Brussels, 05/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - Dutch Transport Minister Karla Peijs, who is to chair the work of the Transport Council on 7 October in Luxembourg, will seek to reach an agreement on the proposal to amend the "Eurovignette Directive", which will be the subject of public discussion and the key issue on the agenda. The Presidency will also seek to reach general guidelines on two other proposals for a directive: one on the harmonisation of provisions relating to driving licenses and the other on information services for inland navigation services.
The Presidency is apparently determined to reach a political agreement on the "Eurovignette" proposal, which aims to establish a common framework for heavy vehicles' toll systems on Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T). An agreement does not seem impossible after the latest discussions within the working groups and Coreper on the Dutch compromise. The Presidency, however, must reconcile differences remaining on certain points. Such differences concern: (1) Allocation of resources levied by tolls. This is the heart of the problem. The Commission and part of the Member States believe such income should be ploughed back into the transport sector. Half of the Council, however, believes States should be able to freely allocate such resources in the name of subsidiarity. As a compromise, the Presidency suggests taking up the Parliament's position in first reading, which provides for a recommendation that Member States should, but are under no obligation to, allocate resources to the transport sector. (2) Toll variation. The Presidency suggests Member States should be authorised to vary the amount received from tolls depending on three factors (kind of vehicle, environmental impact in terms of emissions, and time of day) while specifying that these variations must be justified by the aims of the directive (for example, to limit impact on the environment) and not to obtain additional revenue; (3) Mark up. On this point, the Dutch Presidency upholds the Irish Presidency's proposal to limit the possibility of mark-up to 15%, limited to mountainous areas, with the level of 25% for the specific case of the Brenner Tunnel. (4) Common method for calculating tolls. In the compromise text, it is no longer a question of proposing a common methodology, as the Commission hoped. Instead of a precise formula, Annex III of the proposal would contain a series of binding principles for calculating tolls (for example, the kind of costs to be taken into account).
Furthermore, pending the first reading at the Parliament, the Presidency will seek to reach general guidelines on the proposal for a directive aimed at harmonising provisions on driving licenses throughout Community territory. The aim of this October 2003 proposal is to facilitate mutual recognition of driving licenses, reduce fraud and improve road safety. Despite the work already carried out on the basis of a Presidency compromise, reservation is still being expressed mainly about the cost of introducing new licenses and on application of the principle of mutual recognition.
The Presidency will also endeavour to agree on a general approach on the proposal of directive for harmonising "River Information Services", information services for inland navigation traffic within the EU, presented in May this year. The aim is to achieve continuous and standardised use of information services across borders to make this form of transport more effective and competitive. Work carried out within the working groups has amended the proposal on two aspects: the use of electronic navigational charts, by satellite, is recommended (but not compulsory) and the Commission should define technical guidelines and specifications to ensure interoperability of the River Information Services taking international standards in the field of inland navigation into account. An agreement seems possible.
The Presidency will present, moreover, a progress report on the proposal of directive on the certification of train crews, which is part of the third railway package. Although Member States support the proposal, several issues remain outstanding and the Presidency will seek to reach an agreement in Council this December.
The Council will take stock of external relations in the field of air transport, a question which will be discussed between ministers confidentially over lunch. Commissioner Loyola de Palacio will present the preparations underway for relaunching negotiations on an air agreement with the United States, placed on the backburner during US presidential elections. A technical meeting is scheduled for 20 October to establish the agenda for the next elections. The Council will also be invited to give the Commission a mandate for opening talks on air agreements with Morocco and the Balkans.
Finally, Ms de Palacio will be presenting the latest developments of the European satellite radio-navigation system, Galileo, and the Commission will call on the Council to authorise it to launch negotiations on Ukraine's participation in Galileo.