CELEX: 51982PC0288
Language: en
Date: 1982-06-08 00:00:00
Title: Recommendation for a COUNCIL DECISION authorizing the Commission to negotiate an Agreement between the European Economic Community and third countries on the rules applicable to certain types of international carriage of passengers by road, by coach and bus (submitted to the Council by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (82) 288
Vol. 1982/0108
 ---pagebreak--- Disclaimer
Conformément au règlement (CEE, Euratom) n° 354/83 du Conseil du 1er février 1983
concernant l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communauté économique
européenne et de la Communauté européenne de l'énergie atomique (JO L 43 du 15.2.1983,
p. 1), tel que modifié par le règlement (CE, Euratom) n° 1700/2003 du 22 septembre 2003
(JO L 243 du 27.9.2003, p. 1), ce dossier est ouvert au public. Le cas échéant, les documents
classifiés présents dans ce dossier ont été déclassifiés conformément à l'article 5 dudit
règlement.
In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983
concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the European Economic
Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1), as
amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1700/2003 of 22 September 2003 (OJ L 243,
27.9.2003, p. 1), this file is open to the public. Where necessary, classified documents in this
file have been declassified in conformity with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation.
In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom 1.
Februar 1983 über die Freigabe der historischen Archive der Europäischen
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und der Europäischen Atomgemeinschaft (ABI. L 43 vom 15.2.1983,
S. 1), geändert durch die Verordnung (EG, Euratom) Nr. 1700/2003 vom 22. September 2003
(ABI. L 243 vom 27.9.2003, S. 1), ist diese Datei der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Soweit
erforderlich, wurden die Verschlusssachen in dieser Datei in Übereinstimmung mit Artikel 5
der genannten Verordnung freigegeben.
 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                      «
                                                        COM(82)288 final
                                                        Brussels ,. 8 June 1982
                ΑΓ;
                I -
                    "    .
                            rv M ^ >^\1
                            ■    ;
                                     5
                                     -è
                                             -v
                                              ·;Λ\
                             ν - ;.  .?             Ν
                               S        a     '.T.'''
                              - i3 ê
                                          Xi Y
                              Recommendation for a
                                    COUNCIL DECISION
 authorizing the Commission to negotiate an Agreement between the
 European Economic Community and third countries on the rules
 applicable to certain types of international carriage of passengers
                          by road , by coach and bus
              ( submitted to the Council by the Commission )
   I
 COM ( 82 ) 288 final
 ---pagebreak---                                  EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1 . In Regulation n° 117 / 66 / EEC of 28 July 1966 ( 1 ) the Council laid down
    certain common rules for the international carriage of passengers by road ,
    including definitions of the various categories of passenger service and
    the rules applying to them within the Community .
    Article 4(2 ) of the Regulation states that " the Community shall enter
    into any negotiations with third countries which may be found necessary
    for the purpose of implementing this Regulation ".
    Article 4(3 ) goes on to stipulate that once the common rules provided
    for in Articles 7 ( concerning regular services ) and 8 ( concerning shuttle
    services ) of the Regulation have been laid down , " the Council shall , as
    soon as possible and on a proposal from the Commission , lay down the
    common rules necessary in order to enable application of this Regulation
    to be extended to international carriage of passengers by road to or from
    third countries ".
2 . On 28 February 1972 the Council laid down the common rules provided for
    by Articles 7 and 8 of Regulation n° 117 / 66 / EEC by adopting Regulation
    ( EEC ) n° 516 / 72 on shuttle services(2 ) and Regulation ( EEC ) n° 517 / 72
    on regular and special regular services ( 3 ).
    The Commission adopted the provisions for implementing those Regulations
    in 1968, in the case of occasional services ( 4 ), and in 1972 in the case
    of shuttle services and regular services ( 5 ) ( 6 ).
