A3-0100/94

Resolution on the recommendation for a Council decision on the opening of negotiations between the European Community and certain third countries concerning the carriage of goods and passengers by road

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the Commission recommendation for a Council decision on the opening of negotiations between the Community and certain third countries concerning the carriage of goods and passengers by road,

-having regard to its resolution of 21 January 1994 on the recommendation for a Council decision on the opening of negotiations between the Community and certain third countries concerning the carriage of goods and passengers by road,

-having regard to Rule 90(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A3-0100/94),

A.whereas transport is a service and is therefore covered by European policy towards third countries,

B.whereas cabotage should not only be a matter of Community policy, but should be applied elsewhere, too, for more efficient and hence environmentally compatible road transport,

C.whereas, pursuant to the powers assigned to it, the Commission of the European Community conducts, on behalf of the Community, negotiations with third countries in respect of transport and international trade,

D.having regard to the importance attached by Parliament to efficient domestic and external transport, to the development of the economy of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and to transit transport through third countries from and to its Member States Greece and Italy,

E.having regard to the increase in cross-border transport movements thanks to the creation of the free internal market and the European Economic Area,

1.Approves the granting by the Council of a negotiating mandate to the Commission in respect of the provision of services in the transport sector including cabotage of transport by road with third counties;

2.Is of the opinion, however, that this mandate should involve close cooperation between the Institutions of the Community;

3.Welcomes therefore the fact that Parliament has been consulted on this proposal, even though such consultation is not obligatory;

4.Does not insist on full equality of access to the market for carriers from the Member States and those from the third countries with which negotiations have been opened, given the economically disadvantaged nature of these countries of Central and Eastern Europe;

5.Believes, however, that the negotiations should seek protection from dumping on the European transport market;

6.Believes that strict compliance with the rules on drivers' hours of work and rest and maximum dimensions of vehicles are an essential condition;

7.Believes it is fundamentally important that the negotiating mandate should extend to the carriage of passengers including, at least, reciprocal exemptions for unscheduled uninterrupted journeys and also, if possible, the unrestricted right of new passengers to join any trip with stops in more than one Member State of the Union and third countries;

8.Calls also on the Commission to insist at the same time, pursuant to the mandate previously requested for negotiations with the transit countries of Switzerland and Austria, on equal conditions for the transit of carriers from the Member States and the countries with which negotiations are opened pursuant to the present proposal;

9.Believes furthermore that, subject to agreements made in the past on protection of the environment of the Alps, Community transport policy should be implemented in full by the transit countries Austria and Switzerland;

10.Calls also on the Commission to take account of the fact that the environment in the third countries with which the negotiations are currently being opened also needs to be protected, and that therefore emissions of harmful substances by vehicles from the countries in question should be modified at the same time as emissions from vehicles from the Member States are modified;

Specific remarks on the negotiating principles

11.Notes that the Commission refers in Section 1 not only to countries in Europe but also to a number of countries in the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa. It would be better for the Commission to make a clear distinction in this section between the desire to enter into negotiations now with countries which are, or which wish to become in the foreseeable future, members of the ECNT and other countries with which Member States may well have road transport agreements, but with which the Commission currently has no plans to enter into negotiations on behalf of the Community as a whole;

12.Notes that, as the Commission says in Section 4, the negotiations with the EFTA countries, with the exception of Switzerland, will be conducted 'in the framework foreseen by the EEA';

13.Notes that in the second paragraph of Section 5 the Commission explicitly refers to Case 13/83; mention should also be made here of the important role played by Parliament in establishing Community policy and Parliament should therefore be closely involved in formulating external policy;

14.Notes, with regard to Section 6, that the Commission is aware that the rules on the carriage of passengers by road do not satisfy the desire for further liberalization and simplification as spelt out by Parliament. This section should mention the desire expressed by many of the parties concerned for a further review of Community rules on the carriage of passengers. Much more liberal rules are therefore required with third countries in this respect than for the carriage of goods;

15.Notes that in the sixth paragraph of Section 6 the Commission uses the expression 'do not apply'; believes that, at the very least, the words 'in the opinion of the Commission and Parliament' should be added to this;

16.Considers that in Section 10 the words 'politically and economically' should read 'politically, economically and environmentally';

17.Considers that in Section 13(f) the words 'and the technical rules on safety and environmental rules' should be added after the words 'dimensions';

18.Believes that the following should be added to Section 15: 'these negotiations should also be aimed at reducing to a minimum unacceptably long delays at the frontiers of the countries in question';

19.Considers that, in Section 16, after 'Member States' the words 'and the European Parliament' should be inserted;

20.Believes that a third indent should be added to Section 17 as follows:

'-the Commission shall also involve in these negotiations the transit countries which are members of EFTA, in order to establish where possible equal conditions with those countries and with third countries;'

21.Considers that an additional indent should be added to Section 3 of the Annex as follows:

'-provide for simplification of frontier formalities, in order to reduce delays at frontiers;'

22.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee, the governments of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine and the governments of Austria and Switzerland.