(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2003) 628)(1),

–   having regard to Articles 251(2) and 71(1) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C5-0601/2003),

–   having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism and the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A5-0216/2004),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend the proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

3.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and the Commission.

(1) Not yet published in OJ

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 71 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(2),

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(3),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(4),

Whereas:

(1)  Council Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 of 20 December 1985 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport(5), Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 of 20 December 1985 on recording equipment in road transport(6), Directive 2002/15/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2002 on the organisation of working time of persons performing mobile road transport activities(7) and Regulation (EC)No 484/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 1 March 2002 amending Council Regulations (EEC) No 881/92 and (EEC) No 3118/93 for the purposes of establishing a driver attestation(8) are important for the creation of a common market for inland transport services.

(2)  In the White Paper "European transport policy for 2010: time to decide"(9), the Commission indicated the need to tighten up checks and sanctions particularly for social legislation on road transport activities, and specifically to increase the number of checks, to encourage the systematic exchange of information between Member States, to co-ordinate inspection activities and to promote the training of inspecting officers.

(3)  It is therefore necessary to ensure proper application of the social rules on road transport through the establishment of minimum requirements for the uniform and effective checking by the Member States of compliance with the relevant provisions. Those checks must serve to reduce and prevent infringements.

(4)  The measures provided for in this Directive, based on Articles 71 and 137(2) of the EC Treaty, should not only lead to greater road safety but should also contribute to a harmonisation and improvement of social standards in the Community and promote a level competitive playing field.

(5)   The replacement of the analogue tachograph by a digital tachograph will progressively enable a greater volume of data to be checked more swiftly and more precisely and, for that reason, Member States will increasingly be in a position to undertake a greater volume of checks. The percentage of days worked by drivers of vehicles coming within the scope of the social legislation should therefore be increased to 3%.

(6)  It should be an objective, where monitoring systems are concerned, for national solutions to be developed to render them interoperable and workable.

(7)   Sufficient standard equipment and legal powers must be available to all competent enforcement authorities to enable them to carry out their duties effectively and efficiently.

(8)  Within each Member State a single coordinating enforcement body acting as a national focal point must be designated, with responsibility for overseeing and implementing a coherent national enforcement strategy and achieving European interoperability of monitoring systems in consultation with other relevant competent authorities, as well as compiling relevant statistics.

(9)  Cooperation between Member State enforcement authorities must be further promoted through concerted checks, joint training initiatives, the establishment of a common interoperable electronic system of information, and the exchange of intelligence and experience.

(10)  Best practice in road transport enforcement operations, particularly to ensure a harmonised approach to the issue of proof of a driver's annual leave or sick leave, should be facilitated and promoted through a forum for Member State enforcement bodies.

(11)  The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(10).

(12)  A common recognition of specific offences in relation to Regulation (EEC) Nos 3820/85 and 3821/85 will promote the harmonisation of enforcement within the Member States.

(13)  Since the objectives of the proposed action, namely to lay down clear common rules on minimum conditions for checking the correct and uniform implementation of Directive 2002/15/EC and of Regulation (EEC) Nos 3820/85 and 3821/85 as well as Regulation (EC) No ... of... [on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport](11), cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the need for coordinated transnational action, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.

(14)  Council Directive 88/599/EEC of 23 November 1988 on standard checking procedures for the implementation of Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport(12) and Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 should therefore be replaced,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Subject-matter

This Directive lays down minimum conditions for implementation of Regulation (EEC) Nos 3820/85 and 3821/85, Directive 2002/15/EC and Regulation (EC) No 484/2002 as well as Directive 2003/59/EC(13).

Article 2

Definition

For the purposes of this Directive, "driver" means any person who drives the vehicle even for a short period, or who is carried in the same vehicle for the purpose of driving it.

Article 3

Checking systems

1.  Member States shall organise a system of appropriate and regular checks of correct and uniform implementation, as referred to in Article 1, both at the roadside and at premises of undertakings of all transport categories.

These checks shall cover each year a large and representative cross-section of mobile workers, drivers, undertakings and vehicles of all transport categories falling within the scope of Regulation (EEC) Nos 3820/85 and 3821/85, and of drivers and mobile workers falling within the scope of Directive 2002/15/EC and Regulation (EC) No 484/2002.

This Directive shall apply to vehicles registered in the Community where the carriage by road is undertaken:

(a) entirely within the Community; or

(b) between the Community and a third country which is not a contracting party to the European Agreement concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles engaged in International Road Transport (AETR) or through such a country.

The AETR shall apply where carriage by road is undertaken by vehicles registered in any Member State or any country which is a contracting party to the AETR, for the whole of the journey where that journey is between the Community and a country which is a contracting party, or through such a country.

