  therefore  appropriate  for  the  Union  to  adopt  temporary  and  time  limited  contingency 
measures to mitigate such potentially disruptive effects for connectivity.  

In  its  Communication  ‘Preparing  for  the  withdrawal  of  the  United  Kingdom  from  the 
European Union on 30 March 2019: a Contingency Action Plan’ of 13 November 20183 the 
Commission announced its intention to propose a number of contingency measures to address 
the possibility that the United Kingdom might withdraw from the Union without a withdrawal 
agreement. As regards road transport in this communication the Commission pointed out that 
ECMT  permits  could  allow  only  for  considerably  less  traffic  between  the  Union  and  the 
United Kingdom compared to existing levels. 

The  European  Council  (Article  50)  reiterated  its  call,  on  13  December  2018,  for  work  on 
preparedness  at  all  levels  for  the  consequences  of  the  United  Kingdom's  withdrawal  to  be 
intensified,  taking  into  account  all  possible  outcomes.  This  act  is  part  of  a  package  of 
measures which the Commission is adopting in response to this call. 

The  present  proposal  thus  has  the  objective  to  lay  down  temporary  measures  to  govern  the 
carriage of goods by road between the Union and the United Kingdom following the latter's 
withdrawal  from  the  Union  (Article  1).  These  measures  are  intended  to  maintain  basic 
connectivity for a strictly time-limited period (Article 9).  

In the first place (Article 3), the proposed Regulation provides for the unilateral  granting of 
rights  for  bilateral  carriage  to  United  Kingdom  road  haulage  operators  so  that  these  can 
continue to carry goods between the respective territories.  

The rights granted to United Kingdom road haulage operators are subject to conformity with 
the  relevant  Union  law  applicable  to  road  freight  transport  (Article  4)  and  equivalent  rights 
being  granted  by  the  United  Kingdom  to  Union  road  haulage  operators.  The  proposed 
Regulation lays down a mechanism (Article 5) to ensure that the rights enjoyed by Union road 
haulage operators in the United Kingdom are equivalent to those granted to UK road haulage 
operators  under  the  proposed  Regulation.  If  that  is  not  the  case,  the  Commission  is 
empowered  to  adopt  the  necessary  measures  to  correct  the  situation  by  means  of  delegated 
acts, including the limitation to the allowable capacity available to UK road haulage operators 
or to the number of journeys or to both. The assessment of the level of equivalence and the 
adoption  of  corrective  measures  by  the  Commission  are  not  solely  linked  to  strict,  formal 
correspondence  between  the  two  legal  orders;  this  is  because  of  the  marked  differences 

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between  the  respective  markets  and  in  order  to  avoid  a  blind  mirroring  approach  -  which 
might in the end prove counter to the Union interest.  

The  proposed  Regulation,  even  though  it  aims  to  temporarily  ensure  basic  connectivity  for 
road  freight  transport,  lays  down  a  flexible  mechanism  to  ensure  that  Union  road  haulage 
operators enjoy  fair and  equal  opportunities to compete with  United Kingdom  road haulage 
operators once the United Kingdom will no longer be bound by Union law. A level playing 
field  requires  that,  even  after  the  withdrawal,  the  United  Kingdom  continues  to  apply 
sufficiently high and comparable standards in the area of road freight transport as regards: fair 
competition including the regulation of cartels, abuse of dominant position and mergers; the 
prohibition of unjustified government subsidies; the protection of workers and a high level of 
road safety; the protection of the environment; safety and security, or relating to the granting 
of licences to road haulage operators or to the qualification, training and medical controls for 
professional  drivers. Moreover, it must be ensured that Union carriers  are not  discriminated 
against in the United Kingdom, be it de iure or de facto. The proposed regulation thus charges 
the  Commission  (Article  6)  with  the  task  to  monitor  the  conditions  of  competition  between 
Union and United Kingdom  road haulage operators and empowers it to  adopt  the necessary 
measures, by means of delegated acts, to ensure that those conditions remain level at all times.  

The  necessary  procedures  are  established  so  as  to  enable  the  Member  States  and  the 
Commission  to  verify  that  road  haulage  operators  carrying  goods  into  the  Union  under  this 
Regulation  are  licensed  or  certified  by  the  United  Kingdom  in  accordance  with  relevant 
standards,  that  all  relevant  national  and  Union  legislation  is  complied  with  and  that  the 
allowed rights are not exceeded.  

