Activites

• 2006/04/11 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Regulation 2006/561
  • OJ L 102 11.04.2006, p. 0001-0013
• 2006/03/15 Final act signed
• 2006/03/15 End of procedure in Parliament
• 2006/02/02 Decision by Council, 3rd reading
• 2006/02/02 Results of vote in Parliament
  • Results of vote in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
  • T6-0035/2006 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution approving the joint text and drew attention to the Commission statement on the text. (For details of the agreement reached, please see the summary of 06/12/2005.)

• 2006/02/01 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2006/01/24 Report tabled for plenary, 3rd reading
  • A6-0006/2006
• 2005/12/08 Joint text approved by Conciliation Committee co-chairs
  • 03671/2005
• 2005/12/06 Final decision by Conciliation Committee
• 2005/10/12 Formal meeting of Conciliation Committee
• 2005/09/09 Parliament's amendments rejected by Council
• 2005/04/13 Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading
  • T6-0122/2005 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution, based on the draft by Helmuth MARKOV (GUE/NGL, DE) making several amendments to the Council’s common position, the principal ones being the following:- the introduction of digital tachographs in lorries should be postponed. Parliament proposed deadlines of August 5, 2006 for all new vehicles and August 5, 2007 for all vehicles put into service for the first time, whereas the Council set a final deadline of August 5, 2005;- Parliament has extended the daily rest period to twelve hours (compared with eleven hours in the Council’s common position);- it has reviewed the manner in which the Council proposed to organise drivers’ breaks. Parliament proposes maintaining the current rules: mandatory 45 minute break after a driving period of four and a half hours, which scope for dividing this break into periods of fifteen minutes. Parliament recommends a weekly rest period of at least 45 hours whilst providing under certain conditions for the reduction of this period to 36 hours (the Council proposing 24 hours);- the definition of driving time is also altered in order to take account of the time taken by drivers to travel to their place of work, in the event of their driving themselves to work (and if their journey is over 100 kilometres).- scope for drivers taking a reduced weekly rest period in their vehicle is withdrawn;- Parliament has made more stringent the provision barring transport enterprises from remunerating drivers on the basis of distance travelled and/or the volume of goods carried, and from allocating bonuses;- the article concerning the penalties available to Member States in the event of violation of the regulation  is also made more stringent;- the minimum number of checks to be carried out in the Member States shall be set at least 2% of the total of days worked from 1 January 2007, 3% from 1 January 2009 and 4% from 1 January 2011. The last phase shall only enter into force when the statistics indicate that on average more than 90% of all inspected vehicles are equipped with a digital tachograph.

• 2005/03/23 Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading
  • A6-0076/2005
• 2005/03/15 Vote in committee, 2nd reading
• 2004/12/16 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 2nd reading
• #2629
• 2004/12/09 Council Meeting
  • 11337/2/2004 summary