    ( 1 ) O.J. n° 147, 09.08.1966, p. 2688
    ( 2 ) O.J. n° L 67, 20.03.1972 , p. 13
    ( 3 ) O.J. n° L 67, 20.03.1972 , p. 19
    ( 4 ) O.'J . n° L 173 , 22.07.1968, p ; 8
    ( 5 ) ( 6 ) O.J. n° L 134 , 12.06.1972 , p. 1
 ---pagebreak---                                 - 2 -
3 . Now that the conditions laid down in Article 4(3 ) of Regulation n° 117 / 66 / EEC
    have thus been met , it is appropriate for the Community to fulfil the
    obligations incumbent upon it under that Article in respect of shuttle
    services and regular services .
4 . Where occasional services are concerned , there have already been negotiat­
     ions for an agreement         ~ the ASOR - between the European Economic
    Community on the one hand and Austria , Finland , Norway , Portugal , Spain ,
    Sweden , Switzerland , Turkey and Yugoslavia on the other . All those countries
    - apart from Yugoslavia , which will not take part in the Agreement at
    this stage - and the Community will sign the ASOR in the first half of
    1982 . Immediately thereafter it will be concluded , and thereby ratified
    as far as the Community is concerned .
    The ASOR applies :
    a ) to the international carriage of passengers by road by means of occasional
        services effected :
        - between the territories of two Contracting Parties or
        - starting and finishing in the territory of the same Contracting
          Party, and , should the need arise during such services , in transit
          through the territory of both a contracting and a non-contracting State ,
           and :
        - using vehicles registered in the territory of a Contracting Party
          which ,, by virtue of their construction and equipment , are suitable
          for carrying more than nine persons , including the driver , and are
          intended for that purpose ;
    b ) to unladen journeys by vehicles in connection with these services .
    In addition to the definition of the scope of the Agreement , the ASOR
    also contains :
    - definitions of the various types of service ( i.e. occasional services ,
       regular services and shuttle services ), based on the definitions agreed
       at Community level for services between the Member States ;
 ---pagebreak---                                      -3 -
      - measures to Liberalize certain occasional services , although the degree
          of liberalization is more limited than that in respect of services
          between    the Member States ;
      - rules concerning the introduction of a control document for occasional
          services and details of how to use it ; a model standard control document
          is annexed to the Agreement ( Community legislation is to be adopted in
         order to introduce the same model for services between the Member
          States ) ;
      - général and final provisions .
      NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE NEGOTIATIONS
  5 . The nature and scope of the negotiations with the third countries must
      be determined in the light of the rules laid down in Article 4(2 ) and
      ( 3 ) of the 1966 Regulation, and of the requirements of the Community
      passenger transport system and of future developments in the flow of
      traffic to and from the third countries concerned .
5.1 . The third countries concerned are those which took part in the ASOR
      negotiations , including Yugos lavia - whi ch took part in all the negotiations
      but is not going to conclude the Agreement at this stage - because of its
      key position as a transit country for services to and from Greece .
      These countries have been chosen either because of their geographical
      location or because of the volume of regular and / or shuttle service
      between them and the Member States . The decisive factor , however , was
      the degree of mutual interest in the establishment of common rules .
       It does not seem desirable at the moment to open similar negotiations
      with the State trading third countries .
 ---pagebreak---                                     - if -
5.2 . As regards tne negotiating procedure , multilateral negotiations between
      the Community on the one hand ani all the third countries concerned on
      the other would appear to be preferable , for the following reasons :
      - they can make it possible to produce uniform solutions for all services ,
        whether between the Community and the third countries concerned or
        between the third countries themselves ;
      All the same , in so far as the problems to be discussed or any develop­
      ments in the multilateral negotiations make it desirable for bilateral
      negotiations to be opened   with each of the third countries affected
      or with groups of these countries , this option should not be excluded .
      OBJECTIVES OF THE NEGOTIATIONS
6.    The main objective of the negotiations is   to make it possible to lay
      down common rules for regular services and shuttle services performed
      in the various ways provided for in Regulation No . 117/66/EEC , and to
      ensure that the third countries concerned accept control documents
      which comply with the Community rules on the matter .
