COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 4060/89 of 21 December 1989 on the elimination of controls performed at the frontiers of Member States in the field of road and inland waterway transport
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 75 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas achieving freedom to provide services in the field of transport is an important element of the common transport policy under the Treaty and whereas, consequently, it is the aim of that policy to increase the fluidity of movement of the different  means of transport within the Community;
Whereas the Community is engaged in the adoption of measures with the aim of progressively establishing the internal market over a period expiring on 31 December 1992, which comprises an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of  goods, persons, services and capital is ensured in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty;
Whereas pursuant to the Commission's White Paper the Commission is to present a proposal to the Council in order to abolish frontier checks and formalities related to the means of inland transport and documentation;
Whereas, pursuant to existing Community and national legislation in the field of road and inland waterway transport, Member States perform checks, verifications
and inspections relating to technical characteristics, authorizations and other documentation that vehicles and inland waterway vessels must comply with; whereas these checks, verifications and inspections continue in general to be justified in order to  avoid disturbances to the organization of the transport market and to ensure road and inland waterway safety;
Whereas, under existing Community legislation, Member States are free to organize and perform the aforementioned checks, verifications and inspections where they so wish but in practice they normally carry them out at their frontiers;
Whereas such controls, verifications and inspections may be performed with equal efficacy throughout the territory of the Member States concerned and crossing the frontier should not therefore be a pretext for carrying out such operations,
This Regulation applies to controls performed by Member States pursuant to Community or national law in the fields of road and inland waterway transport carried out using means of transport registered or put into circulation in a Member State.
For the purpose of this Regulation:
(a)  'frontier' means either an internal frontier within the Community or an external frontier, where carriage between Member States involves crossing a third country;
(b)
'control' means any check, inspection, verification or formality performed at the frontiers of Member States by the national authorities, which signifies a stop or a restriction on the free movement of the vehicles or vessels concerned.
Controls, referred to in the Annex, performed pursuant to Community or national law in the fields of road and inland waterway transport between Member States shall no longer be performed as frontier-control but solely as part of the normal  control procedures applied in a non-discriminatory fashion throughout the territory of a Member State.
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 July 1990.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.