COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 and Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 with a view to adapting them to developments in the sector, a Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 on minimum requirements on maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods and Regulation (EU) 165/2014 as regards positioning by means of tachographs and a Directive amending Directive 2006/22/EC as regards enforcement requirements and laying down specific rules with respect to Directive 96/71/EC and Directive 2014/67/EU for posting drivers in the road transport sector and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012
Date: 2020-04-15
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: access to a profession, carriage of goods, carriage of passengers, carrier, drivers, inland transport, international transport, road transport, transport regulations, working conditions

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 15.4.2020  COM(2020) 151 final 2017/0123 (COD)  NOTE This Communication refers to the three Legislative Proposals COM(2017) 281 with interinstitutional reference 2017/0123(COD), COM(2017) 278 with interinstitutional reference 2017/0121(COD) and COM(2017) 277 with interinstitutional reference 2017/122(COD).  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union  concerning the position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 and Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 with a view to adapting them to developments in the sector, a Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 on minimum requirements on maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods and Regulation (EU) 165/2014 as regards positioning by means of tachographs and a Directive amending Directive 2006/22/EC as regards enforcement requirements and laying down specific rules with respect to Directive 96/71/EC and Directive 2014/67/EU for posting drivers in the road transport sector and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 (Text with EEA relevance)  
 
 
2017/0123 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

concerning the 

position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 
1071/2009, Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 and Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 with a 
view to adapting them to developments in the sector, a Regulation amending Regulation 
(EC) No 561/2006 on minimum requirements on maximum daily and weekly driving 
times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods and Regulation (EU) 165/2014 
as regards positioning by means of tachographs and a Directive amending Directive 
2006/22/EC as regards enforcement requirements and laying down specific rules with 
respect to Directive 96/71/EC and Directive 2014/67/EU for posting drivers in the road 
transport sector and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

On  31  May  2017,  as  part  of  the  Mobility  Package  ("Europe  on  the  Move"),  the 
Commission  adopted  a  comprehensive  package  of  three  legislative  proposals 
covering social and internal market aspects of road transport in the EU. 

The three legislative proposals in question are: 

(1)  A proposal to amend Regulation 1071/2009 on access to the occupation of road 
transport operator and Regulation 1072/2009 on access to the international road 
transport market; 

(2)  A  proposal  to  amend  Regulation  561/2006  on  driving  and  rest  time  rules  in 

road transport and Regulation 165/2014 on the tachograph;  

(3)  A  proposal  to  amend  Directive  2006/22/EC  on  minimum  requirements  for 
controlling compliance with the driving and resting time rules and to establish 
sector  specific  rules  for  posting  of  drivers  (lex  specialis  to  posted  workers 
Directive 96/71/EC and to its enforcement Directive 2014/67/EU). 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and 
to the Council: 
(documents COM(2017)281 final – 2017/0123 (COD), 
COM(2017)278 final – 2017/0121 (COD) and COM(2017)277 final 
– 2017/0122 (COD) 

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

01/06/2017 

18/01/2018 

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Date of the opinion of the Committee of the Regions: 

01/02/2018 

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

04/04/2019 

Date of adoption of the position of the Council: 

07/04/2020 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSAL FROM THE COMMISSION 

The  general  objectives  of  the  Commission  proposals  are  to  improve  working  and  social 
conditions  for  road  transport  workers,  while  ensuring  more  equitable  conditions  of 
competition between operators.  

The  main  objectives  of  the  Commission  proposal  to  revise  the  rules  on  access  to  the 
profession  and  to  the  market  are  to  clarify  and  simplify  those  rules  and  to  fight  against 
letterbox companies, while broadly maintaining the current degree of market opening. 

The  proposal  to  revise  the  rules  on  driving  and  rest  times  and  tachographs  is  intended  to 
clarify certain provisions and adapt some rules to the changing needs of the sector and to step 
up smart enforcement of the social rules in road transport.  

As  regards  the  Commission  proposal  to  revise  the  enforcement  directive  and  to  establish 
specific rules for posting in road transport, the objectives are to ensure proportionate and fit-
for-purpose  application  of  the  posting  rules  and  to  improve  enforcement  and  render 
administrative cooperation between Member States more structured and efficient. 