    The common position, adopted by unanimity, includes some general changes relative to the Commission’s proposal. Council holds the view that its common position provides a considerable added value as compared to the legislation currently in force. Among the elements which provide such added value are the following:- the minimum uninterrupted daily rest period is increased from 8 to 9 hours;- the maximum driving time per calendar week is reduced to 56 hours (currently it is possible to drive up to 74 hours in one calendar week);- during two consecutive weeks, a driver must take at least one regular weekly rest period consisting of an uninterrupted period of at least 45 hours;- the legal framework is created for Member States, subject to certain conditions: to immobilise temporarily a vehicle; to withdraw, suspend or restrict an undertaking’s licence; to withdraw, suspend or restrict a driver’s driving licence. In addition, guidelines with a view to promoting a harmonised application of these provisions will be developed in accordance with the Comitology procedure;- the time period which can effectively be checked by enforcement officers is increased significantly, from "the current week and the last driving day of the previous week"to "the current week and the previous 15 days". After 1 January 2008 this period is increased even further, to "the current day and the previous 28 days". These provisions enable enforcers to benefit from the capabilities of the digital tachograph;- the number and scope of the general exemptions is reduced;- competent authorities in the Member States will be empowered to impose a sanction for an infringement detected on its territory, even when the infringement has been committed outside its territory;- other actors in the transport chain can, under certain conditions, be held co-liable for infringements.The Council also recalls that, as concerns the introduction of the digital tachograph (i.e. the fitting ofthis equipment to all new heavy goods vehicles), it has extended the deadline for this by 1 year, to5 August 2005 (cf. Article 27) due to practical considerations. Furthermore, the Council commonposition, through the amendment of the relevant instrument (Regulation 3821/85/EEC), provides for a number of improvements when it comes to operating this device.The Commission accepted wholly or in part 47 of the 69 amendments proposed by the European Parliament at its first reading. Of these, the Council included 34, either literally or in principle, in its common position.Amendments accepted by the Commission and incorporated in full or in part in the common position aim in particular to :- return to the calendar week system of calculation;- bring useful clarifications to the text and are reflected in the common position;- add a general exemption for historic vehicles used for non-commercial purposes appears logical and is included in the common position. Likewise local postal services could continue to be excluded, on the understanding that driving is not the main activity;- introduce a greater degree of flexibility for the industry;- form part of the compromise package on daily and weekly rest;- introduce co-liability for the entire transport chain. The common position in Article 10(4) amplifies the list of those potentially co-liable and concentrates on contractually agreed time schedules;Other amendments rejected by the Commission are incorporated in the common position, these aim to:- return to the broader general exemption for specialised vehicles for medical purposes and is included in the common position;- reinsert general exemptions for vehicles for milk collection and delivery from farms as well as the current Regulation’s extensive list of public utility vehicles. The common position confirms all as optional national derogations, while maintaining the Commission’s reduced list of public utility vehicles;- replace a transport undertaking’s defence against liability for infringements with two further requirements for record keeping and an obligation to verify a driver’s total working time. The common position has incorporated the substance of these additions in Article 19(bis);The amendments not incorporated in the common position aimed to :- oblige roadside checks to cover the current day and the previous 27 days. The common position continues to allow a measure of discretion to enforcement staff, but gives them the option from 1.1.2008 onwards of checking the previous 28 days;- introduce a deadline for retrofitting all vehicles in operation with a digital tachograph. However not all these vehicles are so constructed as to be able to be fitted with a digital tachograph;- include the maximum weekly working time limits of the sectoral working time Directive, Directive 2002/15/EC, within the body of the Regulation. The common position does not include the form of this amendment, but nevertheless in Art. 6(2) it retains the substance, specifying that the maximum working time limit may not be exceeded;- introduce a general exemption for vehicles used for humanitarian aid;- exempt vehicles not exceeding 3.5 tonnes used for non-commercial purposes. However all vehicles not exceeding 3.5 tonnes are already excluded from the scope of the proposal;- reinsert all of Article 5 of Regulation 3820/85/EEC concerning minimum ages of drivers of large goods or passenger vehicles. However these provisions have already been taken up in Art. 5 of Directive 2003/59/EC;- limit the obligation for the driver to record driving time undertaken on vehicles outside the scope of the Regulation to urban passenger transport vehicles. The common position includes driving on all commercial vehicles outside the scope, but stipulates that this driving be recorded as ‘other work.’- limit the obligation for the driver to record driving time undertaken on vehicles outside the scope of the Regulation to urban passenger transport vehicles.- propose a break of 30 minutes every four and a half hours, which can be divided into two periods of 15 minutes. The common position retains the 45 minutes break but does not allow this break to be split into at least 15 minute intervals;- reinsert as national derogations certain vehicle groups that the Commission proposal was removed;- introduce legal provisions, which run counter to the comitology rules;- invite the Commission to submit a proposal for the uniform interpretation of these rules.

• #2589
• 2004/06/10 Council Meeting
• 2003/08/11 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(2003)0490 summary

