Directive 2004/54 - Minimum safety requirements for tunnels in the Trans-European Road Network - Main contents
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official title
Directive 2004/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on minimum safety requirements for tunnels in the Trans-European Road Network| Legal instrument | Directive |
|---|---|
| Number legal act | Directive 2004/54 |
| Original proposal | COM(2002)769  |
| CELEX number i | 32004L0054 |
| Document | 29-04-2004 |
|---|---|
| Publication in Official Journal | 30-04-2004; Special edition in Hungarian: Chapter 07 Volume 008,Special edition in Maltese: Chapter 07 Volume 008,Special edition in Lithuanian: Chapter 07 Volume 008,Special edition in Estonian: Chapter 07 Volume 008,Special edition in Bulgarian: Chapter 07 Volume 014,Special edition in Slovak: Chapter 07 Volume 008,Special edition in Romanian: Chapter 07 Volume 014,Special edition in Latvian: Chapter 07 Volume 008,Special edition in Polish: Chapter 07 Volume 008,Special edition in Croatian: Chapter 07 Volume 010,Special edition in Slovenian: Chapter 07 Volume 008,OJ L 167, 30.4.2004,Special edition in Czech: Chapter 07 Volume 008 |
| Effect | 30-04-2004; Entry into force Date pub. See Art 19 |
| End of validity | 31-12-9999 |
| Transposition | 30-04-2006; At the latest See Art 18.1 |
30.4.2004 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Communities |
L 167/39 |
DIRECTIVE 2004/54/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 29 April 2004
on minimum safety requirements for tunnels in the Trans-European Road Network
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 71(1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),
Having regard to the Opinion of the Committee of the Regions (2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (3),
Whereas:
(1) |
In its White Paper of 12 September 2001 on "European transport policy for 2010: time to decide" the Commission announced that it would propose minimum safety requirements for tunnels belonging to the Trans-European Road Network. |
(2) |
The transport system, notably the Trans-European Road Network defined in Decision No 1692/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 1996 on Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network (4), is of paramount importance in supporting European integration and ensuring a high level of well-being among Europe's citizens. The European Community has the responsibility of guaranteeing a high, uniform and constant level of security, service and comfort on the Trans-European Road Network. |
(3) |
Long tunnels of over 500 m in length are important structures which facilitate communication between large areas of Europe and play a decisive role in the functioning and development of regional economies. |
(4) |
The European Council has on several occasions, and notably at its meeting on 14 and 15 December 2001 in Laeken, underlined the urgency of taking measures to improve tunnel safety. |
(5) |
On 30 November 2001, the Transport Ministers of Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland met in Zurich and adopted a Common Declaration recommending the alignment of national legislations on the most recent harmonised requirements for improving safety in long tunnels. |
(6) |
Since the objective of the proposed action, namely the achievement of a uniform, constant and high level of protection for all European citizens in road tunnels, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the level of harmonisation required, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective. |
(7) |
Recent accidents in tunnels emphasise their importance in human, economic and cultural terms. |
(8) |
Some tunnels in Europe, put into operation a long time ago, were designed at a time when technical possibilities and transport conditions were very different from those of today. There are thus disparate safety levels and this must be rectified. |
(9) |
Safety in tunnels requires a number of measures relating, amongst other things, to the geometry of the tunnel and its design, safety equipment, including road signs, traffic management, training of the emergency services, incident management, the provision of information to users on how best to behave in tunnels, and better communication between the authorities in charge and emergency services such as the police, fire-brigades and rescue teams. |
(10) |
As the work of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has already made clear, the conduct of road users is a decisive... |
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