Explicit provision is made to recall that Member States must not negotiate nor enter into any 
bilateral road freight transport agreements with the United Kingdom on matters falling under 
the  scope  of  this  Regulation  and  that  they  must  not  otherwise  grant  UK  road  haulage 
operators, in connection with road freight transport, any rights other than those granted in this 
Regulation  (Article  3).  Nevertheless,  the  respective  competent  authorities  will  be  able  to 
cooperate as necessary for the good implementation of the Regulation (Article 7), so that the 
least possible disturbance is brought to the management of the road freight transport services 
that will continue to be provided under its aegis after the United Kingdom's withdrawal.  

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

This  proposed  Regulation  is  intended  as  a  lex  specialis  that  would  address  some  of  the 
consequences  ensuing  from  the  fact  that  Union  rules  regulating  road  freight  transport,  in 
particular  Regulation  (EC)  No  1072/2009,  will  no  longer  apply  to  the  carriage  of  goods  by 
road between the United Kingdom and the remaining Member States as from the withdrawal 
of the United Kingdom and in the absence of a withdrawal agreement. The proposed terms are 
limited  to  what  is  necessary  in  this  respect,  so  as  to  avoid  disproportionate  disruptions, 
including in respect of public order. They are intended to apply only for a limited period of 
time. This proposal is therefore fully consistent with the existing legislation and notably with 
Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009.  

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

This proposal complements Union rules regulating the carriage of goods by road, in particular 
Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009. The specific purpose and context of this Regulation, as well 
as its unilateral nature, necessarily require a restrictive approach in the grant of rights, as well 
as specific provisions intended to preserve equality of rights and a level playing field. 

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2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The  legal  basis  is  Article  91(1)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union 
(TFEU).  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  

Art.  1(2)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1072/2009  reserves  competence  to  the  Union  for  relevant 
agreements with third countries. In the absence of such an agreement this proposed act would 
establish basic connectivity subject to equivalent rights being granted by the United Kingdom.  
Such connectivity would be ensured in an equal  manner for traffic to and from all points in 
the Union, which avoids distortions in the internal market. Action is therefore indispensable at 
Union level and the result could not be achieved through action at Member State level. 

• 

Proportionality 

The  proposed  Regulation  is  considered  proportionate  as  it  is  capable  of  avoiding 
disproportionate disruptions in a manner that also ensures equal conditions of competition for 
Union  road  haulage  operators  It  does  not  go  beyond  what  it  necessary  to  achieve  this 
objective. This is the case, in particular, for the conditions under which the relevant rights are 
conferred,  which  inter  alia  pertain  to  the  need  that  equivalent  rights  be  conferred  by  the 
United Kingdom and to fair competition, and for the limitation of the regime in time.  

• 

Choice of the instrument 

Since  the  act  governs  matters  closely  related  to  Regulation  (EC)  No  1072/2009  and  is 
intended,  like  these  Regulations,  to  ensure  fully  harmonised  conditions  of  competition,  it 
should  take  the  form  of  a  Regulation.  This  form  also  best  responds  to  the  urgency  of  the 
situation/context,  since  the  time  available  before  the  withdrawal  (without  a  withdrawal 
agreement being concluded) is too short to allow for a transposition of provisions contained in 
a Directive.  

3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

This  is  not  applicable  due  to  the  exceptional,  temporary  and  one-off  nature  of  the  event 
necessitating this proposal which does not relate to the objectives of existing legislation.  

• 

Stakeholder consultations 

The  challenges  arising  from  the  United  Kingdom's  withdrawal  from  the  EU  and  possible 
solutions have been raised by various stakeholders and Member States representatives. 

A common theme in the presented views was the need for a regulatory intervention in order to 
maintain a certain  degree of  connectivity as  regards the carriage of  goods by  road. When it 
comes to access to the Union road haulage market, stakeholders are not able to take their own 

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contingency  measures  in  order  to  mitigate  the  harmful  impact  of  the  possible  absence  of  a 
withdrawal agreement.  

On  29  November  2018,  the  Commission  organised  an  EU-27  workshop  on  preparedness  in 
the Council’s Article 50 Working Party, during which Member States' representatives have in 
particular stressed the need to adopt EU level contingency measures in order to ensure basic 
connectivity between the EU-27 and the UK in case of an absence of a withdrawal agreement. 
In particular it was highlighted that the ECMT multilateral quota system does not represent a 
sufficient  and  adequate  fall-back  option  considering  its  quantitative  and  qualitative 
limitations. 