    Out of the 69 amendments adopted by the European Parliament, the Commission has accepted 47. The following are the principal amendments accepted: - the Regulation's objectives now include the promotion of improved monitoring and enforcement practice as well as improved working practices within the industry; - the scope of application is widened to include international point to point delivery services, where the permissible maximum weight of the vehicle exceeds 2.8 tonnes; - the provisions of the Regulation will apply to vehicles registered in a non-AETR third country. The need to ensure no distortion of competition within the EU is pre-eminent; - the proposed radius within which the exemption for breakdown vehicles can operate has been extended from 50km to 100km; - a new exemption for historic commercial vehicles is inserted to clarify the current application of exemptions to this area; - those journeys made entirely on site are excluded from the scope. The Regulation will apply to those journeys that either start or finish on site but otherwise use a public road; - the Commission accepts the need for a definition of driving time. The activity of driving to a location to take up a vehicle is not included, as this activity is 'other work'; - the definition of 'break' has been extended to clarify its primary purpose of recuperation; - the definition of the regular daily rest period has been revised to re-introduce the possibility of a limited split daily rest; - the definition of a weekly rest period is modified to correspond to the re-introduction of a fixed calendar week basis for calculations where a weekly rest period can straddle two calendar weeks. The Commission has decided to reintroduce the possibility of a reduction to 36 consecutive hours at base or in the driver's hometown and of 24 hours away from base with compensation. However, in order to ensure that enforcement is facilitated and that sufficient account is taken of accumulated fatigue, compensation is to be taken en bloc by the end of the week following that in which the reduced weekly rest commenced; - as regards the definition of multi-manning, the Commission accepts that in practice there may be occasions where the second driver is picked up shortly after the journey is started. As this only relates to a short time at the start of the journey, there should be no difficulty in enforcement; - in the specific situations outlined in the relevant Article only, a maximum of two interruptions in a regular daily rest period may be permitted; - the Commission feels that an obligatory four-week period check at the roadside is excessive. Inspectors conducting roadside checks should continue to have a measure of discretion. The number of days to be checked should, however, be adjusted to ensure that the fortnightly driving time limit of 90 hours may be checked at the roadside. The main amendments not accepted by the Commission were as follows: - the sectoral working time Directive 2002/15/EC already places an obligation on employers to acquaint themselves with total time worked by drivers. As regards the minimum ages for drivers these are now in the driver training proposal. Parliament has notobjected in first reading to its logical presence there; - the Commission maintains its view that a more focussed approach to exemptions and derogations is required. Humanitarian aid is too broad a concept and can be subcontracted to commercial undertakings; - the requirement for national bus services to fit digital tachograph is impracticable; The Commission has made some new amendments to the initial proposal: - the definition of 'break' has been further refined to clarify the nature of a break by explicitly excluding any possibility that it includes any driving activity; - the definition of 'other work' has been linked to the definition of 'work' in the sectoral working time Directive; - the definition of daily driving time has been clarified to make it more precise; - the definition of transport undertaking has been clarified to indicate that it includes both companies which undertake transport for hire and reward as well as those who carry out own account operations; - discussions in the Council have indicated a consensus on a clearer and more comprehensive text concerning out of scope driving, which can be taken into account in driving time. The Commission can agree with this approach on road safety grounds and hence takes up this consensus in its amended proposal; - the Commission continues to consider 45 minutes as a reasonable break after 4.5 hours of driving. The aim of the Commission's original proposal regarding breaks was to avoid an abuse of current facility to split the 45-minute break into 15-minute periods. The aim of Parliament's amendment is to ensure that any reintroduction of a 15-minute split should only be permitted if it precedes a rest of at least 30 minutes. The Commission has redrafted the text to reflect this objective; - the Commission takes account of the anomaly in a calendar week system that driving the last three days of one week and the first three days of the following week can allow a continuous use of reduced daily rest over this 6-day period, a situation that would go against the spirit of what the Regulation intends. - the possibility of taking reduced weekly rest periods consecutively is reintroduced - the road safety implications are recognised through the shorter period required for compensatory rest, a period that also facilitates enforcement checks. Secondly, it means that with a weekly rest period at the start of the first week and the second weekly rest period at the end of the following week, drivers can operate for longer periods within an overall driving time limit of 90 hours; - there is the reinstatement of a compensation regime for weekly rest. Compensation given the following week for a 24-hour reduced weekly rest period will add up to a minimum of 45 hours in total (if the subsequent weekly rest period is also reduced) or to 66 hours (if a regular weekly rest period is taken); - currently drivers are obliged to make a printout of their driving and other activities at the end of the day and then sign and identify the printout. The Commission places a further requirement on a driver who does not have a driver card prior to starting his journey to make a printout. This will prevent end-of-day printouts being juggled prior to signature by unscrupulous companies to ensure records of driving timeactivities are legal, and will link a driver with a vehicle for a particular journey. Moreover drivers are likely to make this printout because of the risk of a roadside check. The potential benefits in enforcement are deemed to outweigh the burden of the additional requirement and will encourage drivers to take care of their driver cards.�

