Changes from plenary report to adopted text

RemovedDRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

AddedP9_TA(2024)0126

Removedon the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 96/53/EC laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international traffic

AddedRoad vehicles: maximum weights and dimensions

Removed(COM(2023)0445 – C90306/2023 – 2023/0265(COD))

AddedCommittee on Transport and Tourism

AddedPE754.850

AddedEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 12 March 2024 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 96/53/EC laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international traffic (COM(2023)0445 – C9-0306/2023 – 2023/0265(COD))

▸5 unchanged paragraphs

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2023)0445),

– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 91(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C90306/2023),

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Changed– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of […]26 October 2023,

▸6 unchanged paragraphs

– after consulting the Committee of the Regions,

– having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A9-0047/2024),

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

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

Change 1

RemovedRecital 4: (4) To achieve these objectives, the right balance between economic efficiency, environmental sustainability, protection of road infrastructure and road safety aspects should be struck. Furthermore, to ensure legislative coherence and legal certainty, this Directive should be aligned as closely as possible with the CO2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles Regulation and the Combined Transport Directive.

AddedP9_TC1-COD(2023)0265

RemovedRecital 6 a (new): (6a) This Directive is intended to improve the competitiveness of the road transport sector by promoting more cost-efficient and sustainable transport operations as well as encouraging intermodality. Although the new provisions will translate into a reduction in the vehicle-kilometres driven, the acute shortage of drivers in the Union is expected to persist. In order to address this shortage, it is fundamental to urgently improve the working conditions for drivers of heavy duty vehicles. The lack of quality truck parking areas in the Union adds to the deterioration of the working conditions of truck drivers, which is especially a problem during long-distance journeys. / In order to address this situation and enhance the attractiveness of the sector, the increased dimensions required to install zero-emission technologies in vehicles should not be at the expense of sufficient cabin space and should improve the comfort of drivers. Where possible, concepts enabling additional space in the cabins for the installation of sanitary facilities on-board should be explored and incentivised.

AddedPosition of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 12 March 2024 with a view to the adoption of Directive (EU) 2024/… of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 96/53/EC laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international traffic

RemovedRecital 7: (7) To ensure a common understanding and uniform implementation of the provisions of this Directive in national and international traffic, it is necessary to clarify that there are currently specific derogations, often on the basis of bilateral understandings between neighbouring Member States, from certain maximum permitted weights and dimensions limits for certain types of specialized vehicles performing transport operations, that should be preserved as long as they do not affect international competition

AddedTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

RemovedRecital 8: (8) The transport of indivisible loads is an important market segment linked with the strategic areas of renewable energy, civil engineering and infrastructure, oil and gas, heavy industry and power generation sectors. Despite the recognised value of the existing European Best Practice Guidelines for Abnormal Transport, adopted by experts designated by the Member States, very little progress has been made towards the simplification and harmonisation of the rules and procedures to obtain permits for the transport of indivisible loads. Without prejudice to the right of Member States to establish the necessary conditions to ensure the safe transport of indivisible loads in their territories, Member States should cooperate to harmonise, to the extent possible, those requirements to avoid the multiplication of diverging conditions serving the same purpose. Member States should also ensure that national requirements are proportionate and non-discriminatory, refraining from imposing unjustified requirements such as fluency in the national language of the Member State concerned. To reduce administrative burden for operators and to ensure efficient, fair and safe operations, it is crucial to put in place a transparent, harmonised, user-friendly system for obtaining permits, that is available in all EU languages and is easily accessible by electronic communication means. These permits should be issued in an electronic format and be based on the Special European Registration of Trucks a…

AddedHaving regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 91 thereof,

RemovedRecital 9: (9) European Modular Systems (EMS) have been used and trialled at length and have proven to be an interesting solution to improve the economic and energy efficiency of transport operations, while ensuring road safety and protection of infrastructure, thanks to their confinement to adequate parts of the road networks. Given national specificities, different economic interests, transportation needs and diverse transport infrastructure capacities in Member States, they are best placed to assess and authorise the circulation of EMS on their territories. Before authorising EMS, Member States should carry out a prior assessment for new routes of their possible impact on road safety, infrastructure, modal cooperation, modal shift and the environment. At the same time, to enlarge the positive socio-economic and environmental impacts of the use of EMS, it is crucial to remove unnecessary barriers to their use in cross-border operations between neighbouring Member States that allow such vehicle combinations on their territories, without limitation in the number of borders crossed as long as they comply with the maximum authorised weights and dimensions for EMS established by Member States within their respective territories. This is to ensure that EMS used in cross-border operations comply with the common lowest weight and dimension limit for EMS applicable in those Member States. In the interests of safety of operations, transparency and legal clarity, common conditions should be esta…