These comments have been given due consideration on the preparation of the proposal. 

• 

Collection and use of expertise 

Several forms of assessment of the consequences of the United Kingdom's withdrawal for the 
road  haulage  sector  were  shared  with  the  Commission  by  relevant  stakeholders.  These 
assessments conclude that the only fall-back available in the road haulage sector, namely the 
multilateral  quota  system  of  the  European  Conference  of  Ministers  of  Transport  (ECMT), 
would be inadequate to  cover the needs of the sector. The shortage of permits available  for 
2019 (see above) would likely cause significant disruptions and the bilateral flow of goods by 
road (around 50 million tonnes annually) may no longer be fully covered. More than 80% of 
road  haulage  operations  between  the  UK  and  the  EU-27  are  currently  being  carried  out  by 
hauliers established in the EU-27. It is in the interest of the EU-27 to provide for a framework 
that does not unduly restrict bilateral road haulage operations. 

• 

Impact assessment 

An impact assessment is not needed, due to the exceptional nature of the situation and limited 
needs of the period during which the change of status of the United Kingdom is implemented. 
No materially and legally different policy options are available other than the one proposed. 

• 

Fundamental rights 

This proposal has no consequence for the protection of fundamental rights.  

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

Not applicable.  

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

Not applicable.  

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2018/0436 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on common rules ensuring basic road freight connectivity with regard to the withdrawal 
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the Union 

(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 Committee4,  
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions5,  

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,  

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

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6 

On 29 March 2017, the United Kingdom submitted the notification of its intention to 
withdraw from the Union pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. The 
Treaties will cease to apply to the United Kingdom from the date of entry into force of 
a withdrawal agreement or failing that, two years after that notification, that is to say 
from  30  March  2019,  unless  the  European  Council,  in  agreement  with  the  United 
Kingdom, unanimously decides to extend that period. 

The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union would, in the relationship with 
the  remaining  twenty-seven  Member  States  and  in  the  absence  of  any  special 
provisions, end all rights and obligations ensuing from Union law in respect of market 
access, as established by Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 of the European Parliament 
and the Council6.  

The multilateral  quota system of the European  Conference of Ministers of Transport 
(ECMT) is the only other available legal framework that could provide a basis for the 
carriage  of  goods  by  road  between  the  Union  and  the  United  Kingdom  after  the 
withdrawal  date.  However,  due  to  the  limited  number  of  permits  currently  available 
under  the  ECMT  system  and  its  limited  scope  as  regards  the  covered  types  of  road 
transport  operations,  the  system  is  currently  inadequate  to  fully  address  the  road 
freight transport needs between the Union and the United Kingdom. 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , […], p. . 
Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 on 
common  rules  for  access  to  the  international  road  haulage  market  (Text  with  EEA  relevance),  (OJ  L 
300, 14.11.2009, p. 72). 

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(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

In order to prevent ensuing serious disruptions, including in respect of public order, it 
is therefore necessary to establish a temporary set of measures enabling road haulage 
operators licensed in the United Kingdom to carry goods by road between the territory 
of  the  latter  and  the  remaining  twenty-seven  Member  States.  In  order  to  ensure  a 
proper  equilibrium  between  the  United  Kingdom  and  the  remaining  Member  States, 
the rights thus conferred should be conditional upon the conferral of equivalent rights 
and be subject to certain conditions ensuring fair competition. 

In order to reflect their temporary character, the set of measures should be limited to a 
short period of time, so as to allow the necessary arrangements for basic connectivity 
to be made in the ECMT system, and without prejudice to the possible negotiation and 
entry into force of a future agreement covering the carriage of goods by road between 
the Union and the United Kingdom.  

In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty 
on European Union, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to 
achieve that objective.  

This Regulation should enter into force as a matter of urgency and apply from the day 
following  that  on  which  the  Treaties  cease  to  apply  to  and  in  the  United  Kingdom 
unless a  withdrawal  agreement concluded with  the United Kingdom  has entered into 
force by that date. 

(8)  Where necessary to address market needs, 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 restore the equivalence of rights granted by the Union 
to  UK  road  haulage  operators  with  those  granted  by  the  UK  to  Union  road  haulage 
operators and to remedy occurrences of unfair competition to the detriment of Union 
road  haulage  operators.  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  accordance with  the principles laid  down in 
the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  on  Better  Law-Making  of  13  April  2016.  In 
particular,  to  ensure  equal  participation  in  the  preparation  of  delegated  acts,  the 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  receive  all  documents  at  the  same  time  as 
Member  States'  experts,  and  their  experts  systematically  have  access  to  meetings  of 
Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts. It should be 
ensured that any such delegated act  does not  unduly affect  the proper functioning of 
the internal market.  

