{"change_dates":[],"dossier":{"amendments":[],"changes":{"2014-11-10T01:31:51":[{"data":[{"body":"EC","commission":[{"Commissioner":"TAJANI Antonio","DG":"Energy and Transport"}],"date":"2006-12-22T00:00:00","docs":[{"celexid":"CELEX:52006PC0852:EN","text":["
PURPOSE: to\n ensure the uniform application of safety rules and a high level of safety for\n national and international transport operations.
PROPOSED ACT:\n Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council.
BACKGROUND:\n the current system for regulating the transport of dangerous goods is defined\n by regional, national, Community and international (UN) provisions. For\n historic reasons existing EU legislation on the transport of dangerous goods\n is complicated. At present there are four pieces of EU legislation (and these\n do not include the UN Recommendations) which govern the transport of\n dangerous goods. They are:
- \n Council Directive 94/55/EC on the approximation of\n the laws of the Member States with regard to the transport of dangerous goods\n by road;
- \n Council Directive 96/49/EC on the approximation of\n the laws of the Member States with regard to the transport of dangerous goods\n by rail;
- \n Council Directive 96/35/EC on the appointment and\n vocational qualification of safety advisers for the transport of dangerous\n goods by road, rail and inland waterway; and
- \n Directive 2000/18/EC on minimum examination\n requirements for safety advisers for the transport of dangerous goods by road\n rail or inland waterway.
In addition,\n most Member States are members of international agreements, which are based\n on UN Recommendations. They are:
- \n ADR: on the international carriage of dangerous\n goods by road;
- \n RID: concerning the international carriage of\n dangerous goods by rail;
- \n ADN: concerning the international carriage of\n dangerous goods by inland water ways.
To add to this\n complexity, under existing provisions, each time a revision of the\n international agreements takes place (typically at two-year intervals) the\n Directives require the full translations of voluminous technical annexes.\n This can be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. With the\n increasing use multimodal transport, different rules for different transport\n modes will cause even more practical daily problems for multimodal operations\n and increase costs unnecessarily.
In a bid to\n simplify legislation, therefore, the Commission is proposing to repeal\n existing Community legislation into a single, new Directive on the inland\n transport of dangerous goods. Once approved, this Directive will substantially\n simplify Community law in the field of dangerous goods transport. Further,\n all three modes of transport (road, rail and water) will be covered rather\n than just road and rail, as is currently the case. Also, by referring to the\n “international agreements” in Annex to the single Directive the Community\n would reduce its aquis by around 2000 pages.
CONTENT: the\n purpose of this Directive is to ensure the uniform application of harmonised\n safety rules throughout the Community and to offer a high level of safety for\n national and international transport operations. The Directive will apply to:
- \n the transport of dangerous goods by road;
- \n the transport of dangerous goods by rail; and
- \n the transport of dangerous goods by inland waterway.
It will\n include transport both within or between the Member States. It will include\n loading and unloading activities; transfer to or from another mode of\n transport and any stops. It will not apply to any vessels belonging to the\n armed forces; seagoing vessels on maritime waterways forming part of inland\n waterways; or ferries only crossing an inland waterway or harbour. Member\n States may be exempt from provisions referring to inland water ways if they\n have no inland waterways; their inland waterways are not linked by inland\n waterway to the waterways of other Member States or no dangerous goods are\n transported on their inland waterways. In other provisions, the proposed\n Directive would:
- \n set out general provisions for dangerous goods\n transport;
- \n allow transport from and to non-EU countries which\n apply international agreements on dangerous goods transport;
- \n allow Member States to apply additional provisions\n for national transport;
- \n allow Member States to take emergency measures in the\n event of an accident;
- \n allow for derogations, in exceptional circumstances,\n to allow for the unique nature of each Member State. Any such derogations\n would have to be adopted by the Commission is accordance with the comitology\n procedures and would be subject to periodic review;
- \n allow Member States to maintain certain temporary\n national provisions that are listed in the Annex to the Directive; and
- \n any amendments to the Annexes would be adopted in\n accordance with comitology procedures.
As a\n consequence of simplifying the legislation the Commission is expecting: an\n increase in the use of multimodal transport; decreasing costs of transport\n operators; a decrease in the risk of accidents for transport workers,\n citizens and the environment; as well as making the enforcement of the\n provisions both simpler and more equitable.