AddedHaving regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

RemovedRecital 9 a (new): (9a) To maximise road safety and proper working conditions, it is important to ensure that drivers of EMS have adequate training and the qualifications required for handling heavier and longer vehicles and vehicle combinations. Member States should have the possibility to establish minimum requirements or a certification scheme for drivers of EMS. In order to ensure a level playing field that provides for equal treatment, and non-discrimination, of drivers and operators of EMS, Member States should guarantee that these certifications are mutually recognised in the concerned Member States.

AddedAfter transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

RemovedRecital 10 a (new): (10a) The new harmonised rules for EMS in national and international traffic in Member States which allow their circulation should entail the gathering of data on road safety in those Member States, including the share of fatalities and injuries from collisions. Taking into account that vulnerable road users account for nearly one third of the deaths in collisions involving heavy-duty vehicles, Member States should make sure that EMS do not negatively impact road safety, particularly the safety of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists as well as motor-cyclists and persons with disabilities or reduced mobility and orientation.

AddedHaving regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee,

RemovedRecital 11: (11) The transport of indivisible loads carried out by vehicles or vehicle combinations exceeding the maximum weights or dimensions and the use of EMS, given their needs for additional safety features and for suitable infrastructure, require that special attention is given to elements such as transparency of relevant information, legal certainty and harmonisation of the permit processes. It is therefore necessary for Member States to establish a single electronic information and communication system containing all the relevant information regarding the operational and administrative conditions for the transport of indivisible loads and for the use of EMS, in a clear and easily accessible manner. This national system should also enable the operators to obtain the information and submit electronically the application, in an EU standardised format, for special permits for the carriage of indivisible loads in the Member State concerned. In addition, that national system should provide information on the national maximum authorised weights and dimensions of vehicles and vehicle combinations, information on possible restrictions, in particular on height. To ensure that operators and citizens can access all relevant information in one place, a dedicated European web portal connecting the national electronic and communication systems and providing, among others, a clear graphic overview of the roads on which EMS, and, where available, vehicles transporting indivisible loads, are allo…

AddedHaving regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

RemovedRecital 12: (12) The artificial barriers to the cross-border transport of heavier lorries primarily used in long distance transport (such as vehicle combinations with 5 and 6 axles), should be removed in a harmonised way to take advantage in the short term of the operational, energy and environmental efficiency linked to the greater loading capacity granted by the Member States, including for intermodal transport. To effectively drive the transition towards zero-emission mobility and maximise the effects of relevant existing environmental law it is necessary to phase out the use of such heavier lorries running on fossil fuels, as of 2035, to strengthen legal certainty for investments and to further encourage the market penetration of more efficient zero-emission HDVs. After the phasing out, heavier lorries should continue to be allowed in national traffic while, in international traffic, they should comply with the maximum authorised weights set up in Annex I to Directive 96/53/EC, which limits the extra weight allowance to zero-emission vehicles and to vehicles involved in an intermodal transport operation.

AddedActing in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

RemovedRecital 14: (14) Vehicle transporters, of which many have open bodies, have very limited potential to reduce their energy consumption via improved aerodynamics. Diverging national rules on the overhanging of loads on vehicle transporters cause distortions of competition and limit significantly their potential to improve operational efficiency and energy performance in international traffic. Therefore, it is necessary to harmonise rules on the overhanging of loads of vehicle transporters so as to ensure that these objectives are properly met.

AddedWhereas:

RemovedRecital 15: (15) Heavy-duty vehicles with elongated cabs have started making their entrance on the market, paired with zero-emission propulsion systems. Using zero-emission propulsion systems requires, depending on the technology, extra space which should not be counted at the expense of the effective load of the vehicle, so that the zero-emission road transport sector is not penalised in economic terms. It should thus be clarified that the excess in the maximum lengths provided for the elongated cabs can be such that it provides space needed for accommodating zero-emission technology, such as batteries and hydrogen tanks, provided that the safety, efficiency and comfort features of aerodynamic cabs are not jeopardized, and that the vehicle concerned complies with the “turning circle rule”.