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Scope 

This  Regulation  lays  down  temporary  measures  governing  the  carriage  of  goods  by  road 
between  the  Union  and  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Northern  Ireland  (the 
’United Kingdom’) following its withdrawal from the Union.  

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Article 2 

Definitions 

For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions apply: 

(1) 

"vehicle"  means  a  motor  vehicle  registered  in  the  United  Kingdom,  or  a  coupled 
combination  of  vehicles  the  motor  vehicle  of  which  at  least  is  registered  in  the 
United  Kingdom,  used  exclusively  for  the  carriage  of  goods.  The  vehicle  may  be 
owned  by  the  undertaking,  have  been  bought  by  it  on  deferred  terms  or  have  been 
hired, provided that in the latter case it meets the conditions of Directive 2006/1/EC7; 

(2) 

"bilateral carriage" means: 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(a) 

a laden journey undertaken by a vehicle the point of departure and the point of 
arrival  of  which  are  in  the  territory  of  the  Union  and  in  the  territory  of  the 
United  Kingdom  respectively,  with  or  without  transit  through  one  or  more 
Member States or third countries;  

(b) 

an unladen journey in conjunction with the carriage referred to in point (a); 

 "Union  road  haulage  operator"  means  an  undertaking  engaged  in  the  carriage  of 
goods by road which holds a valid Community licence in accordance with Article 4 
of Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009; 

"UK  road  haulage  operator"  means  an  undertaking  established  in  the  United 
Kingdom which is authorised to engage in the carriage of goods by road  and holds a 
valid UK licence; 

"UK  licence"  means  a  licence  issued  by  the  United  Kingdom  for  the  purposes  of 
international carriage, including bilateral carriage; 

"competition law" means law which addresses the following conduct, where it may 
affect road freight transport services: 

(a)  Conduct that consists in: 

(i) 

agreements between road haulage operators, decisions by associations of 
road haulage operators and concerted practices which have as their object 
or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition; 

(ii) 

abuses by one or more road haulage operators of a dominant position;  

(iii)  measures taken or maintained in force by the United Kingdom in case of 
public  undertakings  and  undertakings  to  which  the  United  Kingdom 
grants special or exclusive rights and which are contrary to points (i) or 
(ii); and 

(b) 

concentrations  between  road  haulage  operators  which  significantly  impede 
effective competition, in particular as a result of the creation or strengthening 
of a dominant position; 

(7) 

"subsidy" means any financial contribution granted to a road haulage operator by the 
government  or  any  other  public  body  at  any  level,  conferring  a  benefit,  and 
including: 

7  Directive 2006/1/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2006 on the use of vehicles 

hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road, OJ L 33, 4.2.2006, p. 82. 

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(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

the  direct  transfer  of  funds,  such  as  grants,  loans  or  equity  infusion,  the 
potential  direct  transfer  of  funds,  the  assumption  of  liabilities,  such  as  loan 
guarantees,  capital  injections,  ownership,  protection  against  bankruptcy  or 
insurance; 

the foregoing or non-collection of revenue that is otherwise due; 

the  provision  of  goods  or  services  other  than  general  infrastructure,  or  the 
purchase of goods or services; or 

the making of payments to a funding mechanism or entrustment or direction to 
a private body to carry out one or more of the functions mentioned under (a), 
(b) and (c) which would normally be vested in the government or other public 
body and the practice in no real sense differs from practices normally followed 
by governments. 

No benefit is deemed to be conferred by a financial contribution carried out by 
a government or other public body if a private market operator solely driven by 
profitability  prospects,  in  the  same  situation  as  the  public  body  in  question, 
would have carried out the same financial contribution; 

(8) 

“independent  competition  authority”  means  an  authority  which  is  in  charge  of  the 
application and enforcement of competition law as well as the control of subsidies, 
and fulfils the following conditions: 

(a) 

(b) 

the  authority  is  operationally  independent  and  is  appropriately  equipped  with 
the resources necessary to carry out its tasks ; 

in  performing  its  duties  and  exercising  its  powers,  the  authority  has  the 
necessary guarantees of independence from political or other external influence 
and acts impartially; and  

(c) 

the decisions of the authority  are subject to judicial review; 

"discrimination" means differentiation of any kind without objective justification in 
respect  of  the  supply  of  goods  or  services,  including  public  services,  employed  for 
the  operation  of  road  freight  transport  services,  or  in  respect  of  their  treatment  by 
public authorities relevant to such services; 

"territory of the Union" means the territory of the Member States to which the Treaty 
on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union apply 
and under the conditions laid down in those Treaties;  

Article 3 

Right to conduct bilateral carriage 

UK road haulage operators may, under the conditions laid down in this Regulation, 
conduct bilateral carriage.  

