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31992L0006

Council Directive 92/6/EEC of 10 February 1992 on the installation and use of speed limitation devices for certain categories of motor vehicles in the Community

Official Journal L 057 , 02/03/1992 P. 0027 - 0028 Finnish special edition: Chapter 7 Volume 4 P. 0072  Swedish special edition: Chapter 7 Volume 4 P. 0072

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/6/EEC of 10 February 1992 on the installation and use of speed limitation devices for certain categories of motor vehicles in the CommunityTHE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,  Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 75 thereof,  Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),  Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),  Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),  Whereas one of the objectives of a common transport policy is to lay down common rules applicable to international transport within the Community and to facilitate the circulation of vehicles;  Whereas the growth of road traffic and the resulting increase in danger and nuisance present all Member States with road safety and environmental problems of a serious nature;  Whereas the available engine power for heavy goods vehicles and buses needed for climbing slopes enables them to be driven on level roads at excessive speeds that are not compatible with the specifications of other components of those vehicles such as  brakes and tyres; whereas, for that reason and for reasons of environmental protection in certain Member States, speed limitation devices were made compulsory for certain categories of motor vehicles;  Whereas the beneficial effects of speed limitation devices with regard to protection of the environment and energy consumption, the wear and tear of the motor and tyres and road safety will be increased if such devices are in general use;  Whereas the use of speed limitation devices serves no purpose unless the appliances are of a degree of technical perfection such as will provide an adequate guarantee that no fraud is possible;  Whereas, as a first step, requirements should be introduced in the case only of the heaviest categories of motor vehicles which are most involved in international transport and thereafter, depending on technical possibilities and experiences in Member  States, could be extended to lighter categories of motor vehicles;  Whereas, in certain Member States, vehicles intended exclusively for the carriage of dangerous goods must be equipped with speed limitation devices set at maximum speeds lower than those provided for by this Directive; whereas, in this specific case,  the Member States in question should be allowed to maintain such regulations for vehicles registered within their territory because they enhance road safety and civil protection of the public, in accordance with the objectives of this Directive;  Whereas the installation of speed limitation devices on category M3 and N3 vehicles covered by this Directive, registered before it is brought into effect and intended exclusively for national transport operations could entail excessive costs in certain  Member States; whereas it should therefore be made possible for those Member States to postpone the application of Articles 2 and 3 of this Directive to the vehicles concerned;  Whereas this Directive does not affect Member States' prerogatives as regards speed restriction provisions for traffic,  HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:  Article 1  For the purpose of this Directive, 'motor vehicle' means any power-driven vehicle falling within one of the categories listed below, intended for use on the road and having at least four wheels and a maximum design speed exceeding 25 km/h:  - category M3 vehicles having a maximum weight exceeding 10 metric tonnes,  - category N3 vehicles,  categories M3 and N3 being understood to be those defined in Annex I to Directive 70/156/EEC (4).  Article 2  Member States shall take the necessary steps to ensure that motor vehicles of the category M3 referred to in Article 1 shall be used on the road only if speed limitation devices are installed for which the maximum speed is set at 100 km/h.  Article 3  1.  Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that motor vehicles of category N3 shall be used on the road only if equipped with a device set in such a way that their speed cannot exceed 90 km/h; bearing in mind the technical tolerance  which is allowed, at the present state of technology, between the regulating value and the actual speed of traffic, the maximum speed on this device shall be set at 86 km/h.  2.  Member States shall be authorized to set the maximum speed of the device at less than 85 km/h in vehicles used exclusively for the carriage of dangerous goods and registered in their territory.  Article 4  1.  Articles 2 and 3 shall be applicable to vehicles registered as from 1 January 1994.  2.  Articles 2 and 3 shall also be applicable, at the latest from 1 January 1995, to vehicles registered between 1 January 1988 and 1 January 1994.  However, where these vehicles are used exclusively for national transport operations, Articles 2 and 3 may be applied at the latest from 1 January 1996.  Article 5  1.  Until Community provisions on these matters are applied, the speed limitation devices referred to in Articles 2 and 3 must satisfy the technical requirements laid down by the competent national authorities.  2.  Speed limitation devices shall be installed by workshops or bodies approved by the Member States.  Article 6  The requirements of Articles 2 and 3 do not apply to motor vehicles used by armed forces, civil defence, fire and other emergency services and forces responsible for maintaining public order.  The same shall apply for motor vehicles which:  - by their construction, cannot drive faster than the limits provided for in Articles 2 and 3,  - are used for scientific tests on roads,  - are used only for public services in urban areas.  Article 7  1.  Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive before 1 October 1993. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof.  When these provisions are adopted by Member States, 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 making such reference shall be adopted by Member  States.  2.  Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.  Article 8  This Directive is addressed to the Member States.  Done at Brussels, 10 February 1992.  For the Council The President Jorge BRAGA DE MACEDO (1) OJ No C 225, 30. 8. 1991, p. 11.(2) OJ No C 13, 20. 1. 1992.(3) OJ No C 40, 17. 2. 1992.(4) Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor  vehicles and their trailers (OJ No L 42, 23. 2. 1970, p. 1). Directive as last amended by Directive 87/403/EEC (OJ No L 220, 8. 8. 1987, p. 44).