3. 

COMMENTS ON THE POSITION OF THE COUNCIL 

The  position  at  first  reading  adopted  by  the  Council  on  7  April  2020  supports  the  main 
objectives  of  the  Commission  proposals  to  improve  working  and  social  conditions  for  road 
transport  workers,  while  ensuring  more  equitable  conditions  of  competition  between 
operators.  

The  Council  position  is  a  meaningful  step  forward  compared  to  the  current  EU  social  and 
internal market rules for road transport for several reasons:  

 

Organisation of the weekly rest periods  

The Commission proposed to adapt the weekly rest requirements to actual practice in 
the  sector,  by  allowing  further  flexibility  in  the  organisation  of  the  weekly  rest 
periods,  so  that  drivers  can  take  two  consecutive  reduced  weekly  rests  within  a 
period of four weeks. The Council position upholds the objective of the Commission 
proposal,  while  limiting  this  possibility  to  drivers  engaged  in  international  freight 
transport,  and  subject  to  certain  conditions,  i.e.  the  two  consecutive  reduced  rest 
periods must be taken outside of the Member Sate of establishment, the consecutive 
reduced  rest  periods  must  be  compensated  before  the  following  regular  rest  period 
and  the  driver  must  return  “to  home”  every  3  weeks.  These  conditions  are  in  line 
with  the  Commission’s  objective  of  providing  further  flexibility  for  long-distance 
freight  transport,  while  ensuring  that  drivers  return  home  regularly  for  a  long  rest 
period. As regards passenger transport, the Commission intends to further study the 
organisation  of  driving  and  rest  periods  to  assess  whether  specific  rules  are 
necessary.  

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 

Regular return of the driver 

The Commission proposed to introduce an obligation for the transport undertakings 
to  organise the drivers’ work in  such a way that they  are able to  return home for a 
weekly  rest  at  least  once  every  three  consecutive  weeks.  This  was  intended  to 
prevent  a  situation  where  drivers  are  working  abroad  for  long  periods,  without  the 
possibility  to  return  home  to  their  families.  The  Council  position  upholds  the 
objective of the Commission proposal. It specifies that drivers should go back to the 
employer’s  operational  centre  where  the  driver  is  normally  based  or  to  the  drivers’ 
place of residence within each period of four  consecutive weeks. A recital  clarifies 
that  “drivers  are  free  to  choose  where  to  spend  their  rest  period”.  The  interval  is 
reduced to three weeks in case the driver has taken two consecutive reduced weekly 
rests. The Council position does not go as far as the Commission proposal. However, 
the  Commission  recognises  that  the  Council  position  is  inspired  by  the  same 
objective,  in  particular  for  international  drivers,  who  will  normally  take  two 
consecutive  reduced  weekly  rests  and  will  then  return  home  at  the  end  of  the  third 
week. 

 

Ban to take the regular weekly rest in the cabin  of the vehicle and safe and secure 
parking areas 

The Commission proposed to clarify, in line with jurisprudence, that drivers cannot 
take  their  regular  weekly  rests  in  the  vehicle  and  that  the  employer  is  obliged  to 
provide  the  driver  with  adequate  accommodation  with  appropriate  sleeping  and 
hygiene facilities, if drivers are not able to take these weekly rests at a private place 
of their choice. This was intended to improve the working conditions of drivers and 
ensure  that  they  have  good  conditions  to  rest.  The  Council  position  upholds  the 
Commission  proposal,  by  banning  regular weekly  rests in  the vehicle.  The Council 
goes further than the Commission proposal, by mandating the Commission to come 
up with detailed provisions concerning safe and secure parking areas, i.e. the level of 
service  and  the  procedure  for  the  certification  of  these  parking  areas.  The  Council 
position  fully  meets  the  Commission’s  objective  to  guarantee  appropriate  resting 
conditions for drivers and is even more ambitious in this respect. 

