Brussels, 19/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission asked Spain, on Thursday 19 May, to amend its legislation on granting authorisations to motor vehicles in order to comply with EU rules on the free movement of goods. Following the reasoned opinion sent on Thursday, Spain will have two months to inform the Commission of the measures to be taken to ensure compliance with EU law and so avoid being referred to the EU Court of Justice. The Commission is challenging the requirements laid down by Spanish law on obtaining the “authorisation of supplementary private transport” needed for the import and use of lorries in Spain. Spanish legislation stipulates that this authorisation must be obtained no more than five months after the first registration of heavy goods vehicles. Without this authorisation, heavy goods vehicles can only be utilised for personal purposes, the Commission states. It considers that this requirement is not in line with the principle of mutual recognition stated by Article 34 of the TFEU on the free movement of goods. In particular, the Spanish provision does not take account of the fact that, to be able to be driven in the member state of origin, these vehicles must already comply with European and national technical requirements. The Commission takes the view that Spain has not been able to provide legitimate grounds, such as environmental protection or road safety, to justify this requirement. In any case, the Commission considers that these goals could be pursued with alternative and less restrictive measures. (A.By./transl.rt)