The Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union advocates, in a first draft compromise of 13 March on the electronic exchange of information in freight, of which EUROPE has had a copy, minor changes with regard to the European Commission's proposal.
The latter was presented last May and is part of the third ‘mobility’ package (see EUROPE 12022/11). It aims to regulate the electronic exchange of information in freight in order to meet the needs of the sector while almost 99% of cross-border transport operations in the Union are still associated with the use of paper documents.
Last December, EU Transport Ministers validated only a very modest progress report on the subject (see EUROPE 12151/5, 12147/9). Very few discussions had taken place upstream in the Council of the EU's Working Party on ‘Transport - Intermodal Questions and Networks' and no compromise draft had been tabled by the former Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU. This is therefore the first text proposed to national delegations.
This is in line with the spirit of the Commission's proposal, with rather minor changes suggested by Bucharest. However, there are some changes with regard to the elements of definitions.
In addition, temporal indications are recommended for the delegate and implementing acts that the European Commission should take for the implementation of the future Regulation. Thus, the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU proposes that the Commission adopt the first implementing acts envisaged in the proposal no later than 3 years after the entry into force of the text and suggests that the power to adopt delegate acts be conferred for 5 years, tacitly renewable unless opposed by the European Parliament or the Council of the EU.
The annexes are also subject to some modifications in this first draft compromise text.
The national experts of the Council's Working Party on ‘Transport - Intermodal Questions and Networks' will work on this text on Friday 15 March.
On the European Parliament's side, in the absence of a potential conclusion of the inter-institutional negotiations ('trilogues') by the end of the MEPs' mandate, they adopted their position at first reading on this text on Tuesday 12 March (see EUROPE 12212/32, 12182/10). (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)