CELEX: 11994N/PRO/09
Language: en
Date: 1994-06-24 00:00:00
Title: ACT concerning the conditions of accession of the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded, Protocol No 9 - on road, rail and combined transport in Austria

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11994N/PRO/09

ACT concerning the conditions of accession of the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded, Protocol No 9 - on road, rail and combined transport in Austria  

Official Journal C 241 , 29/08/1994 P. 0361

Protocol No  9on road, rail and combined transport in AustriaPART I DEFINITIONS Article 1  For the purposes of this Protocol, the following definitions shall apply: (a)  'vehicle` shall be as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) No 881/92, as applied at the  date of the signature of the Accession Treaty; (b) 'international carriage` shall be as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) No 881/92, as  applied at the date of signature of the Accession Treaty; (c) 'transit traffic through Austria` shall mean traffic through Austrian territory from a  departure point to a destination, both of which lie outside Austria; (d) 'heavy goods vehicle` shall mean any motor vehicle with a maximum authorized weight of over 7,5  tonnes registered in a Member State designed to carry goods or haul trailers, including  semi-trailer tractor units, and trailers with a maximum authorized weight of over 7,5 tonnes and  hauled by a motor vehicle registered in a Member State with a maximum authorized weight of 7,5  tonnes or less; (e) 'transit of goods by road through Austria` shall mean transit through Austria by heavy goods  vehicles, regardless of whether they are laden or not; (f) 'combined transport` shall mean the carriage of goods by heavy goods vehicles or loading units  which complete part of their journey by rail and either begin or end the journey by road, whereby  transit traffic may under no circumstances cross Austrian territory on its way to or from a rail  terminal by road alone; (g) 'bilateral journeys` shall mean international carriage on journeys undertaken by a vehicle  where the point of departure or arrival is in Austria and the point of arrival or departure,  respectively, is in another Member State and unladen journeys undertaken in conjunction with such  journeys. PART II RAIL AND COMBINED TRANSPORT Article 2 This Part shall apply to measures relating to the  provision of rail and combined transport crossing the territory of Austria. Article 3 The Community and the Member States concerned shall, within the framework of their  respective competences, adopt and closely coordinate measures for the development and promotion of  rail and combined transport for the trans-Alpine carriage of goods. Article 4 When establishing the guidelines provided for in Article 129c of the EC Treaty, the  Community shall ensure that the axes defined in Annex 1 form part of the trans-European networks  for rail and combined transport and are furthermore identified as projects of common interest. Article 5 The Community and the Member States concerned shall, within the framework of their  respective competences, implement the measures listed in Annex 2. Article 6 The Community and the Member States concerned shall use their best endeavours to  develop and utilise the additional railway capacity referred to in Annex 3. Article 7 The Community and the Member States concerned shall take measures to enhance the  provision of rail and combined transport; where appropriate, and subject to other EC Treaty  provisions, such measures shall be established in close consultation with railway companies and  other railway service providers. Priority should be given to those measures set out in the  Community's provisions on railways and combined transport. In implementing any measures, particular  attention shall be attached to the competitiveness, effectiveness and cost transparency of rail and  combined transport. In particular, the Member States concerned shall endeavour to take such  measures so as to ensure that prices for combined transport are competitive with those for other  modes of transport. Any aid granted to these ends shall comply with Community rules. Article 8 The Community and the Member States concerned shall, in the event of a serious  disturbance in rail transit, such as a natural disaster, take all possible concerted action to  maintain the flow of traffic. Priority shall be given to sensitive loads, such as perishable  foods. Article 9 The Commission, acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 16, shall  review the operation of this Part. PART III ROAD TRANSPORT Article 10 This Part shall apply to the carriage of goods by road on  journeys carried out within the territory of the Community. Article 11 1.  For journeys which involve transit of goods by road through Austria, the regime  established for journeys on own account and for journeys for hire or reward under the First Council  Directive of 23 July 1962 and Council Regulation (EEC) No 881/92 shall apply subject to the  provisions of this Article. 2.  