EUROPE has obtained a revised draft compromise from the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the revision of directive 2006/1/EC on the use of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods, dated 14 March. This draft advocates more restrictions in the number of these vehicles and the duration periods in which they can be hired on the territory of another member state than the draft by the European Commission.
It should be recalled that the draft revision of the current text is part of the first "mobility" package presented by the European Commission on 31 May last (see EUROPE 11799) and aims to liberalise the regulation on leasing by companies established in the Union of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road. It also seeks to enhance the operational flexibility of companies in the sector.
One of the institution's proposals includes the suggestion of ending restrictions on the use of the vehicles that have a total authorised weight of more than six tonnes for self-employed operations. The Bulgarian Presidency does not appear to be seeking to return to this issue.
The central point in the text, however, relates to the leasing of vehicles in one member state by a transport company established in another member state. For the European Commission, this also means liberalising this market by limiting the leasing restrictions that a member states can impose on its territory. Therefore, given the Commission proposal, if a vehicle hired was registered or attained compliance with the rules of the "the host member state", it is the latter that should be able to authorise the use of the vehicle on its territory without any limitations on the duration of the leasing. If this vehicle complies with the law of a member state but not with that of the host country, the latter would be able to limit the use of the vehicle in question to a minimum of four months in the calendar year.
In a similar case, the Bulgarian Presidency is of the opinion that the host member states can limit the use of this kind of vehicle to a minimum of two consecutive months in the calendar year. Following the suggestion by Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar MEP (EPP, Portugal) in her draft report (see EUROPE 11941), the compromise text includes the possibility of member states limiting the number of vehicles leased to 25% of the total fleet owned by the company or to at least one vehicle, if the company in question only has four vehicles. These two limits follow the arguments put forward by the European Commission, namely, taking into account the different levels of road transport taxation in different member states. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)