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31993L0007

Council Directive 93/7/EEC of 15 March 1993 on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State

Official Journal L 074 , 27/03/1993 P. 0074 - 0079 Finnish special edition: Chapter 2 Volume 9 P. 0012  Swedish special edition: Chapter 2 Volume 9 P. 0012

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 93/7/EEC of 15 March 1993 on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member StateTHE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,  Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,  Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),  In cooperation with the European Parliament (2),  Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),  Whereas Article 8a of the Treaty provides for the establishment, not later than 1 January 1993, of the internal market, which is to comprise an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured  in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty;  Whereas, under the terms and within the limits of Article 36 of the Treaty, Member States will, after 1992, retain the right to define their national treasures and to take the necessary measures to protect them in this area without internal frontiers;  Whereas arrangements should therefore be introduced enabling Member States to secure the return to their territory of cultural objects which are classified as national treasures within the meaning of the said Article 36 and have been removed from their  territory in breach of the abovementioned national measures or of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 of 9 December 1992 on the export of cultural goods (4); whereas the implementation of these arrangements should be as simple and efficient as possible;  whereas, to facilitate cooperation with regard to return, the scope of the arrangements should be confined to items belonging to common categories of cultural object; whereas the Annex to this Directive is consequently not intended to define objects  which rank as 'national treasures' within the meaning of the said Article 36, but merely categories of object which may be classified as such and may accordingly be covered by the return procedure introduced by this Directive;  Whereas cultural objects classified as national treasures and forming an integral part of public collections or inventories of ecclesiastical institutions but which do not fall within these common categories should also be covered by this Directive;  Whereas administrative cooperation should be established between Member States as regards their national treasures, in close liaison with their cooperation in the field of stolen works of art and involving in particular the recording, with Interpol and  other qualified bodies issuing similar lists, of lost, stolen or illegally removed cultural objects forming part of their national treasures and their public collections;  Whereas the procedure introduced by this Directive is a first step in establishing cooperation between Member States in this field in the context of the internal market; whereas the aim is mutual recognition of the relevant national laws; whereas  provision should therefore be made, in particular, for the Commission to be assisted by an advisory committee;  Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 introduces, together with this Directive, a Community system to protect Member States' cultural goods; whereas the date by which Member States have to comply with this Directive has to be as close as possible to the  date of entry into force of that Regulation; whereas, having regard to the nature of their legal systems and the scope of the changes to their legislation necessary to implement this Directive, some Member States will need a longer period,  HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:  Article 1  For the purposes of this Directive:  1. 'Cultural object' shall mean an object which:  - is classified, before or after its unlawful removal from the territory of a Member State, among the 'national treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value' under national legislation or administrative procedures within the meaning  of Article 36 of the Treaty,  and - belongs to one of the categories listed in the Annex or does not belong to one of these categories but forms an integral part of:  - public collections listed in the inventories of museums, archives or libraries' conservation collection.  For the purposes of this Directive, 'public collections' shall mean collections which are the property of a Member State, local or regional authority within a Member States or an institution situated in the territory of a Member State and defined as  public in accordance with the legislation of that Member State, such institution being the property of, or significantly financed by, that Member State or a local or regional authority;  - the inventories of ecclesiastical institutions.  2. 'Unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State' shall mean:  - removed from the territory of a Member State in breach of its rules on the protection of national treasures or in breach of Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92, or - not returned at the end of a period of lawful temporary removal or any breach of another condition governing such temporary removal.  3. 'Requesting Member State' shall mean the Member State from whose territory the cultural object has been unlawfully removed.  4. 'Requested Member State' shall mean the Member State in whose territory a cultural object unlawfully removed from the territory of another Member State is located.  5. 'Return' shall mean the physical return of the cultural object to the territory of the requesting Member State.  6. 'Possessor' shall mean the person physically holding the cultural object on his own account.  7. 'Holder' shall mean the person physically holding the cultural object for third parties.  