Until 1 January 1998, the following provisions shall apply: (a)  The total of NOx emissions from heavy goods vehicles crossing Austria in transit shall be  reduced by 60  % in the period between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 2003, according to the table  in Annex 4. (b) The reductions in total NOx emissions from heavy goods vehicles shall be administered according  to an ecopoints system. Under that system any heavy goods vehicle crossing Austria in transit shall  require a number of ecopoints equivalent to its NOx emissions (authorized under the Conformity of  Production (COP) value or type-approval value). The method of calculation and administration of  such points is described in Annex 5. (c) If the number of transit journeys in any year exceeds the reference figure established for 1991  by more than 8  %, the Commission, acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 16,  shall adopt appropriate measures in accordance with paragraph 3 of Annex 5. (d) Austria shall issue and make available in good time the ecopoints cards required for the  administration of the ecopoints system, pursuant to Annex 5, for heavy goods vehicles crossing  Austria in transit. (e) The ecopoints shall be distributed by the Commission among Member States in accordance with  provisions to be established in accordance with paragraph 6. 3.  Before 1 January 1998, the Council, on the basis of a report by the Commission, shall review  the operation of provisions concerning transit of goods by road through Austria. The review shall  take place in conformity with basic principles of Community law, such as the proper functioning of  the internal market, in particular the free movement of goods and freedom to provide services,  protection of the environment in the interest of the Community as a whole, and traffic safety.  Unless the Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the  European Parliament, decides otherwise, the transitional period shall be extended to 1 January  2001, during which the provisions of paragraph 2 shall apply. 4.  Before 1 January 2001, the Commission, in cooperation with the European Environment Agency,  shall make a scientific study of the degree to which the objective concerning reduction of  pollution set out in paragraph 2 (a) has been achieved. If the Commission concludes that this  objective has been achieved on a sustainable basis, the provisions of paragraph 2 shall cease to  apply on 1 January 2001. If the Commission concludes that this objective has not been achieved on a  sustainable basis the Council, acting in accordance with Article 75 of the EC Treaty, may adopt  measures, within a Community framework, which ensure equivalent protection of the environment, in  particular a 60  % reduction of pollution. If the Council does not adopt such measures, the  transitional period shall be automatically extended for a final period of three years, during which  the provisions of paragraph 2 shall apply. 5.  At the end of the transitional period, the 'acquis communautaire` in its entirety shall be  applied. 6.  The Commission, acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 16, shall adopt  detailed measures concerning the procedures relating to the ecopoints system, the distribution of  ecopoints and technical questions concerning the application of this Article, which shall enter  into force on the date of accession of Austria. The measures referred to in the first subparagraph shall ensure that the factual situation for the  present Member States resulting from the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3637/92 and of  the Administrative Arrangement, signed on 23 December 1992, setting the date of entry into force  and the procedures for the introduction of the ecopoints system referred to in the Transit  Agreement, is maintained. All necessary efforts shall be made to ensure that the share of ecopoints  allocated to Greece takes sufficient account of Greek needs in this context. Article 12 1.  For international carriage of goods on journeys between Member States, the regime  established under Council Regulation (EEC) No 881/92 shall apply subject to the provisions set out  in this Article. These provisions shall be applicable until 31 December 1996. 2.  For bilateral journeys, existing quotas shall be progressively liberalized and full freedom to  provide transport services shall be effective as from 1 January 1997. A first stage of  liberalization shall take effect on the date of accession of Austria, a second stage on 1 January  1996. If necessary, the Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, may  take appropriate measures to that effect. 3.  The Council, acting in accordance with Article 75 of the Treaty, shall adopt appropriate and  simple measures to prevent circumvention of the provisions of Article 11 by 1 January 1997 at the  latest. 4.  As long as the provisions of Article 11 (2) apply, the Member States, in the framework of their  mutual cooperation, shall, if necessary, take measures compatible with the EC Treaty against misuse  of the ecopoints system. 5.  Hauliers with a Community authorization issued by the competent authorities in Austria shall  not be entitled to carry out an international carriage of goods on journeys where neither loading  nor unloading takes place in Austria. All such journeys involving transit through Austria shall,  however, be subject to the provisions of Article 11 and also, with the exception of journeys  between Germany and Italy, to existing quotas, which shall be subject to the provisions of  paragraph 2 above. Article 13 1.  Until 31 December 1996, the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 3118/93 shall not  apply to hauliers with a Community authorization issued by the competent authorities in Austria for  the operation of national road haulage services in other Member States. 2.  During the same period, the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 3118/93 shall not apply to  hauliers with a Community authorization issued by the competent authorities in another Member State  for the operation of national road haulage services in Austria. Article 14 1.  