 

Application of posting rules to road transport 

The Commission proposed to introduce specific criteria for the application of posting 
rules to road transport, which take into account the highly mobile nature of the sector 
and  which  guarantee  fair  payment  for  drivers  working  abroad  for  a  significant 
amount  of  time.  The  Commission  proposed  to  exempt  from  posting  rules  on 
minimum  wage  and  minimum  leave  international  transport  operations  involving  a 
period of posting of up to 3 days per calendar month, while cabotage operations were 
proposed to remain fully subject to posting rules. The Council position upholds the 
principle  of  sector-specific  posting  rules  for  road  transport,  while  proposing  a  new 
operation-based system,  as  an alternative to  the time-based system  proposed by  the 
Commission. Bilateral operations involving the Member State of establishment of the 
operators are fully exempted from the application of posting rules, while cross-trade 
and cabotage operations, which do not involve the Member State of establishment of 
the operators, are fully subject to the application of posting rules.  

There  is  also  an  exemption  from  the  application  of  posting  rules  for  additional 
activities linked to bilateral operations. For freight transport, the driver may perform 
one activity of loading and/or unloading in the Member States or third countries that 
the driver crosses, provided that the driver does not load goods and unload them in 

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the  same  Member  State.  Where  a  bilateral  transport  operation  starting  from  the 
Member State of establishment during which no additional activity was performed is 
followed by a bilateral transport operation to the Member State of establishment, the 
exemption  for  additional  activities  is  extended  to  a  maximum  of  two  additional 
activities of loading and/or unloading.  

For passenger transport, in the context of bilateral operations, the driver may pick up 
passengers  once  and/or  set  down  passengers  once  in  Member  States  or  third 
countries  that  the  driver  crosses,  provided  that  the  driver  does  not  offer  passenger 
transport services between two locations within the Member State crossed. The same 
applies to the return journey.  

The  exemptions  from  posting  rules  for  additional  activities  linked  to  bilateral 
operations  will  apply  from  the  date  when  drivers  will  be  obliged  to  record  border 
crossing data manually in the tachographs. They will cease to apply on the date on 
which  smart  tachographs  complying  with  the  requirement  of  recording  border 
crossings and additional activities are required to be fitted in the vehicles. 

The  Council  position  also  clarifies  that,  with  regard  to  the  application  of  posting 
rules,  undertakings established in  a non-EU Member State must not  be  given more 
favourable  treatment  than  undertakings  established  in  a  Member  State,  including 
when  performing  transport  operations  under  bilateral  or  multilateral  agreements 
granting access to the Union market.  

Finally,  the  Council  position  clarifies  the  application  of  the  concept  of  long-term 
posting  which  was  introduced  in  the  revised  posting  directive  (Directive  (EU) 
2018/957),  to  international  road  transport  operations,  to  the  effect  that  periods 
accomplished  in  one  Member  State  are  not  cumulated  with  those  accomplished  in 
any other Member State.  

Like  the  Commission  proposal,  the  Council  position  relies  on  the  objective  of 
ensuring that drivers who are subject to the living costs of Member States other than 
the  one  where  they  live  are  paid  in  accordance  with  those  costs  and  can  therefore 
have an appropriate standard of living. The clarifications in the Council position as 
regards  long-term  posting  and  application  of  posting  rules  to  third  countries  are 
needed and welcome in order to remove doubts on the application of posting rules by 
Member States. The Commission also proposed specific administrative requirements 
for  the  application  of  the  posting  rules  in  road  transport,  to  avoid  undue 
administrative  burden  on  operators.  The  Council  position  upholds  the  Commission 
proposal  and  provides  that  exchanges  of  information  between  national  authorities 
and  the  submission  of  posting  declarations  by  road  transport  undertakings  will  be 
done  through  the  Internal  Market  Information  System  (IMI).  The  use  of  IMI  will 
further reduce the administrative burden, both for administrations and undertakings, 
and will therefore contribute to the overall objective of the Mobility Package. 

 

Introduction of new tachograph technology  

The Commission did not propose to modify the tachograph regulation. However, the 
Council considered necessary to introduce a new generation of ‘smart’  tachographs 
to  make  it  possible  to  more  precisely  position  vehicles  used  for  cross-border 
transport  operations,  thereby  easing  enforcement  of  the  social  and  internal  market 
rules.  The  Council  position  specifies  a  time  schedule  for  the  uptake  of  this  new 
technology  in  new  vehicles  (two  years  from  the  date  of  adoption  of  the  technical 
specifications) and in the existing fleet (retrofit three years from the date of adoption 

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of the technical specifications for all vehicles equipped with a tachograph other than 
the smart  tachograph version  1;  retrofit four  years from  the date of adoption  of the 
technical specifications for all vehicles equipped with a smart tachograph version 1). 
The Council position is fully in line with a core objective of the Mobility Package, 
which  is  to  allow  for  effective  and  efficient  enforcement  of  the  new  social  and 
internal market rules.  

