|
POSITION PAPER OF THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA
Chapter 9: "TRANSPORT POLICY" Setting the time frame for the process of adoption and implementation of the European Union's acquis communautaire, the Latvian Government adopted 1 January 2003 as the data on which Latvia will be prepared for accession to the European Union. Latvia accepts in full the acquis communautaire in the area of "Transport Policy" including the acquis communautaire adopted by the EU during 1999, and will implement it before 1 January 2003 except for: Directive 98/76 on admission to the occupation of road haulage operator and road passenger transport operator and mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications intended to facilitate for these operators the right to freedom of establishment in national and international transport operations, where Latvia requests the transitional period as regards Article3 (3) for performing international carriage - until 1 January 2005 and for involvement in domestic services - 1 January 2008; Council Regulation 3821/85 on recording equipment in road transport where Latvia requests transitional period for vehicles involved in domestic services until 1 January 2005.
Where it is possible, Latvia is ready to adopt and fully implement Community legislation before 1 January 2003. Certain provisions of acquis communautaire applicable exclusively to the Member states will be fully implemented as from the date of accession. General characteristics of transport sectors Road transport Assuming that liberalisation of road transport operations is going to be introduced as from the accession of the Republic of Latvia to EU, generally road transport acquis provisions are going to be enforced by the year 2003 with the exception of issues requiring the transitional period (gradual increase of financial standing level for involvement in international and domestic road transport operations; usage of tachographs when performing domestic services). Generally, national legal acts being presently in force comply with the respective EU requirements. By the year 2003, the development of the national legislation will mainly involve the following topics: control of road transport sector; social legislation related to domestic road transport services, installation and usage of speed limitation devices; carriage of dangerous goods. Fiscal harmonisation The provisions of Directive 99/62 on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructure and Council Regulation 1108/70 on introducing an accounting system for expenditure on infrastructure are going to be introduced by the year 2002. In general, Latvia is ready to comply with the fiscal provisions of acquis in the road transport sector. Market access At present, the provisions of Council Regulation 881/92 are enforced by means of licensing of international and national road haulage operations. The market access is ensured by the "vehicle card". The national legislation provisions do not contradict the provisions of the First Council Directive on the establishment of certain common rules for international transport. Latvia does not intend to take any special implementing measures with regard to the Council Regulation 3916/90 on measures to be taken in the event of crisis, but the collection of necessary data enabling to monitor the market has been already organised. It is going to ensure reliable and true transport statistics upon accession. Concerning the Council Regulation 4058/89 on the fixing of rates for the carriage of goods by road, according to the Law on Road Carriage, rates are set by free agreement between a haulier and a client. The basic principles of Directive 84/647 on the use of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road have been transposed and full compliance is going to be ensured upon accession. The basic principles of Council Regulation 684/92, Council Regulation 11/98 and Commission Regulation 2121/98 have been introduced by the Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers of 4 July 4 2000 No. 219 "Procedure for organising and performing international carriage of passengers by bus, for opening, changing and closing of regular routes and for issuing authorisations provided for under international agreements" and full compliance is going to be ensured upon accession. Liberalisation of cabotage services Latvia does not anticipate any major problems of liberalisation of cabotage in goods transport (Council Regulation 3118/93) and in passenger transport (Council Regulation 12/98) upon accession. At present non-resident carriers have no access to cabotage services market and permits are granted on case by case basis within the framework of respective bilateral road transport agreements. Harmonisation of social legislation Latvia has already partially implemented Council Regulation 3820/85 on the harmonisation of driving times and rest periods. Since 8 December 1993, Latvia is a Contracting Party to the AETR Agreement and its provisions are fully applied to international road transport operations. It is anticipated that this Regulation will be fully transposed by 31 December 2001. Directive 88/599 on standard checking procedures has already been transposed into the national legislation. In order to increase the administrative capacity in this area at the first part of the year 2001 the restructuring of the control authority is planned ensuring the level of control provided for by the Directive. Directive 96/26 on admission to the occupation of road haulage and passenger carriage operator has already been implemented by the Regulation of the Ministry of Transport No.52 "On Licensing of Entrepreneurial Activity in the Field of