Bilateral  carriage  of  the  following  kinds  may  be  conducted  by  natural  or  legal 
persons established in the United Kingdom, without a UK licence within the meaning 
of Article 2(5) being required: 

(a) 

(b) 

carriage of mail as a universal service; 

carriage of vehicles which have suffered damage or breakdown; 

(9) 

(10) 

1. 

2. 

EN 

9 

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(c) 

(d) 

carriage  of  goods  in  motor  vehicles  the  permissible  laden  mass  of  which, 
including that of trailers, does not exceed 3,5 tonnes; 

carriage  of  medicinal  products,  appliances,  equipment  and  other  articles 
required for medical care in emergency relief, in particular for natural disasters; 

(e) 

carriage of goods provided that  

(i)  

(ii)  

the goods carried are the property of the undertaking or have been sold, 
bought,  let  out  on  hire  or  hired,  produced,  extracted,  processed  or 
repaired by the undertaking; 

the  purpose  of  the  journey  is  to  carry  the  goods  to  or  from  the 
undertaking or to move them, either inside or outside the undertaking for 
its own requirements; 

(iii)   motor vehicles used for such carriage are driven by personnel employed 
by,  or  put  at  the  disposal  of,  the  undertaking  under  a  contractual 
obligation; 

(iv)   the vehicles carrying the goods are owned by the undertaking, have been 
bought  by  it  on  deferred  terms  or  have  been  hired  provided  that  in  the 
latter  case  they  meet  the  conditions  of  Directive  2006/1/EC  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2006 on the use of 
vehicles  hired  without  drivers  for  the  carriage  of  goods  by  road  (  12  ); 
and 

(v)   such  carriage  is  no  more  than  ancillary  to  the  overall  activities  of  the 

undertaking; 

3. 

The Member States shall neither negotiate nor enter into any bilateral agreements or 
arrangements  with  the  United  Kingdom  on  matters  falling  within  the  scope  of  this 
Regulation.  Without  prejudice  to  existing  multilateral  agreements,  they  shall  not 
otherwise grant UK road haulage operators any rights other than those granted in this 
Regulation. 

Article 4 

Social and technical rules 

In the course of bilateral carriage in accordance with this Regulation, the following rules shall 
be complied with: 

(a) 

(b) 

in respect of mobile workers and self-employed drivers, the requirements laid 
down  by  Member  States  in  accordance  with  Directive  2002/15/EC  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council 8; 

in  respect  of  certain  social  legislation  relating  to  road  transport,  the 
requirements of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and 
of the Council 9; 

8  Directive 2002/15/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2002 on the organisation of 

the working time of persons performing mobile road transport activities, OJ L 80, 23.3.2002, p. 35. 

9  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 

10 

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(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

in  respect  of  tachographs  in  road  transport,  the  requirements  of  Regulation 
(EU) No 165/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council 10;  

in respect of the maximum authorised dimensions and weights of certain road 
vehicles,  the  requirements  laid  down  by  Member  States  in  accordance  with 
Council Directive 96/53/EC11; 

in  respect  of  the  installation  and  use  of  speed  limitation  devices  for  certain 
categories of motor vehicles, the requirements laid down by Member States in 
accordance with Council Directive 92/6/EEC12; 

in respect of the compulsory use of safety belts and child restraint systems in 
vehicles,  the  requirements  laid  down  by  Member  States  in  accordance  with 
Council Directive 91/671/EEC13; 

in  respect  of  the  posting  of  workers,  the  requirements  laid  down  by  Member 
States in accordance with Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and 
of the Council 14. 

Article 5 

Equivalence of rights 

1. 

2. 

The Commission shall monitor the rights  granted by the United Kingdom to Union 
road haulage operators and the conditions for their exercise.  

