31973A0329

COMMISSION OPINION of 9 October 1973 addressed to the Danish Government on the draft decree implementing Council Regulation (EEC) No 543/69 of 25 March 1969 on the harmonization of certain social legislation relating to road transport (73/329/EEC)

In accordance with Article 18 (1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 543/69 (1) of 25 March 1969, the Danish Government forwarded to the Commission, in a letter of 26 January 1973, a draft decree implementing that Regulation. It subsequently sent the Commission a model of the individual control book which it plans to use. 1. The aim of the draft decree is to adopt the provisions required to implement Regulation (EEC) No 543/69, as last amended by Council Regulations (EEC) Nos 514/72 (2) and 515/72 (3) of 28 February 1972.

Article 1 stipulates that the provisions of that Regulation shall be applicable in Denmark to international transport only;

Article 2 stipulates that the control book must be of a type approved by the directorate of the labour inspectorate;

Article 3 provides that supervision of compliance with Community provisions shall be undertaken by the labour inspectorate;

Article 4 lists the breaches of the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 543/69 for which a fine may be imposed, and also determines the responsibility of undertakings.

2. The second subparagraph of Article 18 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 543/69 required the implementing measures to be adopted by Member States to cover, inter alia, the organization of, procedure for and means of control and the penalties to be imposed in case of breach.

The provisions of the Danish Government's draft decree, though not contrary to the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 543/69, nevertheless give rise to the following comments: (a) Article 4 of the draft merely sets out the principle that fines may be imposed for breaches unless a more serious penalty is provided for by other laws in force. However, the documents which have been submitted to the Commission indicate neither the size of the fines nor the type of other provisions to which reference is made. The Commission, therefore, requests the Danish Government to state the amounts of the fines for the various breaches, taking into consideration the seriousness of the breaches in the context of the harmonization of the conditions of competition and of traffic safety. In addition, the Commission suggests that the Danish Government include among the penalties the withdrawal of transport authorization and driving licence where no provision has been made for such penalties.

(b) The Commission finds that the draft decree contains no provision relating to compensation for reductions in the duration of the rest period, as provided for in Article 11 (6) of Regulation (EEC) No 543/69. The necessary provisions should be added to the draft decree in question.

3. In conclusion, and subject to the comments made in 2 (a) and (b) the Commission hereby delivers a favourable Opinion on the draft decree in question.

Done at Brussels, 9 October 1973.

For the Commission

The President

François-Xavier ORTOLI (1)OJ No L 77, 29.3.1969, p. 49. (2)OJ No L 67, 20.3.1972, p. 1. (3)OJ No L 67, 20.3.1972, p. 11.