What changed

9.2.2024

P9_TA(2024)0150

PROVISIONAL AGREEMENT RESULTING FROM INTERINSTITUTIONAL NEGOTIATIONS

Minimum requirements on minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods in the occasional passenger transport sector

Subject: Proposal for a regulation of the European Paliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) NO 561/2006 as regards minimum requirements on minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods in the occasional passenger transports sector and as regards Member States to impose penalties for infrigements of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 committed in another Member State

Committee on Transport and Tourism

(COM(2023)0256 – C90178/2023 – 2023/0155(COD))

PE752.842

The interinstitutional negotiations on the aforementioned proposal for a regulation have led to a compromise. In accordance with Rule 74(4) of the Rules of Procedure, the provisional agreement, reproduced below, is submitted as a whole to the Committee on Transport and Tourism for decision by way of a single vote.

European Parliament legislative resolution of 13 March 2024 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 as regards minimum requirements on minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods in the occasional passenger transport sector (COM(2023)0256 – C9-0178/2023 – 2023/0155(COD))

Proposal for a

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

REGULATION– OFhaving THEregard EUROPEANto PARLIAMENTthe ANDCommission OFproposal THEto COUNCILParliament and the Council (COM(2023)0256),

amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 as regards minimum requirements on minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods in the occasional passenger transport sector and as regards Member States’ power to impose penalties for infringements of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 committed in another Member State

– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 91(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C90178/2023),

THE– EUROPEANhaving PARLIAMENTregard ANDto THEArticle COUNCIL294(3) OFof THEthe EUROPEANTreaty UNION,on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioningopinion of the European Union,Economic and inSocial particularCommittee Articleof 91(1)11 thereof,September 2023,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

– after consulting the Committee of the Regions,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

– having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 74(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 9 February 2024 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having– having regard to theRule opinion59 of the European Economicits andRules Socialof Committee,Procedure,

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A9-0370/2023),

Whereas:

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

(1) Good working conditions for drivers and fair business conditions for road transport undertakings are of paramount importance to create an efficient, safe and socially accountable road transport sector, ensure non-discrimination and attract qualified workers. It is therefore essential that Union social rules on road transport are clear, proportionate, fit for purpose, easy to apply, and easy to enforce and implemented in an effective and consistent manner throughout the Union.

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

(2) The rules on maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods laid down by Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament of the Council apply to road transport operators and their drivers, regardless of whether they are involved in the carriage of passengers or goods or of whether, as regards the carriage of passengers, the transport is regular or occasional.

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

(3) However, the specificities of the occasional road passenger transport sector are not shared by the road freight transport or the regular road passenger transport sector. Occasional road passenger transport is characterised by high seasonality and different lengths of time spent driving as well as varying driving distances which depend on the touristic activities undertaken by passengers. It needs to accommodate passenger needs such as unscheduled and impromptu requests for additional stops and changes of the route or the schedule, wherever feasible. Occasional road passenger transport generally involves less driving time when compared to freight transport or regular bus services. In addition drivers usually sleep in hotels, and seldom drive at night. On the other hand, drivers during the working time may be subject to some additional activities, often resulting from interactions with passengers.

P9_TC1-COD(2023)0155

(4) The ex post evaluationPosition of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 concluded that somethe ofEuropean theParliament uniformadopted rulesat relatedfirst toreading minimumon breaks13 andMarch rest2024 periodswith doa notview fitto the specificitiesadoption of occasional road passenger transport services. FurtherRegulation assessments(EU) undertaken2024/… byof the Commission in that respect have shownEuropean thatParliament someand of the requirementsCouncil ofamending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 as regards minimum requirements on minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods are unsuitable and impractical for drivers and operators engaged in the occasional roadpassenger carriagetransport ofsector passengers,and as they have a negative impactregards onMember theStates’ abilitypower to organiseimpose efficientpenalties andfor high-qualityinfringements occasionalof passengerRegulation services,(EU) onNo the165/2014 workingcommitted conditionsin ofanother drivers,Member andState consequentlyor onin roada safety.third country

(5) Therefore, it is appropriate to adapt the requirements on minimum breaks and rest periods to fit the specific requirements of occasional road passenger transport services. It is also appropriate to align applicable rules for national and international occasional-passenger transport services by road.

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1258.)

(6) More flexible rules on the scheduling of the breaks and rest periods of drivers engaged in occasional road passenger transport services should in no way jeopardise the safety of drivers, road safety, increase the level of fatigue of drivers or lead to a deterioration in working conditions. Such flexibility should therefore not alter the current rules on the total minimum breaks, on maximum driving periods per day and per week, on the maximum fortnightly driving time and on maximum working time in accordance with applicable law, including Directive 2002/15/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.

