Brussels, 11/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - Pending the first reading of the European Parliament, the Council reached a general orientation, on Friday 8 June, on the proposed directive on the internal transportation of dangerous goods, making slight modifications to the initial proposal of the Commission with regard to the deadline for transposition and conditions for exemption from application of the directive. The Parliament, which is due to take position on this dossier on 27 June (report by Boguslaw Liberadzki (PES, Poland)), has not called for any modifications.
It is worth noting that it was on 22 December last year that the Commission proposed the directive, aiming to simplify the existing rules on the subject (see EUROPE 9333), and to extend its scope of application to internal navigation. No disagreements, therefore, on this dossier, in spite of a slight amendment made by the Council, which inserted an exemption clause for states which do not have their own railway system (Malta and Cyprus). A transition period of up to two years will be agreed for the application of the directive in the field of goods transport by inland waterways. (aby)