There shall be no controls at the borders between Austria and other Member States.  However, in derogation from Regulations (EEC) No 4060/89 and (EEC) No 3912/92 and notwithstanding  Article 153 of the Act of Accession, non-discriminatory physical controls requiring vehicles to  halt in order solely to verify ecopoints issued under the provisions of Article 11, and transport  authorizations referred to in Article 12, may be retained until 31 December 1996. Such controls  shall not unduly slow down the normal flow of traffic. 2.  To the extent necessary, any control methods including electronic systems applicable after 31  December 1996 and relating to the implementation of Article 11 shall be decided in accordance with  the procedure laid down in Article 16. Article 15 1.  Austria may, in derogation from Article 7 (f) of Directive 93/89/EEC, apply, until  31 December 1995, user charges at a maximum level of ECU 3.750 per year including administrative  costs and, until 31 December 1996, at a maximum level of ECU 2  500 per year including  administrative costs. 2.  If Austria makes use of the possibility mentioned in paragraph 1, it shall, in accordance with  the first sentence of Article 7 (g) of Directive 93/89/EEC, apply until 31 December 1995 a user  charge at a maximum level of ECU 18 per day, ECU 99 per week and ECU 375 per month including  administrative costs and, until 31 December 1996, at a maximum level of ECU 12 per day, ECU 66 per  week and ECU 250 per month including administrative costs. 3.  Austria shall apply a reduction of 50  % to the rates of user charges mentioned in paragraphs 1  and 2 of this Article in favour of vehicles registered in Ireland and Portugal until 31 December  1996, and in Greece until 31 December 1997. 4.  Until 31 December 1995 Italy may apply to vehicles registered in Austria a charge at a maximum  level of ECU 6,5 per entrance including administrative costs and, until 31 December 1996, at a  maximum level of ECU 3,5 per entrance including administrative costs. This charge shall be  administered in a manner consistent with Article 7 (c) of Directive 93/89/EEC. PART IV GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 16 1.  The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee  composed of the representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the  Commission. 2.  When reference is made to the procedure laid down in this Article, the representative of the  Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shall  deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the Chairman may lay down according to  the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148  (2) of the EC Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal  from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the Committee  shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The Chairman shall not vote. 3.  The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in accordance with the opinion of  the Committee. If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, or if no opinion  is delivered, the Commission shall without delay submit to the Council a proposal relating to the  measures to be taken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority. 4.  If, on the expiry of a period of three months from the date of referral to the Council, the  Council has not acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commission.  ANNEX 1 MAIN AXES FOR TRANSALPINE RAIL AND COMBINED TRANSPORT referred to in Article 4  of the Protocol 1.  The main European rail routes which run through Austrian territory and are  relevant to transit traffic are as follows: 1.1.  The Brenner routeMunich - Verona - Bologna1.2. The Tauern routeMunich - Salzburg - Villach  - Tarvisio - Udine/Rosenbach-Ljubljana1.3. The Pyhrn - Schober Pass routeRegensburg - Graz -  Spielfeld/Strass - Maribor1.4. The Danube routeNuremberg - Vienna -  Nickelsdorf/Sopron/Bratislava1.5. The Pontebbana routePrague - Vienna - Travisio - Pontebba -  Udine2. The corresponding extensions and terminals form part of these main routes.  ANNEX 2 INFRASTRUCTURE MEASURES FOR RAIL AND COMBINED TRANSPORT referred to in Article 5  of the Protocol (a)  IN AUSTRIA: 1.Brenner route1.1. Short-term measures: -  measures affecting safety and operations, -  introduction of computer-assisted train monitoring, -  new block system arrangements, -  installation of points for track changes between stations, -  reconstruction of Woergl Station, -  extensions to passing tracks in stations. 1.2. Long-term measures: Such measures will be dependent on the decision to be taken regarding the construction of the  Brenner base tunnel. 2. Tauern route2.1. Short-term measures: -  continuation of track-doubling, -  safety improvements. 2.2. Medium-term measures: ad hoc line improvements, -  increase in section maximum speed, -  shortening of block (signal) sections, -  continuation of track-doubling. 3. Pyhrn-Schober route3.1. Short-term measures: -  removal of the night-running ban on the Pyhrn section, -  removal of the night-running ban on the Hieflau section, -  construction of the Traun-Marchtrenk curve. 3.2. Medium-term measures: -  station upgrading and conversions, - improvement of safety systems, -  shortening of block (signal) sections, -  removal of level crossings, -  selective track doubling. 3.3. Long-term measures: -  continuation of track-doubling on the entire Passau - Spielfeld/Strass section, -  reconstruction of St Michael - Bruck section. 