(7) To ensure the uniform definition of occasional passenger services, it is necessary to clarify that the definition set out in Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council covers both national and international services. It is also appropriate to update the reference to Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009, which repealed Council Regulation (EEC) No 684/92.

(8) More flexibility in the scheduling of breaks for drivers engaged in occasional road passenger transport services should not cause in any way more fatigue or stress for drivers. It should be ensured that they take breaks of the minimum duration necessary to enable them to rest properly and sufficiently. Therefore, it is appropriate to set a minimum duration for each break. Drivers engaged in occasional road passenger transport services should be allowed to split their obligatory break into two breaks of at least 15 minutes each while respecting the total required minimum rest time of 45 minutes. More flexibility in the scheduling of those breaks, however, should not prevent drivers from having breaks longer than the required minimum duration or having additional breaks.

(9) To ensure that greater flexibility in the scheduling of rest periods of drivers engaged in occasional road passenger transport services is not abused, it is essential to clearly delimit the scope of such flexibility. Drivers should therefore be able to postpone the start of their daily rest periods for a maximum period of 1 hour, in cases where the driving period for that day has not exceeded 7 hours, and should postpone the start only when carrying out single occasional services of 6 days or longer. Such flexibility should be further limited so that the derogation may be used only once during the period of the journey, or twice in single occasional services of 8 days or longer. The use of the derogation does not change the latest start time of a weekly rest period. With a view to effective and efficient enforcement, until a digital journey form is available, a copy of the journey form in paper or electronic format should be used, in addition to the tachograph records.

(9a) The checks on compliance with the provisions of this Regulation concerning breaks and rest periods by the competent national authorities will be supported, as appropriate, by the European Labour Authority (ELA).

(10) Limiting the possibility to postpone the weekly rest period for up to 12 consecutive 24-hour periods exclusively to occasional international passenger services has a negative impact in terms of equal treatment and undistorted and fair competition between operators, especially small and medium enterprises. Occasional national passenger services might as well provide their services under the same conditions as occasional international passenger services in terms of the distance travelled or the duration or services rendered to passengers. Occasional national passenger services should therefore also benefit from such possibility.

(10a) In order to facilitate enforcement, drivers should carry on board the vehicle, throughout the journey, a ‘journey form’, containing key information about the journey; such a journey form is already in use in the international occasional passenger transport service under Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009. Aligned with control provisions in Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 on the keeping of manual records, the drivers should also carry on board paper or electronic copies of journey forms covering occasional transport performed in the previous 28 days and, from 31 December 2024, in the previous 56 days.

(10aa) In order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of enforcement, control measures and requirements should be established taking full advantage of digital tools. The Commission should assess adequate measures to digitalise the journey form.

(10b) To ensure efficient and high-quality occasional passenger transport services as well as good working and driving conditions for drivers, the Commission should evaluate the enforcement of these rules and their effect on the working conditions of the drivers and the attractiveness of the sector. The Commission should, in particular, monitor the use of the derogations by assessing whether the total accumulated driving time during the period covered by the derogation is not excessive or contributing to driver fatigue and stress and weighing on road safety..

(10bb) Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 requires Member States to lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of that Regulation and Regulation (EU) No 165/2014, and to ensure that they are implemented. In its judgment in case C-906/19, the Court of Justice made clear that Member States are precluded from imposing a penalty after having detected an infringement against Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 which was committed on the territory of another Member State and for which a penalty has not yet been imposed, and recognised in its paragraph 45 that ‘in so far as that aspect of the EU rules in force may have adverse effects on working conditions for drivers and on road safety, it is for the EU legislature to decide on any possible amendments’. Given that infringements on those two Regulations often occur simultaneously and that the purpose of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 is to ensure compliance with Regulation (EC) No 561/2006, it is appropriate that penalties on an undertaking or a driver can be imposed for infringements of both Regulations, when they are detected on the territory of one Member State, but committed on the territory of another Member State.

(11) Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to ensure fair competition and improve working conditions and road safety through the harmonisation of the rules on breaks and rest periods for drivers engaged in occasional road passenger transport services, and to ensure that Member States are able to impose penalties for infringements of tachograph rules detected on their territory irrespective of where those infringements were committed, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can rather, by reason of the nature of the objectives, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.

(11a) The Commission should promote, with the full involvement of social partners and Member States, a common approach on the implementation, application and enforcement of this Regulation, including by developing guidelines and fostering cooperation between all parties concerned.

(11b) In order to allow for proper enforcement of this Regulation, the Commission should include, at the earliest occasion of reviewing Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/799 or any implementing act replacing it, and not later than 18 months after the entry into force of this Regulation, technical specifications for smart tachographs facilitating the verification of compliance by control authorities, in a way that the smart tachograph should also record whether the vehicle is engaged in regular or occasional passenger transport.