 ---pagebreak---                                - 5 -
As regards extending the scope of the application of the provisions of
Regulation n° 117 / 66 / EEC to include transport services to or from a third
country , there is a legal possibility for the Community to lay down
unilateral measures governing the sections on Community territory , as
confirmed by Article 4(3 ) of the Regulation .
However , the close link between services to or from third countries and
intra-Community services , both from the point of view of the organization
of the firms and as regards the operation of the services , leaves no doubt
that , in practice , the establishment of common rules for the entire
journey, whether on Community territory or in the third countries concerned ,
will make for more effective and more rational organization of the services
involved , facilitate checks and simplify the administrative formalities .
In the light of these considerations , an international agreement or several
 international agreements with the third countries concerned would appear
 the best way of extending the scope of the common rules referred to in
 Article b(j>) .
 The negotiations on the conclusion of such an agreement or several such
 agreements must make it possible to lay down the common rules that are
 necessary in order to extend , wherever possible , the existing Community
 rules - and in particular those concerning the definitions of the various
 types of passenger services , the rules which apply to them , the authori­
 zation procedures and the format and content of the authorization docu­
 ments - to services involving third countries .
Given these general objectives , the negotiating directives must be flexible
enough to make it possible to take account of the progress of the discussions
and of particular technical requirements which may emerge .
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 6 -
        FORM OF THE AGREEMENT OR AGREEMENTS
    7 . As proposed in section 5-2 ., the negotiations should preferably lead to
        concluding a multilateral Agreement , but there are still reserve powors to
        negotiate bilateral agreements . Moreover , it would appear useful to be able
        to leave certain administrative work to the secretariat of the European
        Conference of Ministers of Transport ( ECMT ). In view of the existence ,
        within the framework of the ECMT, of certain regulations concerning regular
        services and shuttle services in the field of international bus transport ,
        it would appear appropriate to invite its secretariat to attend the multi­
        lateral negotiations as an observer .
    8 . Economic impact of the rules to be Laid down
        A survey conducted in several Member States indicates that all passenger
        services have expanded appreciably over the last few years , both on
        routes within the Community and on routes to and from third countries .
        The main reasons for this are that :
        - coach and bus fares have not risen as fast as rail or air fares ;
        - the travelling conditions have improved ( for example , the vehicles are
          now more comfortable and many motorways have been resurfaced ) ;
        - the coach and bus services available to tourists are now better organized ,
          and the range of services has been improved .
  8.1 . Summary of some of the data gathered by the Commission departments .
8.1.1 . Federal Republic of Germany
        The total number of coach passengers carried , taking all the routes and
        all categories of service together , rose by 40.6 % between 1970 and 1980 .
        Between 1980 and 1981 , bus services' share of total passenger transport
        rose from 8 % to 9.1 %, while the railways' and airlines' shares fell
        from 13.3 % to 12.2 % and from 15.3 % to 13.9 % respectively .
 ---pagebreak---                                      - 7 -
8.1.2 . Belgium
        The number of shuttle services rose from 64 in 1978 to 144 in 1981 - an
        increase of 125 % . Over that period breakdown of these services      was as
        follows :
           Year        Total      Intra-Community routes         Routes involving third
                                                                       countries
           1978          64                  12                            52
           1979          94                  38                            56
           1980         128                  59                            69
           1981         144                  50                            94
        Note that in 1981 Belgium had almost twice as many services involving
        third countries as involving other Community countries .
8.1.3 . France
        France has provided data on a number of regular or special regular services
        involving third countries , some of which are set out below :
        Paris - Valencia - Murci-a : 1978 : Number of passengers carried :         94.144
                                              Passenger-ki lometres worked : 101.298.944
                                      1980 : Number of passengers carried :       111.973
                                              Passenger-kilometres worked : 119.898.140
        Paris - Istanbul :            1979 : Number of passengers carried :         3.603
                                              Passenger-ki lometres worked :   10.809.000
                                      1980 : Number of passengers carried :         4.146
                                              Passenger-ki lometres worked :   12.438.000
        Amsterdam -Barcelona-Alicante:1978 : Number of passengers carried :        39.639
                                              Passenger-ki lometres worked :   77.278.000
                 ,                    1979 : Number of passengers carried :        99.020
                                              Passenger-ki lometres worked : 222.398.920
 ---pagebreak---                                       - 8 -
8.1.4 . " Europabus " - the coach service which certain European railways run for
        tourists - has stated    that 47 % of its 30 regular international services
        involved       third countries .
