title: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/480 of 1 April 2016 establishing common rules concerning the interconnection of national electronic registers on road transport undertakings and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1213/2010 (Text with EEA relevance)

text:
               2.4.2016

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 87/4

         COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2016/480
   of 1 April 2016
   establishing common rules concerning the interconnection of national electronic registers on road transport undertakings and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1213/2010
   (Text with EEA relevance)
   THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
   Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing common rules concerning the conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of road transport operator and repealing Council Directive 96/26/EC (1), and in particular Article 16(5) thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               Article 16(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 establishes the obligation for Member States to keep a national electronic register of road transport undertakings which have been authorised by a competent authority to engage in the occupation of road transport operator. The relevant data contained in the national electronic registers should be made accessible to all the competent authorities of the other Member States. Article 16(5) and (6) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 require the national electronic registers to be interconnected by 31 December 2012, mandating the Commission to adopt common rules concerning such interconnection. On the basis of this mandate, the Commission adopted Regulation (EU) No 1213/2010 (2), in order to facilitate the interconnection of the national electronic registers through a message exchange system called ERRU (European Registers of Road Transport Undertakings). The latter became operational on 31 December 2012.

               (2)

               During the last 3 years of operation of ERRU, the Commission, along with experts from Member States, has identified a certain number of aspects related to the practical use of ERRU that do not fully correspond to the administrative processes set up in Member States.

               (3)

               It is therefore necessary to address the shortcomings that have been identified in the daily operation of ERRU, aligning it with the relevant provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) and Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4), as well as guaranteeing that ERRU is used in a uniform manner by competent authorities throughout the EU. Moreover, it is necessary to adapt the existing rules to the technical and scientific progress.

               (4)

               Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/403 (5) with regard to the classification of serious infringements of the Union rules, sets out a new list of categories, types and degrees of seriousness of serious infringements of Union rules, which in addition to those set out in Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, may lead to the loss of good repute of the road transport undertaking or the transport manager. It is therefore necessary to enable ERRU to transmit information on the new list of infringements.

               (5)

               The provisions on personal data protection, as laid down in particular by Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (6), apply to the processing of any personal data pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009. In particular, Member States must implement appropriate security measures to prevent misuse of personal data.

               (6)

               Where applicable, the provisions on personal data protection, as laid down by Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7) apply to the processing of any personal data pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009.

               (7)

               Due to substantial amount of changes which should be made to the common rules for the implementation of the interconnection of the national electronic registers, it is necessary to replace Regulation (EU) No 1213/2010 by a new act. Regulation (EU) No 1213/2010 should therefore be repealed.

               (8)

               The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee referred to in Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8),

         HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
   Article 1
   Subject matter
   This Regulation lays down the requirements regarding the connection of the national electronic registers on road transport undertakings to the ERRU messaging system, as set out in Article 16(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009.
   Article 2
   Definitions
   For the purpose of this Regulation and in addition to the definitions laid down in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, the following definitions shall apply:

               (a)

               ‘ERRU (European Registers of Road Transport Undertakings)’ means a system of interconnection of national electronic registers, set up in accordance Article 16(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009;

               (b)

               ‘Asynchronous interface’ means a process whereby a message in response to a request is returned on a new HTTP connection;

               (c)

               ‘Broadcast search’ means a request message from a Member State addressed to all other Member States;

               (d)

               ‘Central hub’ means the information system enabling the routing of ERRU messages between Member States;

               (e)

               ‘CPC’ means certificate of professional competence, as referred to in Article 8(8) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009;

               (f)

               ‘Member State of infringement’ means the Member State in which a transport undertaking has committed an infringement;

               (g)

               ‘Member State of establishment’ means the Member State in which an undertaking is established;

               (h)

               ‘National system’ means the information system set up in each Member State for the purpose of emitting, processing and responding to ERRU messages;

               (i)

               ‘Synchronous interface’ means a process whereby a message in response to a request is returned on the same HTTP connection as the one used for the request;

               (j)

               ‘Requesting Member State’ means the Member State emitting a request or a notification, which is then routed to the responding Member States;

               (k)

               ‘Responding Member State’ means the Member State to whom the ERRU request or notification is directed.

         Article 3
   Obligation to connect to ERRU
   Member States shall carry out the interconnection of the national electronic registers referred to in Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 to ERRU in accordance with the procedures and technical requirements laid down in this Regulation.
   Article 4
   Technical specifications
   ERRU shall fulfil the technical specifications laid down in Annexes I to VII to this Regulation.
   Article 5
   Use of ERRU
   1.   When exchanging information through ERRU, the competent authorities shall follow the procedures set out in Annex VIII to this Regulation.
   2.   Member States shall grant their control bodies in charge of roadside checks access to the ERRU Check Community Licence functionality.
   3.   In cases where several national control bodies are involved in roadside checks, the Member State shall decide which ones of those bodies shall be granted the access referred to in paragraph 2.
   Article 6
   Repeal
   Regulation (EU) No 1213/2010 is hereby repealed as from the date of application of this Regulation. References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation.
   Article 7
   Entry into force
   This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
   It shall apply from 30 January 2019.

      This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
      Done at Brussels, 1 April 2016.

            For the Commission

            The President

         Jean-Claude JUNCKER

      (1)  OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 51.

