Transport Policy

Treaty establishing the Transport Community

Decision (EU) 2019/392 — conclusion, on behalf of the EU, of the Treaty establishing the Transport Community

The treaty aims to create a transport community between the EU and the six Western Balkan countries in south-east Europe the Republic of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of North Macedonia (previously the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), Kosovo*, Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia.
It covers road, rail, inland waterways and maritime transport and develops a transport network.
The decision gives legal approval to the treaty which the European Commission negotiated with the EU’s south-east European partners.

KEY POINTS

The treaty lists the EU transport legislation (rail, road, maritime, inland waterways and infrastructure) and the environment, public procurement, competition and procedural rules which all parties must implement;

The EU and six south-east European countries:

give access to the infrastructure of the mentioned countries’ railway companies operating international passenger and freight services;
promote efficient, safe and secure inland waterway and maritime transport;
facilitate administrative procedures and formalities when crossing from one jurisdiction to another;
ban any national discrimination;
agree to refer any legal disputes to the Court of Justice of the EU;
contribute to the cost of the Transport Community (the EU pays 80% and its partners 20%);
consult with each other on transport issues handled in international organisations and on regional initiatives.

The six south-east European countries must:

implement the relevant EU social, environmental and public procurement body of common law ‘acquis’;
develop efficient traffic-management systems;
promote efficient, safe and secure road transport in line with EU operating standards and policies;
ensure their state aid and competition legislation is gradually aligned with the EU acquis.

The Transport Community:

strengthens and promotes social dialogue, workers’ fundamental rights, labour laws, health and safety at work, equal opportunities and the involvement of social partners in the transport sector;
supports the trans-European transport network (TEN-T)* and produces a 5-year rolling work plan every 2 years to encourage its development and identify priority projects.

The treaty establishes:

a ministerial council to provide general policy guidelines and review progress;
a regional steering committee to administer the treaty with the power to establish technical committees;
a permanent secretariat based in Belgrade to provide administrative support and act as a transport observatory;
transitional arrangements for each of the six south-east European countries;
a review after 5 years.

BACKGROUND

Strengthening regional cooperation with the Western Balkans is a key element for political stability, security, economic prosperity and social development in the region.
The transport community helps to promote the countries’ competitiveness by improving national systems and infrastructure, increases network efficiency and quality of service and, more generally, develops good neighbourly relations.
The treaty does not cover rules for road transportation of goods. That traffic is regulated in bilateral agreements between the EU and south-east Europe countries.

DOCUMENTS

Treaty establishing the Transport Community (OJ L 278, 27.10.2017, pp. 3-53)

Council Decision (EU) 2019/392 of 4 March 2019 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Treaty establishing the Transport Community (OJ L 71, 13.3.2019, pp. 1-4)

Intermodal transport: combined transport of goods between Member States

The Transport Protocol of the Alpine Convention

The Alpine Convention is a framework agreement for the protection and sustainable development of the Alpine region designed to preserve and protect the Alps (from an environmental, economic and social viewpoint) by applying the principles of prevention, ‘polluter pays’ and cooperation between its members. The text brings together nine protocols, each covering a different sector. This decision concerns the application by the European Union of the Alpine Convention’s Transport Protocol.

Council Decision 2007/799/EC of 12 October 2006 on the signature, on behalf of the Community, of the Protocol on the Implementation of the Alpine Convention in the field of transport (Transport Protocol).

By Council Decision 96/191/EC, the European Union (EU) concluded the Convention on the Protection of the Alps. This aims to preserve the natural ecosystem and promote sustainable development of the Alps, while also protecting the economic and cultural interests of local populations. The Alpine Convention has a permanent committee made up of representatives of the contracting parties.

The signing by the EU of this protocol is also intended as a political message to all concerned, inviting the contracting parties to sign and ratify it.