  8.2 . The figures given in section 8.1 clearly illustrate that there has been
        a substantial increase in the number and scale of regular services and
        shuttle services on routes involving third countries , and that the economic
        importance of those services     cannot be ignored .
 ---pagebreak---                                      - 9 -
. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE NEGOTIATIONS - THE COMMUNITY 'S POWERS
  Article 75 of the EEC Treaty together with Articlo 42 of Regulation No , 117/66/
  EEC provides the legal basis for entering into negotiations ' with third countries
. in this field .
  The adoption and implementation of Regulation No . 117/66/EEC , Regulation ( EEC )
  No . 516/72 and Regulation ( EEC ) No . 517/72 - all of which were based on Article
  75 of the Treaty - brought the rules governing the international carriage of
  passengers by road into the sphere of the common transport policy and consequent
  ly necessarily conferred on the Community the power to conclude with third coun­
  tries any agreement on the matters covered by those Regulations , given that
  external links cannot be separated from the rules governing internal measures .
  What is more , this Community competence is exclusive . Regulation No . 117/66/EEC
  gives the Commission the task of negotiating with third countries any agreements
  related to the field covered by that Regulation . Moreover , since this is an
  area in which the Community has introduced common rules in the context of the
  common transport policy provided for by the Treaty of Rome , the Member States
  no longer have the right , whether individually or collectively , to enter into
  any obligations vis- a-vis third countries such as might affect those rules . The
  Community - alone is in a position to guarantee that obligations entered into
  vis- a- vis third countries are implemented in respect of all the area in which
  the Community legal system applies , and consequently it alone has the power to
  conclude agreements to that effect with third countires .
  The procedural aspects are covered by Article 228 of the EEC Treaty .
. NEGOTIATING DIRECTIVES
  10.1 . Article 2 of the proposal provides that the Commission is to conduct the
          negotiations on the basis of the Directives annexed to the proposal .
  10.2 . The ECMT has already laid down general rules for the international
          carriage of passengers by coach and bus ( in Resolution No . 20 of 16
         December 1969 , as amended on 16 June 1971 ) • More specifically , it has
          laid down definitions for regular services and shuttle services respect­
          ively .    ,
                                                                             • /• • •
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 10 -
10.3 . The negotiations should make it possible to eliminate the differences
       between Community Legislation and the rules which currently apply to the
       international carriage of passengers to and from third countries , wherever
       the current parallelism is likely to raise legal problems or make it
       difficult to apply the rules in practice . However , they should be confined
       solely to the types of service provided between the Member States and
       the third countries which are of genuine economic importance to the
       various parties .
10.4 . In the light of the foregoing considerations , the negotiations will be
       directed towards standardizing the definitions of the various types of
       regular services and shuttle services .
10.5 . The desire for common rules does not necessarily imply that the same
       rules should apply to all the third countries concerned if economic and
       social conditions warrant different rules and disparities remain between
       the competitive position of the individual countries . Separate agreements
       could perhaps be concluded with certain of the third countries concerned ,
       if this is this case .
       Moreover , in the context of the negotiations one should not set out
       systematically to bring the ECMT rules into line with the Community
       legislation but examine whether , and if so to what extent , the differences
       between the two systems might call for changes in the Community rules *
       The necessary amendments to Community legislation would then be made
       in the Regulation establishing the measures to be taken to bring into
       effect the agreement which is to be concluded .
       The conclusions which can be drawn from examining the differences between
       the various systems in this light - and which should be followed up
       during the negotiations - are set out below .
 ---pagebreak---                                          - 11 -
10.6 . Scope of the negotiations
   A. Def i nit i ons
       a ) The ECMT definition of regular services is broadly similar to the
           Community definition , as laid down in Article 1(1 ) of Regulation
           n° 117 / 66 / EEC , though it goes into greater detail . In particular , it
           is based on the following principles :
           - fixed itinerary ;
           - frequency ; and
           - timetables .