\nThe Council\n reached a general approach on a proposal for a Directive on the inland transport\n of dangerous goods, pending the adoption of the opinion of the European\n Parliament at first reading.
As compared\n with the Commission’s proposal, the text agreed by the Council:
- \n exempts a Member State which have no railway\n system from the obligation to transpose and implement this Directive insofar\n as rail is concerned;
- \n gives Member States, which have no inland\n waterways or whose inland waterways are not linked to those of other Member\n States, the possibility, not to apply the Directive as far as inland waterway\n transport of dangerous goods is concerned;
- \n provides for a transitory period of up to two\n years for the application of its provisions in respect of inland waterways,\n to allow sufficient time for the adaptation of national provisions\n establishing legal frameworks and the training of personnel;
- \n further enhance the safety of transport of\n dangerous goods for all three inland modes of transport, support the\n protection of the environment and facilitate transport of dangerous goods and\n the internal market for transport operators by harmonising the conditions of\n transport; it further provides a good example for simplification of\n legislation and for better Regulation.
\nThe Committee\n on Transport and Tourism unanimously adopted a report drawn up by Bogusław\n Liberadzki (PES, Poland) on the proposal on\n the inland transport of dangerous goods. It made some amendments, the\n principal ones being the following:
- a new\n recital states that the provisions of the Directive should not apply to the\n transport of dangerous goods under the direct and physical responsibility of\n the armed forces. The transport of dangerous goods carried out by commercial\n contractors working for the armed forces should, however, fall within the\n scope of the Directive unless their contractual duties are exercised under\n the direct and physical responsibility or supervision of the armed forces;
- a Member\n State which has no railway system, and no immediate prospect of having one,\n would be under a disproportionate and pointless obligation if it had to\n transpose and implement the provisions of the Directive in respect of rail.\n Therefore, such a Member State should be exempted, for as long as it has no\n railway system, from the obligation to transpose the Directive in so far as\n rail is concerned;
- without\n prejudice to Community law and the provisions of Chapter 1.9 of Annexes I.1,\n II.1 and III.1, it should be possible for Member States, for reasons of\n transport safety, to establish specific and clearly provisions in areas not\n covered by the Directive;
- derogations\n should be listed in the directive as \"national\n derogations\", rather than \"additional national provisions\";
- the amendments to the ADR, RID and ADN and the corresponding\n adaptations to the Annexes should enter into force simultaneously. A recital\n states that the Commission should provide Member States with financial\n support, as appropriate, for the translation of the ADR, RID and AND and\n their modifications into their official language;
- each Member State may, exceptionally and provided that safety is not compromised, issue individual authorisations to carry out transport operations\n of dangerous goods within its territory which are prohibited by the\n Directive;
- Member\n States will be granted a transitional period of up to two years for the\n application of the provisions of the Directive in respect of inland waterways\n so as to allow sufficient time for the adaptation of national provisions, the\n establishment of legal frameworks and the training of personnel. A general\n transitional period of five years will be granted for all ship and personnel\n certificates issued prior to or during the transitional period for the\n application of the Directive in respect of inland waterways, unless a shorter\n period of validity is indicated in the certificate;
- the report\n ensured the harmonisation of changing time periods\n with a 2 year rhythm of amendments to the ADR, RID and AND. Certain\n derogations will be valid for a period of 6 years (rather than 5) from the\n date of authorisation, taking into account the 2 year\n rhythm of amendments to the ADR, RID and AND;
- in\n accordance with the Interinstitutional agreement on better law-making, Member\n States are
encouraged to\n draw up, for themselves and in the interest of the Community, their own\n tables, which will, as far as possible, illustrate the correlation between\n the Directive and the transposition
measures and\n to make them public;
- the\n transposition date is set for 30 June 2009;
- Member States may maintain national restrictions on the\n transport of substances containing dioxins and furans as applicable on 31\n December 1996.
\nThe European\n Parliament adopted by a large majority a resolution drafted by Bogusław LIBERADZKI\n (PES, PL) on the proposal on the inland transport of dangerous goods. It is\n expected that this report at first reading in co-decision may lead to a\n direct agreement with Council. Parliament made some amendments, the principal\n ones being the following:
a) \n the transport of dangerous goods by vehicles,\n wagons and inland waterway vessels not covered by the Directive;
b) \n where justified, the use of prescribed routes,\n including the use of prescribed modes of transport;
c) \n special rules for the transport of dangerous\n goods in passenger trains.