 

Application of  rules on access  to  the profession  and driving and rest  times to  light 
commercial vehicles 

In order to introduce a minimum level of professionalization of operators using light 
commercial  vehicles  and  thus  to  approximate  competitive  conditions  between 
operators,  the  Commission  proposed  to  extend  some  of  the  rules  on  access  to  the 
occupation of road haulage operator to undertakings using light commercial vehicles. 
Namely,  these  operators  would  be  subject  to  the  criteria  on  stable  and  effective 
establishment  and  appropriate  financial  standing.  The  Council  position  upholds  the 
inclusion  of  operators  using  light  commercial  vehicles  in  the  scope  of  the  rules  on 
access to the occupation of road transport operator, while applying all of the rules to 
such operators. However, only operators involved in international transport for hire 
and  reward  and  using  vehicles  with  permissible  laden  mass  above  2.5  tons  are 
subject to these rules. Additionally, the Council position extends the rules on driving 
and  rest  times  and  tachographs  to  these  operators.  The  Council  position  meets  the 
objective  of 
level  of 
professionalization  of  operators  using  light  commercial  vehicles  and  setting  a  level 
playing field between these and operators using heavy goods vehicles. The Council 
position  to,  in  addition,  subject  these  operators  to  driving  and  rest  time  rules  and 
tachographs  is  acceptable,  as  it  will  further  increase  road  safety  for  this  type  of 
vehicles involved in international transport for hire and reward.  

the  Commission  proposal 

introduce  a  minimum 

to 

 

Rules on cabotage 

The Commission proposed to revise the rules on cabotage, by allowing an unlimited 
number  of  operations  within  a  period  of  5  days  from  the  unloading  of  the 
international  incoming  carriage  in  the  host  Member  State.  This  rule  would  replace 
the current limitation to 3 operations in 7 days and was intended to ease enforcement, 
while  broadly  keeping  the  existing  level  of  market  opening.  The  Council  position 
keeps the current cabotage restrictions (3 operations in 7 days), while introducing a 
cooling-off period of four days, during which operators are not allowed to carry out 
more  cabotage  operations  in  the  same  Member  State.  The  Council  does  not  follow 
the approach proposed by the Commission, which was mainly intended to facilitate 
enforcement. Keeping the current model for cabotage is more challenging in terms of 
enforcement,  but  the  Commission  believes  that  with  the  new  generation  of  ‘smart’ 
tachographs,  which  is  part  of  the  Council  position,  it  will  be  easier  to  identify  the 
type  of  operation  carried  out  by  hauliers  and  the  respective  number.  This  should 
improve enforceability of the cabotage rules when compared to the present situation. 
The Commission can accept the idea of a cooling-off period, to deal with the issue of 
“systematic  cabotage”,  i.e.  operators  repeating  several  consecutive  periods  of 
cabotage in the same Member State, by leaving and re-entering that Member State, in 
violation of the limits imposed by Regulation (EU) No 1072/2009, maintained in the 
amending text. 

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 

Establishment criteria relating to drivers (Rome I) 

The Commission  did  not propose any new requirement on the hiring of  workers in 
relation  to  the  criterion  of  stable  and  effective  establishment  for  access  to  the 
occupation  of  road  transport  operator.  The  Council  position  includes  a  new 
establishment criterion requiring that the operators have, on an ongoing basis, at their 
regular disposal drivers normally based at an operational center in the Member State 
of  establishment,  proportionate  to  the  volume  of  transport  operations.  The  Council 
position is intended to contribute to a sufficient staffing of what is supposed to be a 
stable  and  effective  establishment.  It  leaves  enough  margin  so  as  to  not  unduly 
restrict the freedom of operators when hiring personnel.  