Where  it  determines  that  the  rights  granted  by  the  United  Kingdom  to  Union  road 
haulage operators are not, de jure or de facto, equivalent to those granted to UK road 
haulage operators under this Regulation, or that those rights are not equally available 
to  all  Union  road  haulage  operators,  the  Commission  may,  in  order  to  restore 
equivalence, by means of delegated acts: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

establish  limits  to  the  allowable  capacity  available  to  UK  road  haulage 
operators or to the number of journeys or to both; 

suspend the application of this Regulation; or 

adopt other appropriate measures. 

10  Regulation  (EU)  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. 

11  Council  Directive  96/53/EC  of  25  July  1996  laying  down  for  certain  road  vehicles  circulating  within  the 
Community  the  maximum  authorized  dimensions  in  national  and  international  traffic  and  the  maximum 
authorized weights in international traffic, OJ L 235 17.9.1996, p. 5. 

12  Council Directive 92/6/EEC of 10 February 1992 on the installation and use of  speed limitation devices for 

certain categories of motor vehicles in the Community, OJ L 057, 2.3.1992, p.27. 

13  Council  Directive  of  16  December  1991  relating  to  the  compulsory  use  of  safety  belts  and  child-restraint 

systems in vehicles, OJ L 373, 31.12.1991, p.26. 

14  Directive  96/71/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  16  December  1996  concerning  the 

posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services, OJ L 18, 21.1.1997, p. 1. 

EN 

11 

  EN 

 
 
                                                 
Article 6 

Fair competition  

1. 

2. 

The  Commission  shall  monitor  the  conditions  under  which  Union  road  haulage 
operators compete with UK road haulage operators for the provision of road freight 
transport services covered by this Regulation. 

Where it determines that, as a result of any of the situations referred to in paragraph 
3, the said conditions are appreciably less favourable than those enjoyed by UK road 
haulage operators, the Commission may, in order to remedy that situation, by means 
of delegated acts: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

establish  limits  to  the  allowable  capacity  available  to  UK  road  haulage 
operators or to the number of journeys or to both; 

suspend the application of this Regulation; or 

adopt other appropriate measures. 

3. 

Delegated acts under paragraph 2 may be adopted to remedy the following situations: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

the granting of subsidies by the United Kingdom; 

failure,  by  the  United  Kingdom  to  have  in  place  or  to  effectively  apply 
competition law; 

failure  by  the  United  Kingdom  to  establish  or  maintain  an  independent 
competition authority; 

the  application  by  the  United  Kingdom  of  standards  in  the  protection  of 
workers,  safety,  security  or  the  environment  or  relating  to  the  granting  of 
licences to road haulage operators or to the qualification, training and medical 
controls for professional drivers which are inferior to those laid down in Union 
law  or,  in  the  absence  of  relevant  provisions  in  Union  law,  inferior  to  those 
applied by all Member States or, in any event, inferior to relevant international 
standards; 

(e) 

the application by the United Kingdom of road charging and taxation rules that 
diverge  from  the  rules  laid  down  in  Directive  1999/62/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council 15; and 

(f) 

any form of discrimination against Union road haulage operators. 

4. 

For the purposes of paragraph 1, the Commission may request information from the 
competent authorities of the United Kingdom or UK road haulage operators. Where 
the competent  authorities  of  the United Kingdom  or UK road haulage operators do 
not provide the information requested within the reasonable period prescribed by the 
Commission,  or  provide  incomplete  information,  the  Commission  may  proceed  in 
accordance with paragraph 2. 

15  Directive  1999/62/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  17  June  1999  on  the  charging  of 

heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures, OJ L 187 20.7.1999, p. 42. 

EN 

12 

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Article 7 

Consultation and cooperation 

The competent authorities of the Member States shall consult and cooperate with the 
competent  authorities  of  the  United  Kingdom  as  necessary  in  order  to  ensure  the 
implementation of this Regulation.  

Member States shall, upon request, provide the Commission without undue delay any 
information  obtained  pursuant  to  paragraph  1  or  any  other  information  relevant  for 
the implementation of Article 5 and Article 6 of this Regulation. 

Article 8 

Exercise of the delegation 

Before adopting a delegated act under Article 5(2) or Article 6(2), 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*.  

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

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

Article 9 

Entry into force and application 

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

It shall apply from the day following that on which the Treaties cease to apply to the United 
Kingdom pursuant to Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union. 

However,  this  Regulation  shall  not  apply  if  a  withdrawal  agreement  concluded  with  the 
United  Kingdom  in  accordance  with  Article  50(2)  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union  has 
entered into force by that date. 

This Regulation shall apply until 31 December 2019.  

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 

EN 

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