           The ECMT definition of special regular services agrees word for word
           with that in Article 1(3 ) of Regulation n° 117 / 66 / EEC .
           It would be appropriate to look for ways of extending the definition
           laid down in Article 1(1 ) of Regulation n° 117 / 66 / EEC to the third
           countries concerned , since the wording , and in particular the reference
           to " specified routes ", allows a clearer distinction to be made between
           the strictly controlled regular services and the liberalized occasional
           services and will therefore make it easier to stamp out abuses .
       b ) The ECMT definition of shuttle services agrees word for word with that
           in Article 2(1 ), ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) of the Council Regulation . However , it
           does not incorporate the wording of Article 2(4 ), which provides for
           fixing the conditions under which exceptions to that definition may
           be authorized .
           Since it is essential to continue to allow operators the freedom to
           accept for the return journey passengers who made the outward journey
           with another group, it would be desirable for the wording in question
           to be added to the ECMT definition , which would then apply to services
           between the Member States and the third countries concerned .
 ---pagebreak---                                 - 12 -
B. Scope
   Both the ECMT Resolution and Regulation n° 117 / 66 / EEC ( see the second
   indent of Article 4(1 ) thereof ) apply to carriage in vehicles intended
   to carry more than nine persons , including the driver . However , the
   Council Regulation also stipulates that the vehicle must be " suitable "
   for that purpose .
   It would be advisable if the occasion arises/ to propose to the third
   countries that they too should add this extra detail and , in conse­
   quence , accept the definition set out in Regulation No . 117/66/EEC .
C. Common rules of a more general nature
   In addition to the technical points referred to above , a number of more
   general common rules should be agreed with the third countries in question ,
   and in parti cular :
   - detailed rules for joint examination , by the representatives of each
     Contracting Party, of the general operation of the agreement or agreements
     and of special cases which may arise when it is implemented ; the
     representatives could also put forward proposals for additions or
     amendments to the agreement or agreements ;
   - detailed rules for a procedure for consultation and conciliation among
     the Contracting Parties whenever a particular need arises or when a
     dispute concerning the interpretation or application of the agreement
     or agreements makes it necessary ;
   - rules concerning the period of validity of the agreement or agreements ,
     which it should be possible to extend automatically for successive
     periods of a pre-established duration        ;
   - rules concerning termination of the agreement or agreements by one of the
     Contracting Parties , after consulting the other Party , said the period
     of notice required for notification of termination .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                I >
Recommendation for a Council Decision authorizing the Commission to negotiate
            an Agreement between the European Economic Community and third
       countries on the rules applicable to certain types of international
                  carriage of passengers by road , by coach and bus
     THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
     Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
    Having regard to the recommendation from the Commission,
    Whereas common rules on the international carriage of passengers by road
    by coach and bus by means of regular services and shuttle services were
     laid down in Council Regulation n° 117 / 66 / EEC ( 1 ) ;
    Whereas Article 4(2 ) of Regulation n° 117/ 66/ EEC requires the Community
    to enter into any negotiations with third countries which may be found
    necessary for the purpose of implementing that Regulation ; whereas
    paragraph 3 of that Article provides that , when the common rules provided
    for in Articles 7 and 8 have been laid down, the Council shall , as soon
    as possible , lay down the common rules necessary in order to enable
    application of that Regulation to be extended to international carriage
   of passengers by road to or from third countries ; whereas the common
    rules provided for in the abovementioned Articles 7 and 8 were laid down
    in Council Regulations ( EEC ) n° 516/ 72 ( 2 ) and 517/ 72 (3 ) ;
    ( 1 ) O.J. n° 147, 09.08.1966, p. 2688 / 66
    ( 2 ) O.J. n° L 67, 20.03.1972 , p. 13
    (3 ) O.J. n° L 67, 20.03.1972, p. 19
 ---pagebreak--- Whereas the negotiations between the Community and certain third countries
concerning occasional services have been completed , and the Agreement
relating thereto will shortly be concluded on behalf of the Community ;
Whereas in view of the economic importance of road passenger traffic in
the form of regular services and shuttle services between the Community
and third countries , it is also desirable to extend the application of
the Community rules to such services ;
Whereas the only adequate means of attaining those objectives is for
uniform rules to be agreed between the Community and the third countries
concerned ;
Whereas , to this end , the Commission should be authorized to enter into
such negotiations as are necessary ;
Whereas the substance and scope of the agreement or agreements should be
specified and the conciliation procedure should be laid down ;
Whereas Austria , Finland , Norway, Portugal , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland ,
Turkey and Yugoslavia are the third countries with the greatest interest
in road passenger services to and from the Community, and negotiations
should therefore be entered into with these countries first ,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS
 ---pagebreak---                            Article 1
The Commission is hereby authorized to open negotiations with Austria ,
Finland , Norway, Portugal , Spain, Sweden , Switzerland , Turkey and Yugoslav
with a view to concluding between the European Economic Community and
those States an agreement or agreements establishing common rules for
the international carriage of passengers by road by means of regular
services and shuttle services by coach or bus .