  • DG ['Energy and Transport'],
• 2003/01/14 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
  • T5-0008/2003 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Helmut MARKOV (EUL/NGL, Germany) and made several amendments to he Commission's proposal. (Please refer to the document dated 05/11/02.) The following amendments were also made: - the definition of "reduced weekly rest period" is any uninterrupted period of rest of less than 45 hours which may be shortened to a minimum of 36 consecutive hours if taken at the place where the vehicle is based or in the drivers place of residence or to a minimum of 24 consecutive hours if taken outside those places. Long-distance drivers may tale compensation within three weeks; - for the first hour of multi-manning, the presence of another driver is optional but for the remainder of the period it is compulsory; - the minimum age of drivers is 18 for vehicles not exceeding 7.5 tonnes. For other vehicles, the minimum age is 21 or 18 if he holds the relevant certificate. The minimum age for drivers carrying passengers is 21. If such a driver is carrying passengers for a distance of more than 50 miles, he must fulfil, in addition, one of several prescribed conditions; - within every 24 hour period, a driver must take a daily rest period of at least 12 consecutive hours which may, not more than three times a week, be shortened to not less than 9 consecutive hours; - a weekly rest period that falls in two weeks may be counted in either week but not in both; - a driver taking a reduced weekly rest period must take an additional period of rest corresponding to the difference between 45 hours and the length of the reduced weekly rest taken. This additional period of rest must conform to certain conditions; - a new clause states that the minimum number of checks to be carried out in the Member States will be set at not less than 2% of the total number of days worked; - the Commission must submit proposals by 31 December 2006 on the national interpretation and application of the provisions of the Regulation - the Commission must also submit proposals on adjusting Directive 88/559/EEC and Regulation 3281/85/EEC (both as amended by Regulation 2135/98/EC) on roadside checks.�

• 2002/11/05 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A5-0388/2002
• #X017
• 2002/10/03 Council Meeting
• #X016
• 2002/05/21 Council Meeting
• #2420
• 2002/03/25 Council Meeting
  • 2420
• 2001/10/22 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• #2374
• 2001/10/15 Council Meeting
  • 2374
• 2001/10/12 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2001)0573 summary

    PURPOSE : to harmonise certain social legislation relating to road transport. CONTENT : the current proposal abrogates Regulation 3820/85/EEC and replaces it with a new Regulation primarily in order to provide a clear, coherent text within which rules currently contained in Regulation 3820/85/EEC may be clarified, simplified and updated. The Commisson has been aware for some considerable time that there have been difficulties in interpreting and applying the provisions within Regulation 3820/85/EEC. In the course of meeting with national experts, correspondence with individuals, road haulage and passenger transport associations and competent authorities over the years since the Regulation's introduction, the clear message has been that a common understanding of its provisions has remained elusive. The proposal aims to clarify and simplify the current legislation making it easier to comprehend and enforce. The scope has been clearly defined, firstly, by setting out more comprehensively when European Agreement concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles engaged in International Road transport (AETR) or the Regulation should apply; and secondly, by setting out the category of goods and passenger vehicles affected - goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes; and passenger vehicles suitable for carrying over 9 persons - based on the two current major exemptions. The proposal also seeks to update the other current exemptions and derogations to reflect changes in the road transport sector and, in doing so, to broaden the scope of the application of the Regulation within the road transport sector in the Union. Regulation 3820/85/EEC already provides considerable flexibility in driving times, rest periods and breaks. This type of flexibility has nevertheless been at the expense of effective enforcement. The proposal withdraws the current compensation arrangements, which were generally unable to be accurately computed and could easily be ignored. While flexibility is still retained, it is now within more computable, enforceable, understandable and simple boundaries. Increases in the standard daily rest period and a predefined enforceable timeframe for any reduced rest periods are balanced by an allowance of certain reduced daily and weekly rest periods without compensation. The proposal also seeks to clarify in a definitive way all the terms used within the Regulation, so that there is little opportunity for individual interpretations of the norm which have in the past to a considerable number of cases before the European Court of Justice, as well as variations in the way enforcement is applied to drivers of vehicles travelling throughout the Union. More specific provisions on "adequate rest" for mobile workers in the road transport sector are also proposed. On the other hand, the proposal does not include the current special derogation for occasional international passenger transport services, under which the driver's weekly rest may be postponed until 13 days after his previous weekly rest. Such an arrangement neither lends itself to adequate enforcement arrangements nor promotes good road safety noradequate working conditions. In addition, the possible extension of the derogation to national passenger transport introduces a further complicating factor in any calculation. However, the revised rules on weekly rest do provide for a reduced weekly rest period of 24 hours with a normal weekly rest period of 45 hours after 13 days. Lastly, the proposal will provide enforces and the industry alike with a clearer view of the Regulation's provisions and enable these provisions to be computable for the new digital tachograph.�

  • DG ['Energy and Transport'],

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2001)0573
• Debate in Council: 2374
• Debate in Council: 2420
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A5-0388/2002
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0008/2003
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(2003)0490
• Council position published: 11337/2/2004
• Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading: A6-0076/2005
• Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading: T6-0122/2005
• Joint text approved by Conciliation Committee co-chairs: 03671/2005
• Report tabled for plenary, 3rd reading: A6-0006/2006
• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 3rd reading: T6-0035/2006
• : Regulation 2006/561
• : OJ L 102 11.04.2006, p. 0001-0013

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)