Added(1) Council Directive 96/53/EC, sets out the maximum permitted weights and dimensions of heavy-duty vehicles that can circulate on the Union’s roads in order to ensure road safety and the smooth functioning of the internal market as well as foster the energy and operational efficiency of transport operations and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from those operations. The evaluation of Directive 96/53/EC has shown that it has only partially been effective in achieving its road safety, internal market and environmental objectives, and there is a need to adapt its provisions to reflect the technological developments and promote innovation, address the changing transport market challenges and contribute to the Union’s policy priorities of decarbonisation of transport.

RemovedRecital 16 a (new): (16a) The multiplicity of different vehicle markings and signalling in Member States can be confusing for road users and detrimental for road safety in the Union. In order to improve road safety, a standardised EU label for the length of motor vehicles or vehicle combinations used in EMS or which deviate from standard dimensions should be established at Union level. That EU label would help road users to identify and familiarise themselves with such vehicles and would reduce any risks arising from visibility restrictions or blind spots, for example when overtaking such long vehicles or vehicle combinations.

Added(2) The Commission’s Communication on a Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy putting European transport on track for the future makes it clear that in order to contribute to the achievement of the European Green Deal objective of a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from transport by 2050, there is the need to make all transport modes more sustainable, make sustainable alternatives widely available in a multimodal transport system and put in place the right incentives to drive the transition to zero-pollution transportation system in the Union.

RemovedRecital 16 b (new): (16b) Battery electric, fuel-cell and other hydrogen-powered vehicles have a strong potential to decarbonise certain segments of the heavy duty transport sector and their development should be encouraged, while taking into account the fact that no technology goes without an environmental impact. Where electrification is not possible or less efficient and hydrogen fuelled vehicles are not appropriate or cost competitive, the principle of technological neutrality allows for ensuring a level playing field with other technologies that are more mature.

Added(3) By streamlining and clarifying the rules on weights and dimensions of road transport heavy-duty vehicles, it is necessary to address the energy and operational inefficiencies of cross-border transport operations, provide strong incentives to operators for the uptake of zero-emission technologies while facilitating the use of the existing energy-saving solutions, and further support intermodal freight transport operations. To minimise administrative burdens, prevent distortion of competition and reduce risks to road safety and damage of road infrastructure certain requirements as to the use of heavier and longer vehicles should be harmonised and enforcement of the rules in force should be strengthened.

RemovedRecital 17: (17) Effective, efficient, and consistent enforcement of the rules is of utmost importance to ensure undistorted competition between operators and eliminate risks to road safety and to road infrastructure posed by vehicles unlawfully exceeding the applicable weights or dimensions. To better target roadside controls at overloaded vehicles, Member States should ensure as a minimum the deployment of automatic systems in the trans-European road transport network, including certified ones on the TEN-T core network. Additionally, it should also be possible to use accurate and fully interoperable on-board weighting equipment. Such certified automatic systems should be able to recognise vehicles or vehicle combinations which exceed the maximum authorised weights, but have a derogation for it based on a valid special permit or a similar arrangement. The systems should also be able to detect if the requirements of special permits are being met. This is expected to avoid unjustified penalties and save administrative costs for both operators and Member States. Moreover, for reliability and consistency of the enforcement across the Union, the mandatory minimum level of controls to be performed by Member States should be established in proportion to the level of traffic on their territories by the vehicles within scope of this Directive, including an appropriate number of controls during night hours.