They shall\n inform the Commission of such provisions and their justifications. It shall\n inform the other Member States accordingly;
Prior to the adoption of the\n common position, a number of informal contacts had already taken place\n between the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission with a view\n to reaching agreement at first reading, thereby avoiding the need for a\n second reading.
The rapporteur, Boguslaw LIBERADZKI,\n presented a number of compromise amendments, which were later adopted by the\n plenary. Thus, once the legal linguists had scrutinized the text, the Council\n was in a position to adopt the legislative act. At a certain stage, however,\n the Legal Service of the European Parliament discovered a discrepancy, which\n had occurred during the vote at the plenary. More precisely, Amendment 17,\n consisting of two parts namely, the first part Article 1(5) of the proposal,\n on which agreement was reached during the informal contacts, and the second\n part, which was rejected in order to reach a compromise solution. Through\n error, the whole of Amendment 17 was rejected. As a result, a contradiction\n emerged between the intention of the EP and the formal vote.
Initially, it was hoped that\n the problem could be solved in the form of a Corrigendum to be adopted by the\n EP plenary, which would enable the Council to endorse the EP position without\n amendments. In February 2008, however, Parliament informed the Council that\n it would be unable to follow this procedure. An agreement at first reading\n was, therefore, not possible and the Council had to adopt a common position.
In its common position, the\n Council introduced several modifications, which can be summarised as follows:
Parliamentary amendments:
The text adopted by the\n European Parliament corresponds to the text of the Council, with two\n exceptions. They concern two omissions of the EP text namely:
1. Article 1(5), as explained\n under 2.1
2. Article 8(2) on the\n financing of translations by the Commission. There was no intention to\n exclude this paragraph from the EP text, since the relevant Recital 17\n appears in the text.
To conclude, the Council is of\n the view that the proposed Directive on the inland transport of dangerous\n goods will make a very important contribution to ensuring the safety and\n security of the transport of dangerous goods in the European Union. The\n proposed Directive will simplify and update the existing dangerous goods\n rules and at the same time extend the scope of the current rules by including\n inland waterways. Thus the proposed Directive will provide a user-friendly\n single set of rules for the inland transport of dangerous goods in the\n European Union.
\nThe Committee on Transport and\n Tourism adopted a report by Bogusław LIBERADZKI (PES, PL) and\n unanimously approved the common position for adopting a directive of the\n European Parliament and of the Council on the inland transport of dangerous\n goods.
\nThe European\n Parliament adopted, under the 2nd reading\n of the codecision procedure, a legislative resolution approving the common\n position adopted by the Council with a view to the adoption of a directive of\n the European Parliament and of the Council on the inland transport of\n dangerous goods.
The recommendation for second reading had been tabled for\n consideration in plenary by Bogusław LIBERADZKI\n (PES, PL) on behalf of the Committee on Transport and\n Tourism.
The text was\n approved unamended, given that the Council adopted all of the amendments that\n had already been tabled at first reading. The two modifications introduced by\n the Council in the interim period have also been approved. First of all, a\n new paragraph has been introduced, which allows Member States to regulate or\n prohibit, strictly for reasons other than safety during transport, the\n transport of dangerous goods within their territory. Secondly, the Council\n indicated that the Commission should provide financial support to the Member\n States for the translation of the European Agreements and Regulations in the\n sector.
\nPURPOSE: to ensure the safe and secure transport of\n dangerous goods within the European Union.
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Directive 2008/68/EC of the European\n Parliament and of the Council on the inland transport of dangerous goods.
CONTENT: the Directive updates and simplifies the\n existing rules for the transport of dangerous goods by integrating the rules\n into a single harmonised directive.
Scope:\n the Directive shall apply to the transport of dangerous goods by road, by\n rail or by inland waterway within or between Member States, including the\n activities of loading and unloading, the transfer to or from another mode of\n transport and the stops necessitated by the circumstances of the transport.
The Regulation exempts a Member State that has no railway\n system from the obligation to transpose and implement this Directive in\n relation to rail transport. It also allows Member States that have no inland\n waterways or whose inland waterways are not linked, by inland waterway, to\n the waterways of other Member States to decide not to apply the Directive in\n relation to the transport of dangerous goods by inland waterway.