Commercial Carriage by Road" in January 1999. With regard to Directive 98/76 that requires considerably higher financial standing minimum in comparison with the requirements of the amended Directive 96/26, gradual increase of minimal financial standing level should be applied for performing international carriage - until 1 January 2005 and for involvement in domestic services - 1 January 2008; Checking of transport authorisations In conformity with Council Regulation 4060/89 checks of transport authorisations are performed at the frontiers and inside the country's territory. Necessary controlling equipment is concentrated at future EU outer border posts. Full implementation is foreseen upon accession. Technical harmonisation The Latvian legislation complies with Directive 96/53 on maximum dimensions and weights, however Latvia intends to use the derogation foreseen in Art.4 of this Directive in case of national transport operations of vehicles and their combinations used in logging and forestry sector. Latvia also does not foresee any problem concerning implementation of Council Regulation 2411/98 on the recognition of a distinguishing sign of motor vehicles registered in Member States. The provisions of Directive 92/6 on the installation and use of speed limitation devices for certain categories of vehicles are going to be introduced by the end of 2001. Directive 91/671 on use of safety belts has been introduced in the national legislation in April 1999. Basic requirements of Directive 91/493 on driving licences have been already implemented. Prior the accession Latvia is planning to introduce the driving licence model referred to in the Annex of the Directive (without the Union symbol). The legislation is going to be adjusted in order to eliminate inconsistency between the validity of driving licences and periodicity of medical examinations. With reference to the requirements of the Council Regulation 3821/85 on recording equipment in road transport concerning the installation and usage of tachographs when performing passenger and goods transport operations, Latvia requests a transitional period for vehicles involved in domestic services until 1 January 2005. Council Regulation 3821/85 will be implemented as follows: from 1 January 2001 all vehicles undergoing the first registration in Latvia should be equipped with tachographs; from 1 January 2005 access to domestic road transport operations is granted only to vehicles equipped with tachographs. Directive 96/96 on roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers was fully implemented already in 1997. The Republic of Latvia has all preconditions for implementing Council Decision 93/704 concerning a Community database on road accidents. Directive 89/459 on the tread depth of tyres of motor vehicles and trailers has been fully implemented in the Republic of Latvia. Transport of dangerous goods Council Directive 94/55 has already been transposed into the national legislation by the Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers of 7 December 1999 No. 401 "On Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road". This Regulation introduces ADR provisions in domestic carriage as well as regulates issues on appointment of safety advisers in accordance with Directive 96/35. Provisions of Directive 95/50/EC on uniform procedures for checks on the transport of dangerous goods have been introduced partially. Full implementation is anticipated by 31 December 2002. The competent institution is the Ministry of Transport (Road Transport Department). Combined transport The Cabinet of Ministers has defined the implementation period in the national legislation of Directive 92/106 on establishment of common rules for certain types of combined transport of goods between Member States âÀ“ by the end of 2002 and accepted implementation plan of the Directive. Conception of the introduction of acquis requirements on combined transport (Directive 92/106) is being worked out currently. Railway transport The national legislation of Latvia adopted on railway branch is conformable with requirements of acquis (91/440; 95/18; 95/19 etc.). The Law on Railways and its subordinated Regulations of Cabinet of Ministers and Regulations of Ministry of Transport form a legal base for liberalisation of railway transport system. The Railway Administration and the Railway Technical Inspectorate were established and became operational independently since 1 July 1999, supervised by the Ministry of Transport. State joint-stock company "Latvian Railway" has finished the first stage of restructuring as a result the unitary, centralised railway transport company has modified in the vertical integrated company with its units to operate in own market segment. To implement Directives 96/49/EC and 96/35/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning the carriage of dangerous goods by railway, the draft law on Railway Carriages is submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers. This law will regulate the relations between carriers and their customers in railway transport. The Railway Standardisation Commission was established in 1999 and started to work out the national standards in the area of railway transport. Inland waterway transport Regarding the adoption of EU acquis, two aspects have to be taken into consideration: first - possibility to implement EU legislation in Latvia and second - possibility to realise rights for EU nationals and legal entities, provided in EU legislation. Acknowledging that regulations of the inland waterway legislation can not be implemented for geographic reasons (Latvia has no common inland waterways with the EU Member States), Latvia can guarantee the principle