Objectives

The protocol has the following objectives:

to reduce the actual and potential harmful effects of intra-alpine transport;
to contribute to the development of habitats and economic areas through a harmonised transport policy which is shared by the countries concerned and integrates different modes of transport (road, rail, etc.);
to mitigate the threat to the biodiversity of the Alpine region and its natural and cultural heritage;
to ensure through more efficient and sustainable transport systems that the movement of traffic is economically viable.

The contracting parties to the Convention thus undertake to take into account, in their management of the Alpine region, the risks and harmful effects associated with traffic, such as pollution (noise or chemical), and the security of people and property. In parallel, the signatories must:

increase the profitability of the transport sector;
optimise use of existing infrastructures;
take transport issues into account when evaluating and implementing other policies;
involve regional and local authorities in decision-making.

Specific measures and strategies

Furthermore, the Alpine Convention sets out a number of specific measures and strategies, all designed to promote sound, safe transport management based on the following principles:

sound coordination between different modes and means of transport;
promotion of intermodality;
transfer of traffic to more environmentally-friendly modes of transport;
protection of communication routes from natural hazards;
protection of people and the environment;
gradual reduction of hazardous substance emissions and noise;
introduction and development of user-friendly, environmental public transport;
use of impact studies for planned projects and consultation of those affected.

The convention also defines specific principles for the different modes of transport:

bolstering rail transport through the improvement and better use of infrastructure, and promoting intermodality for goods transport;
taking greater advantage of the scope for river and sea transport;
as to road transport, the signatories must avoid building new large-capacity routes. However, projects may be carried out if the environmental impact is minimised;
the harmful effects of air transport must be brought down to a minimum. Non-motorised aerial leisure activities must also be limited.

Polluter pays principle

The protocol also encourages the contracting parties to apply the polluter pays principle and establish a method that factors environmental costs into calculations of overall outlay on infrastructure.

The signatories must regularly report to the permanent committee on the measures taken under the protocol. The committee draws up a report declaring that the protocol has been complied with.

Background

On 14 May 1991, the Council authorised the Commission to take part in the negotiations to establish the Alpine Convention and its protocols.

The Transport Protocol was opened for signature by the contracting parties at the ministerial meeting of the Convention in Lucerne on 30 and 31 October 2000.

The Council signed the Transport Protocol of the Alpine Convention on 12 December 2006. This decision was accompanied by a joint Council and Commission declaration on the interpretation of the Protocol.

The other contracting parties of the Convention – apart from the European Union – are Germany, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia.

REFERENCES

Council Decision 2007/799/EC

Council Decision of 10 June 2013 relating to the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Protocol on the implementation of the 1991 Alpine Convention in the field of transport (Transport protocol) [( 2013/332/EU ) Official Journal L177 of 28.6.2013].

Following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009, the European Union substitutes and succeeds the European Community and, as of this date, exercises all rights and assumes all responsibilities of the European Community. Consequently, references to the European Community or to the Community in the Protocol text are to be read as the European Union or as the Union.

This Directive aims to reduce road transport by developing

Combined transport bringing together rail, inland waterway and sea transport.

Council Directive 92/106/EEC of 7 December 1992 on the establishment of common rules for certain types of combined transport of goods between Member States [See amending acts].

This Directive applies to intermodal transport operations.

Intermodal or combined transport means the transport of goods between Member States where the vehicle uses the road on the initial or final leg of the journey and, on the other leg, rail or inland waterway or maritime services where this section exceeds 100 km as the crow flies and makes the initial or final road transport leg of the journey:

between the point where the goods are loaded and the nearest suitable rail loading station for the initial leg and between the nearest suitable rail unloading stations and the point where the goods are unloaded for the final leg, or
within a radius not exceeding 150 km as the crow flies from the inland waterway port or seaport of loading or unloading.

The transport document to be provided in the case of combined or intermodal transport must specify the rail loading and unloading stations relating to the rail leg, the inland waterway loading and unloading ports relating to the inland waterway leg or the maritime loading and unloading ports relating to the maritime section of the journey.