Member States may lay down specific safety requirements\n for the national and international transport of dangerous goods within their\n territory as regards: (a) the transport of dangerous goods by vehicles,\n wagons or inland waterway vessels not covered by this Directive; (b) where\n justified, the use of prescribed routes including the use of prescribed modes\n of transport; (c) special rules for the transport of dangerous goods in\n passenger trains.
Member States may also regulate or prohibit, strictly\n for reasons other than safety during transport, the transport of\n dangerous goods within their territory.
Restrictions on grounds of transport safety: Member States may on grounds of transport\n safety apply more stringent provisions, with the exception of construction\n requirements, concerning the national transport of dangerous goods by\n vehicles, wagons and inland waterway vessels registered or put into\n circulation within their territory.
If, in the event of an accident or incident within its\n territory, a Member State considers that the safety provisions applicable\n have been found to be insufficient and if there is an urgent need to take\n action, that Member State shall notify the Commission of the measures which\n it proposes to take. The Commission shall decide whether to authorise the\n implementation of the measures in question and the duration of that\n authorisation.
Derogations:\n Member States may authorise the use of languages other than those provided\n for in the Annexes for transport operations performed within their\n territories. Provided that safety is not compromised, Member States may\n request derogations: (a) for the transport within their territories of small\n quantities of certain dangerous goods, with the exception of substances\n having a medium or high level of radioactivity, provided that the conditions\n for such transport are no more stringent than the conditions set out in those\n Annexes; (b) for the transport of dangerous goods within their territory in\n the case of: (i) local transport over short distances; or (ii) local\n transport by rail on particular designated routes, forming part of a defined\n industrial process and being closely controlled.
Adaptations:\n the amendments necessary to adapt the Annexes to scientific and technical\n progress, including the use of technologies for tracking and tracing, in the fields\n covered by this Directive, in particular to take account of amendments to the\n European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods\n by Road (ADR), the Regulations concerning the International Carriage of\n Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID) and the European Agreement concerning the\n International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (AND), shall be\n adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny.
The Commission shall provide financial support, as\n appropriate, to the Member States for the translation of the ADR, RID and ADN\n and their modifications into their official language.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 01/11/2008
TRANSPOSITION: 30/06/2009.
Member States shall be allowed a transitional period of\n up to two years (until 30/06/2011) for the application of the provisions of\n this Directive to the transport of dangerous goods by inland waterway so as\n to allow sufficient time for the adaptation of national provisions, the\n establishment of legal frameworks and the training of personnel.
\nPURPOSE: to\n ensure the uniform application of safety rules and a high level of safety for\n national and international transport operations.
PROPOSED ACT:\n Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council.
BACKGROUND:\n the current system for regulating the transport of dangerous goods is defined\n by regional, national, Community and international (UN) provisions. For\n historic reasons existing EU legislation on the transport of dangerous goods\n is complicated. At present there are four pieces of EU legislation (and these\n do not include the UN Recommendations) which govern the transport of\n dangerous goods. They are:
- \n Council Directive 94/55/EC on the approximation of\n the laws of the Member States with regard to the transport of dangerous goods\n by road;
- \n Council Directive 96/49/EC on the approximation of\n the laws of the Member States with regard to the transport of dangerous goods\n by rail;
- \n Council Directive 96/35/EC on the appointment and\n vocational qualification of safety advisers for the transport of dangerous\n goods by road, rail and inland waterway; and
- \n Directive 2000/18/EC on minimum examination\n requirements for safety advisers for the transport of dangerous goods by road\n rail or inland waterway.
In addition,\n most Member States are members of international agreements, which are based\n on UN Recommendations. They are:
- \n ADR: on the international carriage of dangerous\n goods by road;
- \n RID: concerning the international carriage of\n dangerous goods by rail;
- \n ADN: concerning the international carriage of\n dangerous goods by inland water ways.
To add to this\n complexity, under existing provisions, each time a revision of the\n international agreements takes place (typically at two-year intervals) the\n Directives require the full translations of voluminous technical annexes.\n This can be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. With the\n increasing use multimodal transport, different rules for different transport\n modes will cause even more practical daily problems for multimodal operations\n and increase costs unnecessarily.
In a bid to\n simplify legislation, therefore, the Commission is proposing to repeal\n existing Community legislation into a single, new Directive on the inland\n transport of dangerous goods. Once approved, this Directive will substantially\n simplify Community law in the field of dangerous goods transport. Further,\n all three modes of transport (road, rail and water) will be covered rather\n than just road and rail, as is currently the case. Also, by referring to the\n “international agreements” in Annex to the single Directive the Community\n would reduce its aquis by around 2000 pages.