                           Article 2
The Commission shall conduct the negotiations in accordance with the
directives contained in the Annex .
Done at Brussels,                                     For the Council
                                                       The President
 ---pagebreak---                                                                               ANNEX
                                      NEGOTIATING DIRECTIVES
1 . General objective
    The general objective of the negotiations is to conclude an agreement or
    agreements between the Community and certain third countries on rules
    for the international carriage of passengers by road by coach and bus .
2 . Substance and scope of the agreement or agreeements
    2.1 . Definition of the various types of service
            ( a ) The definitions laid down in Article 1 of Council Regulation
                  n° 117 / 66 / EEC of 28 July 1966 ( 1 ) should be extended to include
                  regular services and special regular services between the Member
                  States and third countries .
           ( b ) The definition of shuttle services , as laid down in Article 2(1 ),
                  ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) of Regulation n° 117 / 66/ EEC should also be extended ;
                  a further provision should also be added to it in order to allow
                  the public authorities to authorize carriers to accept for the
                  return journey passengers who made the outward journey with
                  another group .
    2.2 . Stipulation concerning vehicles
           As regards the construction and equipment of the vehicles , the
           stipulation made in the second indent of Article 4(1 ) of the above-
           mentioned Council Regulation should also apply to services between
           the Member States and the third countries concerned .
    2.3 . Consultation and conciliation
           Provision should also be made for conciliation procedures enabling the
           representatives of the Contracting Parties to hold joint consultations
           at the request of one of the parties whenever a particular need arises
           or a dispute concerning the interpretation or application of the agree
           ment or agreements makes them necessary .
    ( 1 ) O.J. n° 147 . 09.08.1966
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                       \ r<
                                                                                      I  "■
                                         - 2 -
            The representatives could also review the general operation of the
            agreement or agreements and , where appropriate , draw up proposals
            for amending or supplementing it .
      2.k . Period of validity and extension of the agreement or agreements
    f
            The agreement or agreements should be valid for a period of ten years .
            Unless terminated by one of the Contracting Parties , its period of
            validity should thereafter be extended automatically .
I     2.5 * Termination of the agreement or agreements
            Each Contracting Party should have the right to terminate the agreement
            or agreements after consulting the other party before-hand and giving due
            notice .
3 . Form of the Agreement
      3.1 . The negotiations will be conducted according to the procedure set out in
            Article 228 of the EEC Treaty . Third countries will be invited to begin
            negotiations with the Community with a view to concluding a multilateral
            agreement . If there is an opportunity during the course of these negotiat­
            ions , it will still be possible to open bilateral negotiations with each
            one of the third countries or with a group of these countries .
      3.2 . As in the case of ASOK , the secretariat of the ECMT should be invited to
            take charge of certain administrative tasks , provided for in the agreement
            and relating to its administration .
            A representative of the secretariat could be invited to attend the
            negotiations .