All hauliers established in a Member State who meet the conditions of access to the occupation and access to the market for transport of goods between Member States may, in the context of a combined transport operation between Member States, carry out initial and/or final road haulage legs which form an integral part of the combined transport operation and which may or may not include the crossing of a frontier.

The Commission must draw up a report to the Council every two years on the development of combined transport.

Member States take the necessary measures to ensure that the motor vehicle taxes applicable to road vehicles routed in combined transport are reduced or reimbursed.

In this context, an exemption from compulsory tariff regulations for initial or final road haulage legs forming part of combined transport operations is planned.

The Directive also provides for provisions specific to combined transport operations where the dispatching/receiving undertaking carries out the initial/final road haulage leg for its own account. The receiving/dispatching undertaking may then also carry out the transport operation for its own account under certain conditions.

References

Directive 92/106/EEC

Directive 2006/103/EC

Competition in transport by rail, road and inland waterway

Regulation (EC) No 169/2009 — competition rules with regard to transport by rail, road and inland waterway

Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) — rules applying to companies: prevention, restriction or distortion of competition

Article 102 TFEU — rules applying to companies: abuses by companies in a dominant position

The regulation sets out the EU’s competition rules as they apply to transport by road, rail and inland waterways.

Articles 101 and 102 TFEU prohibit anticompetitive agreements and concerted practices between businesses, as well as abuses of dominance*.

KEY POINTS

Regulation (EC) No 169/2009 applies to agreements, decisions and concerted practices which have as their aim or effect:

the fixing of transport rates and conditions;
the limitation or control of the supply of transport;
the sharing of transport markets;
the application of technical improvements or technical cooperation;
the joint financing or acquisition of transport equipment or supplies, where this is
directly related to the supply of transport services and
necessary for the joint operation of services by a group of road or inland waterway transport businesses.

Exception for technical agreements

However, the prohibition provided for in Article 101(1) TFEU does not apply to agreements, decisions or concerted practices which have the aim and effect of applying technical improvements or achieving technical cooperation by:

standardising equipment, transport supplies, vehicles or fixed installations;
exchanging or pooling staff, equipment, vehicles or fixed installations for the purpose of operating transport services;
organising and carrying out successive, complementary, substitute or combined transport operations, and the fixing and applying of inclusive rates and conditions for such operations, including special competitive rates;
using, for journeys by a single mode of transport, the routes which are most rational from the operational point of view;
coordinating transport timetables for connecting routes;
grouping of single consignments;
establishing uniform rules as to the structure of tariffs and their conditions of application, provided those rules do not lay down transport rates and conditions.

Exemption for groups of small and medium-sized businesses

The regulation also allows for the exemption of groups of small and medium-sized businesses, where:

the individual capacity of each firm belonging to a group may not exceed 1,000 tonnes for road transport or 50,000 tonnes for inland waterway transport;
the total carrying capacity of any group must not exceed 10,000 tonnes for road transport and 500,000 tonnes for inland waterway transport.
However, if the implementation of agreements, decisions or concerted practices has effects which are incompatible with Article 101(3) TFEU, businesses may be required to make such effects cease.

It has applied since 25 March 2009. Regulation (EC) No 169/2009 codifies and repeals Regulation (EEC) No 1017/68 with the exception of Article 13(3) of that regulation, which continues to apply to decisions adopted under Article 5 of that regulation before 1 May 2004, until those decisions expire.

KEY TERMS

Abuses of dominance: when a business is in a position of economic strength and it exploits this position with regard to its competitors and/or to consumers. Examples include selling at prices which are so low that smaller competitors cannot match them.

DOCUMENTS

Council Regulation (EC) No 169/2009 of 26 February 2009 applying rules of competition to transport by rail, road and inland waterway (Codified version) (OJ L 61, 5.3.2009, pp. 1-5)

Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union — Part Three — Union policies and internal actions — Title VII — Common rules on competition, taxation and approximation of laws — Chapter 1 — Rules on competition — Section 1 — Rules applying to undertakings — Article 101 (ex Article 81 TEC) (OJ C 202, 7.6.2016, pp. 88-89)