Article 2  Cultural objects which have been unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State shall be returned in accordance with the procedure and in the circumstances provided for in this Directive.  Article 3  Each Member State shall appoint one or more central authorities to carry out the tasks provided for in this Directive.  Member States shall inform the Commission of all the central authorities they appoint pursuant to this Article.  The Commission shall publish a lsit of these central authorities and any changes concerning them in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Communities.  Article 4  Member States' central authorities shall cooperate and promote consultation between the Member States' competent national authorities. The latter shall in particular:  1. upon application by the requesting Member State, seek a specified cultural object which as been unlawfully removed from its territory, identifying the possessor and/or holder. The application must include all information needed to facilitate this  search, with particular reference to the actual or presumed location of the object;  2. notify the Member States concerned, where a cultural object is found in their own territory and there are reasonable grounds for believing that it has been unlawfully removed from the territory of another Member State;  3. enable the competent authorities of the requesting Member State to check that the object in question is a cultural object, provided that the check is made within 2 months of the notification provided for in paragraph 2. If it is not made within the  stipulated period, paragraphs 4 and 5 shall cease to apply;  4. take any necessary measures, in cooperation with the Member State concerned, for the physical preservation of the cultural object;  5. prevent, by the necessary interim measures, any action to evade the return procedure;  6. act as intermediary between the prossessor and/or holder and the requesting Member State with regard to return. To this end, the competent authorities of the requested Member States may, without prejudice to Article 5, first facilitate the  implementation of an arbitration procedure, in accordance with the national legislation of the requested State and provided that the requesting State and the possessor or holder give their formal approval.  Article 5  The requesting Member State may initiate, before the competent court in the requested Member State, proceedings against the possessor or, failing him, the holder, with the aim of securing the return of a cultural object which has been  unlawfully removed from its territory.  Proceedings may be brought only where the document initiating them is accompanied by:  - a document describing the object covered by the request and stating that it is a cultural object,  - a declaration by the competent authorities of the requesting Member State that the cultural object has been unlawfully removed from its territory.  Article 6  The central authority of the requesting Member State shall forthwith inform the central authority of the requested Member State that proceedings have been initiated with the aim of securing the return of the object in question.  The central authority of the requested Member State shall forthwith inform the central authorities of the other Member States.  Article 7  1. Member States shall lay down in their legislation that the return proceedings provided for in this Directive may not be brought more than one year after the requesting Member State became aware of the location of the cultural object and of  the identity of its possessor or holder.  Such proceedings may, at all events, not be brought more than 30 years after the object was unlawfully removed from the territory of the requesting Member State. However, in the case of objects forming part of public collections, referred to in Article  1 (1), and ecclesiastical goods in the Member States where they are subject to special protection arrangements under national law, return proceedings shall be subject to a time-limit of 75 years, except in Member States where proceedings are not subject  to a time-limit or in the case of bilateral agreements between Member States laying down a period exceeding 75 years.  2. Return proceedings may not be brought if removal from the national territory of the requesting Member State is no longer unlawful at the time when they are to be initiated.  Article 8  Save as otherwise provided in Articles 7 and 13, the competent court shall order the return of the cultural object in question where it is found to be a cultural object within the meaning of Article 1 (1) and to have been removed unlawfully  from national teerritory.  Article 9  Where return of the object is ordered, the competent court in the requested States shall award the possessor such compensation as it deems fair according to the circumstances of the case, provided that it is satisfied that the possessor  exercised due care and attention in acquiring the object.  The burden of proof shall be governed by the legislation of the requested Member State.  In the case of a donation or succession, the possessor shall not be in a more favourable position than the person from whom he acquired the object by that means.  The requesting Member State shall pay such compensation upon return of the object.  Article 10  Expenses incurred in implementing a decision ordering the return of a cultural object shall be borne by the requesting Member State. The same applies to the costs of the measures referred to in Article 4 (4).  Article 11  Payment of the fair compensation and of the expenses referred to in Articles 9 and 10 respectively shall be without prejudice to the requesting Member State's right to take action with a view to recovering those amounts from the persons  responsible for the unlawful removal of the cultural object from its territory.  