4. Danube routeMeasures to increase the capacity on the Vienna - Wels section. (b) IN GERMANY: 1. Short-term measures: -  combined transport terminals at Munich-Riem and Duisburg Port, -  upgrading of the Munich - Rosenheim - Kufstein section; in particular: reserved tracks for the  S-Bahn (urban railway) between Zorneding and Grafing, -  shortening of block sections (improvement of division into sections) between Grafing and  Rosenheim and between Rosenheim and Kiefersfelden, -  construction of passing tracks (e.g. between the stations at Grosskarolinenfeld, Raubling and  Fischbach), -  construction of rail-free access for platforms at Grosskarolinenfeld Station, and-  track layout  changes at Rosenheim Station and further measures at the following stations: Assling, Ostermuenchen,  Brannenburg, Oberaudorf and Kiefersfelden. 2. Medium-term measures (up to the end of 1998, subject to planning permission): -  upgrading of the Munich - Muehldorf - Freilassing corridor. (c)  IN ITALY: Brenner: -  the widening of tunnels on the Brenner - Verona line in order to permit the carriage of heavy  goods vehicles with a corner height of 4 metres in accompanied or unaccompanied combined  transport, -  the upgrading of the Verona-Quadrante Europa intermodal centre, -  above ground track reinforcement and construction of new substations, -  the implementation of further technical measures (automatic block and two-way working on the  busy stretches leading to the stations of Verona, Trento, Bolzano and Brenner) in order to increase  capacity and further improve safety. (d)  IN THE NETHERLANDS: Construction of a rail service centre in the Rotterdam conurbation. Railway link for goods transport (Betuwe line)Definitions: >TABLE> ANNEX 3 RAILWAY CAPACITY referred to in Article 6 of the Protocol1.  AUSTRIAN  RAILWAYS' ADDITIONAL CAPACITY FOR CARRIAGE OF GOODS IN TRANSIT THROUGH AUSTRIA>TABLE>2.   POTENTIAL CAPACITY INCREASE IN CONSIGNMENTS OR TONNESImmediately: Since 1 December 1989 Austria has introduced 39 more goods and combined transport trains into  Brenner transit. In the short term: Short-term expansion will more than double rail capacity for transit through Austria. From 1996  onwards, depending on the combined transport technology used, there will, in addition, be an  increase in annual combined transport capacity of up to 1,8 million consignments or up to 33  million tonnes. In the medium term: By 1998 this capacity will be expanded by a further 10 million tonnes a year through additional  selective two-track development and safety and operating improvements on the transit routes. In the long term: The Pyhrn-Schober route will be upgraded to two-track running. A Brenner base tunnel should further  improve capacity on the Brenner route to as many as 400 trains a day. Depending on the technology  chosen, the newly created combined rail transport capacity could rise to 60 to 89 million tonnes a  year after 2010. Definitions: >TABLE> ANNEX 4 referred to in Article 11 (2) (a) of the Protocol >TABLE>The figures  in column 3 shall be adapted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 16 to take  account of transit journeys by heavy goods vehicles registered in Finland, Norway and Sweden, based  on indicative values for the respective countries calculated on the basis of the number of transit  journeys in 1991 and a standard value of NOx emission of 15,8 grammes NOx/kWh.  ANNEX 5 CALCULATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF ECOPOINTS referred to in Article 11 (2) (b) of  the Protocol 1.  The following documents shall be submitted for each heavy goods vehicle each time  it travels through Austria (in either direction): (a)  a document showing the COP value for NOx emissions from the vehicle in question; (b) a valid ecopoints card issued by the competent authority. Concerning (a): in the case of heavy goods vehicles registered after 1 October 1990, the document showing the COP  value shall be a certificate issued by the appropriate authority giving details of an official COP  value for NOx emissions or the type-approval certificate showing the date of registration and value  established for type-approval purposes. In the latter case, the COP value shall be the  type-approval increased by 10  %. Once such a value has been determined for a vehicle it cannot be  changed during the vehicle's life. In the case of vehicles registered before 1 October 1990 and vehicles for which no certificate has  been submitted, a COP value of 15,8 g/kWh shall be set. Concerning (b): the ecopoints card shall contain a certain number of points and shall be endorsed as follows on the  basis of the COP value for the vehicles in question: 1.  each g/kWh NOx emission corresponding to the value shown in the document referred to in 1 (a)  shall count as one point: 2. NOx emission values shall be rounded up to the next full point when they are to a decimal place  of 0,5 or more, otherwise they shall be rounded down. 2. The Commission, acting in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 16, shall at  threemonth intervals calculate the number of journeys and the average NOx value of the heavy goods  vehicles detailed for each nationality. 3. If Article 11 (2) (c) applies, the number of ecopoints for the following year shall be  established as follows: The quarterly average NOx emission values for lorries in the current year, calculated in accordance  with paragraph 2 above, will be extrapolated to produce the average NOx emission value anticipated  for the following year. The forecast value, multiplied by 0,0658 and by the number of ecopoints for  1991 set out in Annex 4, will be the number of ecopoints for the year in question.