CONTENT: the\n purpose of this Directive is to ensure the uniform application of harmonised\n safety rules throughout the Community and to offer a high level of safety for\n national and international transport operations. The Directive will apply to:
- \n the transport of dangerous goods by road;
- \n the transport of dangerous goods by rail; and
- \n the transport of dangerous goods by inland waterway.
It will\n include transport both within or between the Member States. It will include\n loading and unloading activities; transfer to or from another mode of\n transport and any stops. It will not apply to any vessels belonging to the\n armed forces; seagoing vessels on maritime waterways forming part of inland\n waterways; or ferries only crossing an inland waterway or harbour. Member\n States may be exempt from provisions referring to inland water ways if they\n have no inland waterways; their inland waterways are not linked by inland\n waterway to the waterways of other Member States or no dangerous goods are\n transported on their inland waterways. In other provisions, the proposed\n Directive would:
- \n set out general provisions for dangerous goods\n transport;
- \n allow transport from and to non-EU countries which\n apply international agreements on dangerous goods transport;
- \n allow Member States to apply additional provisions\n for national transport;
- \n allow Member States to take emergency measures in the\n event of an accident;
- \n allow for derogations, in exceptional circumstances,\n to allow for the unique nature of each Member State. Any such derogations\n would have to be adopted by the Commission is accordance with the comitology\n procedures and would be subject to periodic review;
- \n allow Member States to maintain certain temporary\n national provisions that are listed in the Annex to the Directive; and
- \n any amendments to the Annexes would be adopted in\n accordance with comitology procedures.
As a\n consequence of simplifying the legislation the Commission is expecting: an\n increase in the use of multimodal transport; decreasing costs of transport\n operators; a decrease in the risk of accidents for transport workers,\n citizens and the environment; as well as making the enforcement of the\n provisions both simpler and more equitable.
\nThe Council\n reached a general approach on a proposal for a Directive on the inland transport\n of dangerous goods, pending the adoption of the opinion of the European\n Parliament at first reading.
As compared\n with the Commission’s proposal, the text agreed by the Council:
- \n exempts a Member State which have no railway\n system from the obligation to transpose and implement this Directive insofar\n as rail is concerned;
- \n gives Member States, which have no inland\n waterways or whose inland waterways are not linked to those of other Member\n States, the possibility, not to apply the Directive as far as inland waterway\n transport of dangerous goods is concerned;
- \n provides for a transitory period of up to two\n years for the application of its provisions in respect of inland waterways,\n to allow sufficient time for the adaptation of national provisions\n establishing legal frameworks and the training of personnel;
- \n further enhance the safety of transport of\n dangerous goods for all three inland modes of transport, support the\n protection of the environment and facilitate transport of dangerous goods and\n the internal market for transport operators by harmonising the conditions of\n transport; it further provides a good example for simplification of\n legislation and for better Regulation.
\nThe Committee\n on Transport and Tourism unanimously adopted a report drawn up by Bogusław\n Liberadzki (PES, Poland) on the proposal on\n the inland transport of dangerous goods. It made some amendments, the\n principal ones being the following:
- a new\n recital states that the provisions of the Directive should not apply to the\n transport of dangerous goods under the direct and physical responsibility of\n the armed forces. The transport of dangerous goods carried out by commercial\n contractors working for the armed forces should, however, fall within the\n scope of the Directive unless their contractual duties are exercised under\n the direct and physical responsibility or supervision of the armed forces;
- a Member\n State which has no railway system, and no immediate prospect of having one,\n would be under a disproportionate and pointless obligation if it had to\n transpose and implement the provisions of the Directive in respect of rail.\n Therefore, such a Member State should be exempted, for as long as it has no\n railway system, from the obligation to transpose the Directive in so far as\n rail is concerned;
- without\n prejudice to Community law and the provisions of Chapter 1.9 of Annexes I.1,\n II.1 and III.1, it should be possible for Member States, for reasons of\n transport safety, to establish specific and clearly provisions in areas not\n covered by the Directive;
- derogations\n should be listed in the directive as \"national\n derogations\", rather than \"additional national provisions\";
- the amendments to the ADR, RID and ADN and the corresponding\n adaptations to the Annexes should enter into force simultaneously. A recital\n states that the Commission should provide Member States with financial\n support, as appropriate, for the translation of the ADR, RID and AND and\n their modifications into their official language;
