Legal provisions of COM(1995)199-2 - Systems of chartering and pricing in national and international inland waterway transport in the EC - Main contents
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dossier | COM(1995)199-2 - Systems of chartering and pricing in national and international inland waterway transport in the EC. |
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document | COM(1995)199 ![]() |
date | November 19, 1996 |
Contents
Article 1
(a) 'system of chartering by rotation` shall mean a system which consists of allocating in a charter exchange requests for transport operations, at previously fixed prices and under conditions made known, from customers on the basis of the order in which vessels become available after unloading. Carriers are asked, in the order of their registration on the rota, to choose in turn a load from those on offer. Those who make no choice nonetheless keep their position in the order;
(b) 'carrier` shall mean an owner or an operator of one or more inland waterway vessels;
(c) 'competent authority` shall mean the authority appointed by the Member State to manage and organize the system of chartering by rotation;
(d) 'serious market disturbance` shall mean the emergence, in the inland waterway transport market, of problems specific to that market likely to cause a serious and potentially persistent excess of supply over demand, thereby posing a serious threat to the financial stability and survival of a large number of inland waterway carriers, unless the short and medium-term forecasts for the market in question indicate substantial and lasting improvements.
Article 2
Article 3
- there is compliance with the conditions set out in Articles 4, 5 and 6; and
- the rotation and pricing systems imposed are freely accessible under the same conditions to all Member States' carriers.
Article 4
(a) oil and gas, liquid cargo and dry bulk freight, special cargoes such as heavy and indivisible loads, container transport, transport within port areas, any kind of own-account transport and any type of transport operation already outside the system of chartering by rotation;
(b) loads which cannot be effectively dealt with by such systems, in particular:
- transport requiring goods handling equipment,
- combined transport, namely intermodal transport where the routes are principally by inland waterway and the initial and/or terminal legs (as short as possible) are by road or rail.
Article 5
- by providing shippers with the opportunity of concluding contracts for multiple trips, i.e. a series of successive trips using the same vessel,
- by providing that single or multiple trips offered twice consecutively under the system of chartering by rotation without finding any takers shall be taken out of that system and be freely negotiated.
Article 6
- contracts on a time basis, including leasing contracts, where the carrier makes one or more vessels and crew exclusively available to a customer for a specific period for the transport of goods for that customer against payment of a given sum of money per day. The contract is freely concluded between the parties,
- tonnage contracts where the carrier undertakes to transport, for a period laid down in the contract, a given tonnage against payment of cargo rates by the tonne. The contract is freely concluded between the parties and must involve large consignments,
- contracts for single or multiple trips.
Article 7
2. In the event of a request from a Member State for suitable measures, a decision shall be taken within a period of three months from receipt of the request.
3. The request from a Member State for suitable measures to be taken must be accompanied by all the information needed to assess the economic situation in the sector in question, in particular:
- indication of the average costs and prices for the different types of transport,
- the rate of utilization of the hold,
- forecast demand.
This information may be used only for statistical purposes. It may not be used for tax purposes or communicated to third parties.
4. Decisions taken pursuant to this Article, which may not exceed the duration of the disturbance in the market, shall be notified immediately to the Member States.
Article 8
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, where necessary by vote, within a time limit which the Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter.
The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask to have its position recorded in the minutes.
The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered by the Committee. It shall inform the Committee of the manner in which its opinion has been taken into account.
Article 9
When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference at the time of their official publication. The procedure for such reference shall be adopted by Member States.
2. Member States shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.