that it will not accomplish any activities that could discriminate in any way the rights of EU nationals and legal entities provided. By continuing consultations with EU experts in this field, the correspondent national legal act will be drafted and it would have to take effect upon Latvia's accession to the EU. The competent institution is the Ministry of Transport (Maritime Department). Horizontal issues for all land transport modes The basic concepts of the acquis have been transposed into the national legal acts concerning the respective modes of transport. Latvia is ready to implement acquis requirements under Council Regulations 1191/69 and 1107/70. The preparation of the Law on Passenger Carriage is in progress and after its enforcement, it is anticipated to set up the State Route Network Agency. Horizontal issues Issues included in chapter on horizontal issues will have been harmonised in accordance with EU requirements by 2003. Trans European transport network (TEN) Latvian government has set the target to develop competitive and integrated transport system. The National Transport Development Programme (2000 âÀ“ 2006) was accepted on 9 June 1999. Chosen planning cycle was agreed with EU budget planning terms with the aim to successfully integrate usage of resources of Pre-accession structural funds (ISPA) for development of transport infrastructure. European Commission approved Latvian ISPA National Transport Strategy on 16 February 2000. The Programme comprises implementation measures of necessary activities, their detailed description and specifications for 6 years period. Programme implementation will ensure development of transport infrastructure with the aim to achieve certain quality criteria, improve the system of transport services, improve and maintain high level of traffic safety. Latvia as EU candidate country is ready to implement EU transport policy in accordance with requirements set in TEN documents in order to promote faster integration of the Latvian transport system into the European transport system. The Trans-European Transport Network as described by Decision 1292/96 should be extended to Latvia upon accession. The road, rail, ports and interconnection points in Latvia should be set out and included in Annex I of this Decision. Identification of projects of common interests involving Latvia, similar to those listed in Annex III of the Decision is also necessary. Requirements set in Directive 96/48 on Trans-European high-speed train system are being assessed in order to transpose them in the national legislation by the end of 2002. Foreign relations issues in the transport sector Conditions that are binding for Latvia as contracting party to bilateral and multilateral transport agreements are not in conflict with conditions of agreements that the EU has concluded with third countries. Latvia having become EU Member State does not foresee the problem of adapting conditions of transport contracts between the EU and third countries (Switzerland, Slovenia, and others). Aviation Relations between Latvia and EU regarding air transport are reflected in the Agreed Minutes on Protocol IX (signed on 21 September 1999) to the Common European Aviation Area Agreement. It stipulates that the transitional period regarding full market access shall extend from the entry into force of the Agreement in Latvia until a satisfactory assessment has been carried out by JAA (Joint Aviation Authorities). Latvia has informed JAA about readiness to pass such assessment procedure as soon as possible. The independent body for accidents and incidents investigation in accordance with the provisions of Council Directive 94/56 establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of civil aviation accidents and incidents has been established in the Ministry of Transport. This body is subordinated directly to the State secretary. The competent institutions are the Ministry of Transport (Aviation department) and Civil Aviation Administration. Maritime transport Liberalisation and external relations in maritime transport National legislation of Latvia and practice does not contradict with the requirements of EU acquis. The principles included there are observed in Latvia. Since the cabotage is not expostulated currently in the legislation of Latvia, it is necessary to define concept of cabotage up to 2003 in order to guarantee rights provided in Regulations 3577/92. The Government of Latvia prepares amendments to the existing legislation concerning the state aid to the maritime transport, taking into consideration articles 92 - 94 of the European Treaty and requirements of Community guidelines regarding state aid to maritime transport. Shipping safety In the process of adoption of acquis, the issues that regulate shipping safety are a priority for the Government of Latvia. Latvian legal acts, its introduction practice and execution control will completely correspond to the EU and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) requirements regarding shipping safety, as well as employment of seamen and protection of maritime environment. Currently, a plan of actions until 2003 to ensure complete execution of this task is being drafted. The competent institution is the Ministry of Transport (Maritime Department) and Latvian Maritime Administration. Taking into account the aforementioned, the Republic of Latvia will request within the chapter "Transport Policy" the negotiations on a transitional period until 1 January 2008 for the implementation of Article 3(3) of Directive 98/76 and until 1 January 2005 - for implementation of Council Regulation 3821/85 as regards the use of tachographs for the vehicles involved in domestic services.
|