Article 12  Ownership of the cultural object after return shall be governed by that law of the requesting Member State.  Article 13  This Directive shall apply only to cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State on or after 1 January 1993.  Article 14  1. Each Member State may extend its obligation to return cultural objects to cover categories of objects other than those listed in the Annex.  2. Each Member State may apply the arrangements provided for by this Directive to requests for the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of other Member States prior to 1 January 1993.  Article 15  This Directive shall be without prejudice to any civil or criminal proceedings that may be brought, under the national laws of the Member States, by the requesting Member State and/or the owner of a cultural object that has been stolen.  Article 16  1. Member States shall send the Commission every three years, and for the first time in February 1996, a report on the application of this Directive.  2. The Commission shall send the European Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee, every three years, a report reviewing the application of this Directive.  3. The Council shall review the effectiveness of this Directive after a period of application of three years and, acting on a proposal from the Commission, make any necessary adaptations.  4. In any event, the Council acting on a proposal from the Commission, shall examine every three years and, where appropriate, update the amounts indicated in the Annex, on the basis of economic and monetary indicators in the Community.  Article 17  The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee set up by Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92.  The Committee shall examine any question arising from the application of the Annex to this Directive which may be tabled by the chairman either on his own initiative or at the request of the representative of a Member State.  Article 18  Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive within nine months of its adoption, except as far as the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany and  the Kingdom of the Netherlands are concerned, which must conform to this Directive at the latest twelve months from the date of its adoption. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.  When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such a reference shall be laid down by the Member  States.  Article 19  This Directive is addressed to the Member States.  Done at Brussels, 15 March 1993.  For the Council The President M. JELVED (1) OJ No C 53, 28. 2. 1992, p. 11, and OJ No C 172, 8. 7. 1992, p. 7.  (2) OJ No C 176, 13. 7. 1992, p. 129 and OJ No C 72, 15. 3. 1993.  (3) OJ No C 223, 31. 8. 1992, p. 10.  (4) OJ No L 395, 31. 12. 1992, p. 1.    ANNEX   Categories referred to in the second indent of Article 1 (1) to which objects classified as 'national treasures' within the meaning of Article 36 of the Treaty must belong in order to qualify for return under this Directive  A. 1. Archaeological objects  more than 100 years old which are the products of:  - land or underwater excavations and finds,  - archaeological sites,  - archaeological collections.  2. Elements forming an integral part of artistic, historical or religious monuments which have been dismembered, more than 100 years old.  3. Pictures and paintings executed entirely by hand, on any medium and in any material (1).  4. Mosaics other than those in category 1 or category 2 and drawings executed entirely by hand, on any medium and in any material (1).  5. Original engravings, prints, serigraphs and lithographs with their respective plates and original posters (1).  6. Original sculptures or statuary and copies produced by the same process as the original (1) other than those in category 1.  7. Photographs, films and negatives thereof (1).  8. Incunabula and manuscripts, including maps and musical scores, singly or in collections (1).  9. Books more than 100 years old, singly or in collections.  10. Printed maps more than 200 years old.  11. Archives and any elements thereof, of any kind, on any medium, comprising elements more than 50 years old.  12. (a) Collections (2) and specimens from zoological, botanical, mineralogical or anatomical collections;  (b) Collections (2) of historical, palaeontological, ethnographic or numismatic interest.  13. Means of transport more than 75 years old.  14. Any other antique item not included in categories A 1 to A 13, more than 50 years old.  The cultural objects in categories A 1 to A 14 are covered by this Directive only if their value corresponds to, or exceeds, the financial thresholds under B.  B. Financial thresholds applicable to certain categories under A (in ecus) VALUE: 0 (Zero) - 1 (Archaeological objects) - 2 (Dismembered monuments) - 8 (Incunabula and manuscripts) - 11 (Archives) 15 000 - 4 (Mosaics and drawings) - 5 (Engravings) - 7 (Photographs) - 10 (Printed maps) 50 000 - 6 (Statuary) - 9 (Books) - 12 (Collections) - 13 (Means of transport) - 14 (Any other item) 150 000 - 3 (Pictures) The assessment of whether or not the conditions relating to financial value are fulfilled must be made when return is requested. The financial value is that of the object in the requested Member State.  The date for the conversion of the values expressed in ecus in the Annex into national currencies shall be 1 January 1993.  (1) Which are more than fifty years old and do not belong to their originators.  (2) As defined by the Court of Justice in its Judgment in Case 252/84, as follows: 'Collectors' pieces within the meaning of Heading No 99.05 of the Common Customs Tariff are articles which possess the requisite characteristics for inclusion in a  collection, that is to say, articles which are relatively rare, are not normally used for their original purpose, are the subject of special transactions outside the normal trade in similar utility articles and are of high value.'