Added(4) To achieve these objectives, the right balance between economic efficiency, environmental sustainability, protection of road infrastructure and road safety aspects should be struck. Furthermore, to ensure legislative coherence and legal certainty, this Directive should be aligned as closely as possible with the CO2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles Regulation and the Combined Transport Directive. [Am. 1]

RemovedRecital 18: (18) To further step up enforcement and monitoring of the circulation of heavy-duty vehicles on the Union’s roads, reduce congestion, enhance road safety, reduce risks of damage to infrastructure and promote sustainable transport operations, Member States should be encouraged to establish Intelligent Access Policy schemes that ensure compliance with rules on the maximum authorised weights and dimensions. Member States should apply minimum common requirements to such schemes in order to guarantee harmonisation and interoperability across the Union, in particular as regards accessibility and format of relevant data to be exchanged. The relevant data should be accessible in real-time and in the official languages of the Union. The schemes should help to ensure that the right vehicle with the right cargo, operates on the right road, and at the right time to secure minimum impact on environment, infrastructure, human health and safety, and society. The establishment of such schemes should make use of advanced intelligent transport systems, such as vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, vehicle-to-network communication, real-time data sharing and remote monitoring, in order to ensure safe and smooth traffic of heavy-duty vehicles and they should not lead to disproportionate or discriminatory traffic restrictions.

Added(5) The types of heavy-duty vehicles, as well as the weight values of those vehicles, have been defined with reference to the Union’s legislation on the type-approval and market surveillance of vehicles and their trailers, and systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, in particular Regulation (EU) 2018/858and (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council. It is therefore desirable to update the references to those relevant legal acts, in order to provide for clarity of the applicable legislative framework.

RemovedRecital 18 a (new): (18a) The enforcement of Directive 96/53/EC is an essential part of the well-established monitoring and enforcement systems at Union and national level which contribute to the implementation of the Union’s social, market and technical rules applicable to road transport. When non-compliance with the prescribed weights and dimensions requirements is detected, enforcement actions are to be taken by the competent national authorities. Member States should ensure that the penalties are non-discriminatory both as regards the types of penalty chosen and their levels, and that they are effective, dissuasive and proportionate to the seriousness of the infringement committed. Those infringements should be recorded in the national register of road transport undertakings, exchanged via the European Register of Road Transport Undertakings (ERRU) and reflected in the risk rating score of the undertakings in line with Regulation 1071/2009. It is expected that cross-border implementation of sanctions within the scope of Directive 96/53/EC will be facilitated through an amended Directive 2015/413 on Cross-Border Enforcement.

Added(6) The provisions of Directive 96/53/EU complement Council Directive 92/106/EEC as regards promoting and supporting the growth of intermodal transport. The definition of intermodal transport operation should therefore be aligned with the terminology applied in Directive 92/106/EEC, in order to allow lorries, trailers and semi-trailers used in intermodal operations to benefit from the same extra weight allowances as in cases of road vehicles carrying containers or swap bodies and used in containerised intermodal transport. Such weight incentive should encourage road transport operators to engage also in non-containerised intermodal transport.

RemovedRecital 18 b (new): (18b) In order to make progress in the green and digital transitions and to comply with the objectives set in the European Green Deal and the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, particularly as regards the GHG emission reductions from the transport sector, Member States should be encouraged to use the revenues generated from the penalties applicable to the infringements of this Directive, or the equivalent in financial value of those revenues, to support the uptake of sustainable transport means and hence mitigate the external costs generated by transport operations, encourage intermodality, and increase the sustainability of cross-border transport operations.

Added(6a) This Directive is intended to improve the competitiveness of the road transport sector by promoting more cost-efficient and sustainable transport operations as well as encouraging intermodality. Although the new provisions will translate into a reduction in the vehicle-kilometres driven, the acute shortage of drivers in the Union is expected to persist. In order to address this shortage, it is fundamental to urgently improve the working conditions for drivers of heavy duty vehicles. The lack of quality truck parking areas in the Union adds to the deterioration of the working conditions of truck drivers, which is especially a problem during long-distance journeys. In order to address this situation and enhance the attractiveness of the sector, the increased dimensions required to install zero-emission technologies in vehicles should not be at the expense of sufficient cabin space and should improve the comfort of drivers. Where possible, concepts enabling additional space in the cabins for the installation of sanitary facilities on-board should be explored and incentivised. [Am. 2]

RemovedRecital 19: (19) To promote the growth of multimodal transportation system, containerised transport, including those using 45-foot or 48-foot containers, 45-foot swap bodies or high-cube containers, should be further facilitated by allowing extra height and length to road vehicles to transport these containers.