(12) Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 is amended as follows:

(1) Article 4 is amended as follows:

(a) point (n) is replaced by the following:

‘(n) ‘regular passenger services’ means national and international services as defined in Article 2, points 2 and 3, of Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council*;

_______

* Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 of the European Parliament and the Council of 21 October 2009 on common rules for access to the international market for coach and bus services and amending Regulation (EC) N° 561/2006 (OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 88).;’

(b) the following point (na) is inserted:

‘(na) ‘occasional passenger services’ means national and international occasional services as defined in Article 2, point 4, of Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009;’

(2) in Article 7, the following paragraph is added:

‘For a driver engaged in an occasional passenger service the break referred to in the first paragraph may also be replaced by two breaks, of at least 15 minutes each, distributed over the driving period referred to in the first paragraph, in such a way as to comply with the first paragraph.’;

(3) Article 8 is amended as follows:

(a) the following paragraph 2a is inserted:

‘2a. Provided that road safety and the working conditions of the driver are not thereby jeopardised, a driver engaged in a single occasional passenger service with a duration of at least 6 consecutive 24 hour periods may derogate from paragraph 2, first subparagraph, by taking the daily rest period once within a maximum of 25 hours after the end of the previous daily rest period or weekly rest period, provided that the total accumulated driving time for that day has not exceeded 7 hours. Complying with the same conditions, this derogation may be used twice in a single occasional passenger service with a duration of at least 8 consecutive 24 hour periods. Those derogations are without prejudice to the maximum working time under the applicable law.’;

(b) in paragraph 6a, the introductory phrase is replaced by the following:

‘By way of derogation from paragraph 6, a driver engaged in a single occasional passenger service may postpone the weekly rest period for up to 12 consecutive 24-hour periods following a previous regular weekly rest period, provided that:’;

(c) in paragraph 6a, point (a) is deleted;

(d) in paragraph 6a, the following subparagraph is added:

‘The Commission shall examine the options for digitalisation of the journey form in the context of broader digitalisation efforts in the road transport sector.’;

(4) In Article 16, the following paragraphs are added:

‘4. For the purpose of road side checks, the driver shall be able to justify the use of the derogations under Article 7, fourth subparagraph, and Article 8(2a) and (6a):

a) until a digital journey form is available, by carrying a completed form (‘journey form’) on board of the vehicle. The transport undertaking shall be responsible for equipping the driver with completed journey forms prior to each journey. The journey form shall contain the required information set out in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009;

b) until a digital journey form is available, by carrying on board paper or electronic copies of such journey forms which cover the previous 28 days, and, from 31 December 2024, the previous 56 days. That obligation shall cease to apply at the latest when the vehicle uses a tachograph allowing the recording of the type of passenger service referred to in paragraph 5.

For national services, the journey form applying to international services may be used, adapted to indicate its use for national service. The Commission may, by way of an implementing act, establish the format of the journey form for national services to simplify control, if appropriate. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 24(2a).

No later than 31 December 2026, the European Commission shall assess the digitalisation of the journey form for drivers engaged in occasional services of carriage of passengers in terms of feasibility, cost-effectiveness and its impact on enforceability and working conditions of the drivers, and if appropriate, present to the Parliament and the Council a proposal regarding this digitalisation. The assessment shall cover the development of a digital journey form with the required information set out in Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 to allow it to be electronically registered prior to the start of the journey in a multilingual interface, to which operators have access. For this purpose, the Commission may also explore the possibility of developing one or more new modules for IMI.

5. To ensure uniform application and enforcement of Article 7, fourth subparagraph, and Article 8(2a) and (6a), the Commission shall include, at the earliest occasion of reviewing Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/799⃰ or any implementing act replacing it, and at the latest 18 months after the entry into force of [OJ: refer to the amending Regulation], appropriate technical specifications allowing to record and store data on the tachograph relating to the type of the passenger service, namely regular or occasional passenger service. The implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 24(2a); the date of application of those implementing acts shall be set after consultation of the relevant stakeholders.’;

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⃰ Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/799 of 18 March 2016 implementing Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the requirements for the construction, testing, installation, operation and repair of tachographs and their components (OJ L 139, 26.5.2016, p. 1).

(5) A new Article 17a is added as follows:

‘Article 17a

By 31 December 2028, the Commission shall draw up a report assessing the consequences of the rules of this Regulation applicable to the occasional passenger sector in respect of road safety as well as social aspects, in particular the working conditions of the drivers. The Commission shall send the report to the European Parliament and the Council. If it deems it appropriate, the Commission shall make relevant legislative proposals.’;

(6) In Article 19, the first subparagraph of paragraph 2 is replaced as follows:

‘2. A Member State shall enable the competent authorities to impose a penalty on an undertaking and/or a driver for an infringement of this Regulation or of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 detected on its territory and for which a penalty has not already been imposed, even where that infringement has been committed on the territory of another Member State or of a third country.’.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at ,