In the case of carriage using vehicles registered in a third country which is not a contracting party to the AETR, the provisions of this Directive shall apply to that part of the journey effected within the Community.

2.  In so far as this is not already the case, Member States shall, not later than 1 January 2005, provide authorised inspecting officers with all necessary legal powers to enable them correctly to discharge their inspection obligations as required by this Directive.

3.  Each Member State shall organise checks in such a way that they cover each year at least 3% of days worked by drivers of vehicles falling within the scope of Regulation (EEC) Nos 3820/85 and 3821/85.

This minimum percentage may be increased by the Commission following approval by Parliament, provided that transport operators have a fully functioning digital tachograph at their disposal.

Not less than 15% of the total number of the working days checked shall be checked at the roadside and not less than 50% shall be checked at the premises of undertakings. At least 50% of inspections on the premises of undertakings must be conducted in respect of very small undertakings (not more than three vehicles).

4.  The information submitted to the Commission in accordance with Article 16(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 shall include the number of drivers checked at the roadside, the number of checks at premises of undertakings, the number of working days checked and the number and nature of infringements reported.

Article 4

Statistics

The undertakings responsible for the drivers and the appropriate authorities in the Member States shall keep a record of the data collected for the previous year.

Article 5

Roadside checks

1.  Roadside checks shall be organised in different places and at any time, covering a sufficiently extensive part of the road network to make it difficult to avoid checkpoints.

2.  Member States shall ensure that:

3.  Roadside checks should take place when vehicles drive past the checkpoint or intend to do so. Roadside checks should only be carried out on stationary vehicles which are clearly parked in order to comply with the prescribed driving breaks and rest periods, if there are specific grounds for suspicion or if the risks involved require such action to be taken.

4.  The elements to be verified at roadside checks shall be as laid down in Part A of Annex I. Checks may concentrate on a specific such element if the situation so requires.

5.  Roadside checks shall be carried out without discrimination. In particular, inspecting officers shall not discriminate on any of the following grounds:

6.  The authorised inspecting officer shall be provided with:

7.  If, in a Member State, the findings of a roadside check on the driver of a vehicle registered in another Member State afford grounds for believing that infringements have been committed which make supplementary checks on the premises of the undertaking appear necessary, the competent authorities of the Member States concerned shall assist each other in clarifying the situation.

Article 6

Concerted checks

Member States shall, at least six times per year, undertake concerted operations to check at the roadside drivers and vehicles falling within the scope of Regulation (EEC) Nos 3820/85 and 3821/85.

Such operations shall be undertaken at the same time by the enforcement authorities of two or more Member States, each operating in their own territory.

Article 7

Checks at the premises of undertakings

1.  Checks at premises shall be planned in the light of past experience of different categories of transport and undertakings. They shall also be carried out if serious infringements of Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85, Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85, Directive 2002/15/EC or Regulation (EC) No 484/2002 have been detected at the roadside.

2.  Checks at the premises of undertakings shall comprise, in addition to the elements listed in Part A of Annex I, the elements listed in Part B of that Annex.

3.  The authorised inspecting officer shall be provided with:

4.  The authorised inspecting officer in a Member State shall in the course of his inspection take into account any information provided by the designated coordinating enforcement body of another Member State referred to in Article 8(1) concerning the activities of the undertaking in that other Member State.

5.  For the purposes of paragraphs 1 to 4, checks carried out at the premises of the competent authorities, on the basis of relevant documents or data handed over by undertakings at the request of the said authorities, shall have the same status as checks carried out at the premises of undertakings.

Article 8

Co-ordinating enforcement body

1.  Member States shall designate a co-ordinating enforcement body.

The body shall be represented on the Committee referred to in Article 14(1).

2.  Member States shall notify the Commission of the coordinating enforcement body and the Commission shall advise the other Member States accordingly.

3.  Exchange of data, of experience and of intelligence between Member States shall be actively promoted, primarily but not exclusively through the Committee referred to in Article 14(1) and any such body as the Commission may designate in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

Article 9

Exchange of information

1.  Information made available bilaterally under Article 17(3) of Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 or Article 19(3) of Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 shall be exchanged between the designated coordinating enforcement bodies notified to the Commission in accordance with Article 8(2):

2.  Member States shall establish electronic systems for the exchange of information, using a standard format for ease of comprehension.

To that end, the competent authorities in each Member State may use the standard reporting form set out in Commission Decision 93/172/EEC of 22 February 1993 drawing up the standard form provided for in Article 6 of Council Directive 88/599/EEC concerning road transport(14) or they may designate a common system following consultation with the Commission.