 

Implementation deadlines / dates of application 

The Commission did not propose specific dates for the application of the new rules. 
The Council position determines that the regulation amending Regulations (EC) No 
1071/2009  and  1072/2009  will  be  applicable  18  months  following  the  date  of  its 
entry  into  force.  However,  Regulation  (EC)  No  1071/2009  in  its  entirety  and  the 
requirement to hold a Community licence under Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 will 
only  apply  to  operators  using  light  commercial  vehicles  above  2.5  tons  engaged  in 
international  transport  21  months  following  the  date  of  entry  into  force  of  the 
amending regulation. The revised enforcement directive (Directive 2006/22/EC) and 
the  lex  specialis  on  the  posting  of  workers  will  have  a  date  of  transposition  of  the 
national  measures by the Member States  of 18 months from  the entry into force of 
the  act.  Whereas  the  revised  Regulations  (EC)  No  561/2006  and  165/2014  will  be 
applicable immediately upon entry into force, they include transitional provisions for 
the  application  of  the  provisions  related  to  the  implementation  of  the  smart 
tachograph (see above) and the application of the rules to light commercial vehicles 
(from  1  July  2026).  The  new  rules  will  require  significant  time  for  adaptation  by 
Member States, operators and the Commission. Notably, the further development of 
the Internal Market  Information System for the application of the posting rules, the 
new  training  and  examination  requirements  for  operators  using  light  commercial 
tachograph 
vehicles  and 
technologies  require  sufficient  implementation  time.  The  Council  position  is 
therefore acceptable in this respect. 

technical  developments  required  for 

the  new 

the 

However, the Commission has reservations concerning two measures included in the Council 
position,  namely  the  obligation  for  the  regular  return  of  the  trucks  to  the  Member  State  of 
establishment  of  the  operators  and  the  possibility  for  Member  States  to  apply  cabotage 
restrictions  to  the  national  road  legs  of  combined  transport  operations.  For  this  reason,  the 
Commission issued the following declaration regarding the political agreement reached by the 
European Parliament and Council on 12 December 2019:  

“The Commission takes note of the provisional agreement on the social and market aspects of 
Mobility Package I reached by the Council and European Parliament during the 4th trilogue 
which took place on 11-12 December 2019.  

The  Commission  regrets  that  the  political  agreement  reached  by  the  Council  and  European 
Parliament  includes  elements  that  are  not  in  line  with  the  ambitions  of  the  European  Green 
Deal and the EUCO endorsement of the objective of achieving a climate-neutral EU by 2050. 
These are the compulsory return of the vehicle to the Member State of establishment every 8 
weeks and the  restrictions imposed on combined transport operations. These measures were 
not  part  of  the  Commission’s  proposals  adopted  on  31  May  2017  and  have  not  been  the 
subject  of  an  impact  assessment. The  obligation  of  return  of  the  truck  will  lead  to 

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inefficiencies in the transport system and an increase in unnecessary emissions, pollution and 
congestion, while the restrictions on combined transport diminish its effectiveness to support 
multimodal freight operations. 

The social improvements in this proposal are significant. The Commission will now closely 
assess the climate, environmental, and single market functioning impact of these two aspects. 
The Commission will do so in view of the Green Deal and measures to decarbonise transport 
and protect the environment, whilst ensuring a well-functioning Single Market. 

After  impact  assessment,  the  Commission,  if  necessary,  will  exercise  its  right  to  come 
forward with a targeted legislative proposal before the two provisions enter into force.”  

Since the two measures in question are part of the Council position, the Commission confirms 
the position taken in the declaration.  

4. 

CONCLUSION 

The  Commission  considers  that,  despite  some  shortcomings  of  the  Council  position,  the 
introduction of new and  clearer provisions described above will provide  better working and 
social conditions, fair competition and more legal certainty in the road transport sector. The 
new provisions will also constitute a solid basis for future enforcement of the road transport 
rules.  

In a spirit of compromise, the Commission accepts the position adopted by the Council, thus 
allowing  the  European  Parliament  to  adopt  the  final  text  in  a  second  reading.  Indeed,  the 
Commission considers that adopting the social and market proposals would bring substantial 
benefits  to  the  road  transport  sector.  However,  the  Commission  maintains  its  reservations 
concerning two of the measures included in the Council position.  

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