Added(7) To ensure a common understanding and uniform implementation of the provisions of this Directive in national and international traffic, it is necessary to clarify that the nationalthere are currently specific derogations, often on the basis of bilateral understandings between neighbouring Member States, from certain maximum permitted weights and dimensions limits for certain types of vehicles circulating in national traffic do not automatically apply tospecialized vehicles used in cross-borderperforming transport operations., that should be preserved as long as they do not affect international competition. [Am. 3]

RemovedRecital 19 a (new): (19a) The Commission should review the current type approval legislation in order to strengthen the technical and operational compatibility of new heavy duty vehicles and vehicle combinations, inter alia concerning their weight, shape, size, craneability, and retractability and foldability of protruding devices, with the requirements of combined transport operations, as well as to facilitate the use and uptake of zero-emission trailers and semi-trailers;

Added(8) The transport of indivisible loads is an important market segment linked with the strategic areas of renewable energy, civil engineering and infrastructure, oil and gas, heavy industry and power generation sectors. Despite the recognised value of the existing European Best Practice Guidelines for Abnormal Transport, adopted by experts designated by the Member States, very little progress has been made towards the simplification and harmonisation of the rules and procedures to obtain permits for the transport of indivisible loads. Without prejudice to the right of Member States to establish the necessary conditions to ensure the safe transport of indivisible loads in their territories, Member States should cooperate to harmonise, to the extent possible, those requirements to avoid the multiplication of diverging conditions serving the same purpose. Member States should also ensure that national requirements are proportionate and non-discriminatory, refraining from imposing unjustified requirements such as fluency in the national language of the Member State concerned. To reduce administrative burden for operators and to ensure efficient, fair and safe operations, it is crucial to put in place a transparent, harmonised, user-friendly system for obtaining permits, that is available in all EU languages and is easily accessible by electronic communication means. These permits should be issued in an electronic format and be based on the Special European Registration of Trucks and Trailers (SERT) document, which aims to harmonise technical vehicle information such as the registration of trailers or modular trailers. Transport operators should be allowed to carry out transport operations of indivisible loads using this electronic document. [Am. 4]

RemovedRecital 21: (21) To enable a swift response of the road transport sector to any crisis, such as natural disasters, pandemics, military conflicts or infrastructure failures, there is a need to introduce an emergency clause to Directive 96/53/EC, which enables temporarily the circulation of heavy-duty vehicles exceeding the maximum permitted weights and/or dimensions, in order to ensure a continued supply of necessary goods and services. Such exceptional clause should be applied only where the public interest requires it, provided that road safety is not thereby jeopardised and its possible renewal should be conditional upon the persistence of the crisis.

Added(9) European Modular Systems (EMS) have been used and trialled at length and have proven to be an interesting solution to improve the economic and energy efficiency of transport operations, while ensuring road safety and protection of infrastructure, thanks to their confinement to adequate parts of the road networks. Given national specificities, different economic interests, transportation needs and diverse transport infrastructure capacities in Member States, they are best placed to assess and authorise the circulation of EMS on their territories. Before authorising EMS, Member States should carry out a prior assessment for new routes of their possible impact on road safety, infrastructure, modal cooperation, modal shift and the environment. At the same time, to enlarge the positive socio-economic and environmental impacts of the use of EMS, it is crucial to remove unnecessary barriers to their use in cross-border operations between neighbouring Member States that allow such vehicle combinations on their territories, without limitation in the number of borders crossed as long as they comply with the maximum authorised weights and dimensions for EMS established by Member States within their respective territories. This is to ensure that EMS used in cross-border operations comply with the common lowest weight and dimension limit for EMS applicable in those Member States. In the interests of safety of operations, transparency and legal clarity, common conditions should be established for the circulation of EMS in national and international traffic, including providing. Those conditions should inter alia ensure that EMS circulate on roads where the safety of vulnerable road users is guaranteed. Member States should provide clear information on the weights and dimensions limits for EMS and on parts of the road network compatible with specifications of such vehicles, and. Member States should establish a monitoring system to evaluate the impacts of the use of EMS on road safety, on the road infrastructure, on modal cooperation, as well as the environmental impacts of European Modular Systems on the transport system, including the impacts on modal share. The clear definition of EMS in this Directive guarantees that EMS are composed of standard vehicle units to ensure compatibility with other transport modes, notably rail. To effectively drive the transition towards zero-emission mobility, EMS engaged in international traffic should, as soon as technically and operationally feasible, be composed of zero-emissions vehicles or vehicle combinations. [Am. 5]