- each Member State may, exceptionally and provided that safety is not compromised, issue individual authorisations to carry out transport operations\n of dangerous goods within its territory which are prohibited by the\n Directive;
- Member\n States will be granted a transitional period of up to two years for the\n application of the provisions of the Directive in respect of inland waterways\n so as to allow sufficient time for the adaptation of national provisions, the\n establishment of legal frameworks and the training of personnel. A general\n transitional period of five years will be granted for all ship and personnel\n certificates issued prior to or during the transitional period for the\n application of the Directive in respect of inland waterways, unless a shorter\n period of validity is indicated in the certificate;
- the report\n ensured the harmonisation of changing time periods\n with a 2 year rhythm of amendments to the ADR, RID and AND. Certain\n derogations will be valid for a period of 6 years (rather than 5) from the\n date of authorisation, taking into account the 2 year\n rhythm of amendments to the ADR, RID and AND;
- in\n accordance with the Interinstitutional agreement on better law-making, Member\n States are
encouraged to\n draw up, for themselves and in the interest of the Community, their own\n tables, which will, as far as possible, illustrate the correlation between\n the Directive and the transposition
measures and\n to make them public;
- the\n transposition date is set for 30 June 2009;
- Member States may maintain national restrictions on the\n transport of substances containing dioxins and furans as applicable on 31\n December 1996.
\nThe European\n Parliament adopted by a large majority a resolution drafted by Bogusław LIBERADZKI\n (PES, PL) on the proposal on the inland transport of dangerous goods. It is\n expected that this report at first reading in co-decision may lead to a\n direct agreement with Council. Parliament made some amendments, the principal\n ones being the following:
a) \n the transport of dangerous goods by vehicles,\n wagons and inland waterway vessels not covered by the Directive;
b) \n where justified, the use of prescribed routes,\n including the use of prescribed modes of transport;
c) \n special rules for the transport of dangerous\n goods in passenger trains.
They shall\n inform the Commission of such provisions and their justifications. It shall\n inform the other Member States accordingly;
Prior to the adoption of the\n common position, a number of informal contacts had already taken place\n between the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission with a view\n to reaching agreement at first reading, thereby avoiding the need for a\n second reading.
The rapporteur, Boguslaw LIBERADZKI,\n presented a number of compromise amendments, which were later adopted by the\n plenary. Thus, once the legal linguists had scrutinized the text, the Council\n was in a position to adopt the legislative act. At a certain stage, however,\n the Legal Service of the European Parliament discovered a discrepancy, which\n had occurred during the vote at the plenary. More precisely, Amendment 17,\n consisting of two parts namely, the first part Article 1(5) of the proposal,\n on which agreement was reached during the informal contacts, and the second\n part, which was rejected in order to reach a compromise solution. Through\n error, the whole of Amendment 17 was rejected. As a result, a contradiction\n emerged between the intention of the EP and the formal vote.
Initially, it was hoped that\n the problem could be solved in the form of a Corrigendum to be adopted by the\n EP plenary, which would enable the Council to endorse the EP position without\n amendments. In February 2008, however, Parliament informed the Council that\n it would be unable to follow this procedure. An agreement at first reading\n was, therefore, not possible and the Council had to adopt a common position.
In its common position, the\n Council introduced several modifications, which can be summarised as follows:
Parliamentary amendments:
The text adopted by the\n European Parliament corresponds to the text of the Council, with two\n exceptions. They concern two omissions of the EP text namely:
1. Article 1(5), as explained\n under 2.1
2. Article 8(2) on the\n financing of translations by the Commission. There was no intention to\n exclude this paragraph from the EP text, since the relevant Recital 17\n appears in the text.
To conclude, the Council is of\n the view that the proposed Directive on the inland transport of dangerous\n goods will make a very important contribution to ensuring the safety and\n security of the transport of dangerous goods in the European Union. The\n proposed Directive will simplify and update the existing dangerous goods\n rules and at the same time extend the scope of the current rules by including\n inland waterways. Thus the proposed Directive will provide a user-friendly\n single set of rules for the inland transport of dangerous goods in the\n European Union.
\nThe Committee on Transport and\n Tourism adopted a report by Bogusław LIBERADZKI (PES, PL) and\n unanimously approved the common position for adopting a directive of the\n European Parliament and of the Council on the inland transport of dangerous\n goods.