Article 10

Common risk rating system and offences

1.  Member States shall introduce a common risk rating system for undertakings based on the number and severity of any infringements of Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85, Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 or Directive 2002/15/EC that an individual undertaking has committed.

Undertakings with a high-risk rating shall be checked more closely and more often and, if repeated offences are detected, they shall be more heavily penalised. The criteria and detailed rules for implementing such a system shall be determined by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2), taking into account the extent to which any infringements as referred to in paragraph 4 have been committed.

2.  Member States shall include amongst their sanctions the temporary immobilisation of the vehicle, and/or, in the case of passenger transport, they may compel the driver to take a daily rest period, or withdraw, suspend or restrict an undertaking's licence or a driving licence. The use of sanctions shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive and shall be non-discriminatory in relation to the reasons laid down in Article 5(5).

Where a Member State becomes aware of an infringement against Regulations (EEC) No 3820/85 and (EEC) No 3821/85 or against Directive 2002/15/EC, that has been committed on the territory of another Member State, it shall bring it to the attention of that Member State to enable the latter to impose penalties.

3.  Member States shall ensure that a system of proportionate financial sanctions is in force if non-compliance with Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85, Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85, Directive 2002/15/EC, or Regulation (EC) No 484/2002, on the part of an undertaking, or associated consignors, freight forwarders or sub-contractors, leads to profits.

4.  Member States shall recognise, in particular, each of the following infringements of Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85, Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 or Directive 2002/15/EC as constituting a serious offence:

5.  These offences equally apply to self-employed drivers and drivers of goods vehicles with a permissible maximum weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes inclusive of trailer or semi-trailer;

6.  Member States shall notify the Commission by...(15) within one year of the entry into force of this Directive of the sanctions laid down for those infringements. The Commission shall inform the other Member States accordingly.

Article 11

Penalties

Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties for infringement of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. The Member States shall notify those provisions to the Commission by the date specified in Article 17.

Article 12

Report

Within three years of the entry into force of this Directive, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council a report analysing the penalties set out in the legislation of the Member States for defined offences. At the same time, the Commission shall submit a proposal for a directive on the harmonisation of these sanctions.

The report shall indicate the degree of difference between the penalties, and what the effect of harmonisation of minimum and maximum penalties for a defined offence would be on securing compliance with the provisions of this Directive and road safety requirements.

Article 13

Best practice

1.  In accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2), the Commission shall establish guidelines on best practice in enforcement.

Those guidelines shall be published in a biennial report of the Commission.

2.  Member States shall establish joint training programmes on best practice to be held at least once per year and shall facilitate exchanges, at least once per year, of staff of the coordinating enforcement body with their counterparts in other Member States.

3.  If a driver has been on sick leave or on annual leave during the period mentioned in the first indent of the first subparagraph of Article 15(7) of Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85, he shall produce a form, duly attested by his employer, if asked to do so by an authorised inspecting officer.

That form shall be drawn up by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

Article 14

Committee

1.  The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee established by Article 18(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85. The social partners should also be represented on this Committee.

2.  Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.

3.  The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 15

Implementing measures

Article 16

Updating of the Annexes

Amendments to the Annexes which are necessary to adapt them to the developments of best practice shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

Article 17

Transposition

1.  Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 1 January 2006 at the latest. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions and a correlation table between those provisions and this Directive.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

2.  Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 18

Repeal

Directive 88/599/EEC shall be repealed with effect from the date of entry into force of this Directive.

Article 19

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 20

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at , […]

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

ANNEX I

Part A

Roadside checks

8)   if the vehicle is driven by a driver from a third country: possession of a valid driver's attestation in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 484/2002.

Part B

Checks at the premises of undertakings

ANNEX II

Standard equipment to be available to enforcement staff

(1) OJ C [... ], [... ], p. [... ]. (2) OJ C [... ], [... ], p. [... ]. (3) OJ C [... ], [... ], p. [... ]. (4) Position of the European Parliament of 20.4.2004. (5) OJ L 370, 31.12.1985, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 226, 10.9.2003, p. 4). (6) OJ L 370, 31.12.1985, p. 8. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1360/2002 (OJ L 207, 5.8.2002, p. 1). (7) OJ L 80, 23.3.2002, p. 35. (8) OJ L 76, 19.3.2002, p. 1. (9) COM(2001) 370. (10) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. (11) OJ ... (12) OJ L 325, 29.11.1988, p. 55. (13) Directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2003 on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers, amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 and Council Directive 91/439/EEC and repealing Council Directive 76/914/EEC (OJ L 226 , 10.9.2003, p.4). (14) OJ L 72 , 25.3.1993, p. 30. (15) * One year after the entry into force of this Directive. (16) OJ L 42, 23.2.1970, p. 8.