\nThe European\n Parliament adopted, under the 2nd reading\n of the codecision procedure, a legislative resolution approving the common\n position adopted by the Council with a view to the adoption of a directive of\n the European Parliament and of the Council on the inland transport of\n dangerous goods.
The recommendation for second reading had been tabled for\n consideration in plenary by Bogusław LIBERADZKI\n (PES, PL) on behalf of the Committee on Transport and\n Tourism.
The text was\n approved unamended, given that the Council adopted all of the amendments that\n had already been tabled at first reading. The two modifications introduced by\n the Council in the interim period have also been approved. First of all, a\n new paragraph has been introduced, which allows Member States to regulate or\n prohibit, strictly for reasons other than safety during transport, the\n transport of dangerous goods within their territory. Secondly, the Council\n indicated that the Commission should provide financial support to the Member\n States for the translation of the European Agreements and Regulations in the\n sector.
\nPURPOSE: to ensure the safe and secure transport of\n dangerous goods within the European Union.
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Directive 2008/68/EC of the European\n Parliament and of the Council on the inland transport of dangerous goods.
CONTENT: the Directive updates and simplifies the\n existing rules for the transport of dangerous goods by integrating the rules\n into a single harmonised directive.
Scope:\n the Directive shall apply to the transport of dangerous goods by road, by\n rail or by inland waterway within or between Member States, including the\n activities of loading and unloading, the transfer to or from another mode of\n transport and the stops necessitated by the circumstances of the transport.
The Regulation exempts a Member State that has no railway\n system from the obligation to transpose and implement this Directive in\n relation to rail transport. It also allows Member States that have no inland\n waterways or whose inland waterways are not linked, by inland waterway, to\n the waterways of other Member States to decide not to apply the Directive in\n relation to the transport of dangerous goods by inland waterway.
Member States may lay down specific safety requirements\n for the national and international transport of dangerous goods within their\n territory as regards: (a) the transport of dangerous goods by vehicles,\n wagons or inland waterway vessels not covered by this Directive; (b) where\n justified, the use of prescribed routes including the use of prescribed modes\n of transport; (c) special rules for the transport of dangerous goods in\n passenger trains.
Member States may also regulate or prohibit, strictly\n for reasons other than safety during transport, the transport of\n dangerous goods within their territory.
Restrictions on grounds of transport safety: Member States may on grounds of transport\n safety apply more stringent provisions, with the exception of construction\n requirements, concerning the national transport of dangerous goods by\n vehicles, wagons and inland waterway vessels registered or put into\n circulation within their territory.
If, in the event of an accident or incident within its\n territory, a Member State considers that the safety provisions applicable\n have been found to be insufficient and if there is an urgent need to take\n action, that Member State shall notify the Commission of the measures which\n it proposes to take. The Commission shall decide whether to authorise the\n implementation of the measures in question and the duration of that\n authorisation.
Derogations:\n Member States may authorise the use of languages other than those provided\n for in the Annexes for transport operations performed within their\n territories. Provided that safety is not compromised, Member States may\n request derogations: (a) for the transport within their territories of small\n quantities of certain dangerous goods, with the exception of substances\n having a medium or high level of radioactivity, provided that the conditions\n for such transport are no more stringent than the conditions set out in those\n Annexes; (b) for the transport of dangerous goods within their territory in\n the case of: (i) local transport over short distances; or (ii) local\n transport by rail on particular designated routes, forming part of a defined\n industrial process and being closely controlled.
Adaptations:\n the amendments necessary to adapt the Annexes to scientific and technical\n progress, including the use of technologies for tracking and tracing, in the fields\n covered by this Directive, in particular to take account of amendments to the\n European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods\n by Road (ADR), the Regulations concerning the International Carriage of\n Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID) and the European Agreement concerning the\n International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (AND), shall be\n adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny.
The Commission shall provide financial support, as\n appropriate, to the Member States for the translation of the ADR, RID and ADN\n and their modifications into their official language.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 01/11/2008
TRANSPOSITION: 30/06/2009.
Member States shall be allowed a transitional period of\n up to two years (until 30/06/2011) for the application of the provisions of\n this Directive to the transport of dangerous goods by inland waterway so as\n to allow sufficient time for the adaptation of national provisions, the\n establishment of legal frameworks and the training of personnel.
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