      (2)  Commission Regulation (EU) No 1213/2010 of 16 December 2010 establishing common rules concerning the interconnection of national electronic registers on road transport undertakings (OJ L 335, 18.12.2010, p. 21).

      (3)  Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 on common rules for access to the international road haulage market (OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 72).

      (4)  Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 on common rules for access to the international market for coach and bus services, and amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 (OJ L 300 14.11.2009, p. 88).

      (5)  Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/403 of 18 March 2016 supplementing Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the classification of serious infringements of the Union rules, which may lead to the loss of good repute by the road transport operator, and amending Annex III to Directive 2006/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 74, 19.3.2016, p. 8).

      (6)  Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31).

      (7)  Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1).

      (8)  Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 February 2014 on tachographs in road transport, repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 on recording equipment in road transport and amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport (OJ L 60, 28.2.2014, p. 1).

      ANNEX I

         GENERAL ASPECTS OF ERRU

      1.   ARCHITECTURE
      ERRU shall be composed of the following parts:

                  1.1.

                  A central hub, which shall be able to receive a request from the requesting Member State, validate it and process it by forwarding it to the responding Member States. The central hub will wait for each responding Member State to answer, consolidate all the answers and forward the consolidated response to the requesting Member State.

                  1.2.

                  A national system per Member State, which shall be fitted with an interface capable of both sending requests to the central hub and receiving the corresponding replies. National systems may use propriety or commercial software to transmit and receive messages from the central hub.

                  1.3.

                  As an alternative to 1.1, Member States may choose to use a compatible commercial network to exchange messages amongst themselves. In that case, each competent authority will provide statistics on the messages exchanged within that network to the central hub.

            2.   MANAGEMENT
      2.1.   The central hub shall be managed by the Commission, which shall be responsible for the technical operation and maintenance of the central hub.
      2.2.   The central hub shall not store data for a period exceeding 6 months, other than the logging and statistical data set out in Annex VII.
      2.3.   The central hub shall not provide access to personal data, except for authorised Commission personnel, when necessary for the purpose of maintenance and troubleshooting.
      2.4.   Member States shall be responsible for:

                  2.4.1.

                  The setup and management of their national systems, including the interface with the central hub.

                  2.4.2.

                  The installation and maintenance of their national system, both hardware and software, whether proprietary or commercial.

                  2.4.3.

                  The correct interoperability of their national system with the central hub, including the management of error messages received from the central hub.

                  2.4.4.

                  Taking all the measures to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information.

                  2.4.5.

                  The operation of the national systems in accordance with the service levels set out in Annex VI.

            2.5.   MOVEHUB web portal
      The Commission shall provide a web based application with secured access, referred to as ‘MOVEHUB web portal’, providing at least the following services:

                  (a)

                  Member State availability statistics

                  (b)

                  Notification of maintenance on the central hub and Member State national systems.

                  (c)

                  Aggregated reports

                  (d)

                  Contact management

                  (e)

                  XSD schemas

            2.6.   Contact management
      The contact management functionality will provide each Member State with the ability to manage the contact details regarding policy, business, operational and technical users of that Member State, being each Member State's competent authority responsible for the maintenance of its own contacts. It will be possible to view, but not edit, the contact details of the other Member States.

      ANNEX II

         ERRU FUNCTIONALITIES

                  1.

                  The following functionalities shall be provided through ERRU:

                              1.1.

                              Check Good Repute (CGR): allows the requesting Member State to send a query to one or all responding Member States, to determine the fitness of a transport manager and so the authorisation to operate a transport undertaking.

                              1.2.

                              Infringement Notification (INF): allows the Member State of infringement to notify the Member State of establishment that the transport undertaking has committed a serious infringement as referred to in Article 6(2)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009. It also allows the Member State of infringement to request that penalties be applied to the transport undertaking in the Member State of establishment.

                              1.3.

                              Check Community Licence (CCL): allows the requesting Member State to send a query to the responding Member State (i.e. the Member State of establishment) to determine if a transport undertaking is operating with a valid Community licence.

                  2.

                  Other message types deemed suitable for the efficient functioning of ERRU shall be included, for instance error notifications.

      ANNEX III

         ERRU MESSAGE PROVISIONS

      1.   GENERAL TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
      1.1.   The central hub will provide both synchronous and asynchronous interfaces for the exchange of messages. Member States may choose the most suitable technology to interface with their own applications.
      1.2.   All messages exchanged between the central hub and the national systems must be UTF-8 encoded.
      1.3.   Member States will ensure that their national systems can receive and process messages containing Greek or Cyrillic characters.
      2.   XML MESSAGES STRUCTURE AND SCHEMA DEFINITION (XSD)
      2.1.   The general structure of XML messages shall follow the format defined by the XSD schemas installed in the central hub.
      2.2.   The central hub and the national systems shall transmit and receive messages that conform to the message XSD schema.
      2.3.   National systems will be capable of sending, receiving and processing all messages corresponding to any of the functionalities set out in Annex II.
      2.4.   The XML messages shall include at least the minimum requirements laid down in the Appendix to this Annex.

         Appendix

            Minimum requirements for the content of the XML messages

                     Common Header

                     Mandatory

                     Version

                     The official version of the XML specifications will be specified through the namespace defined in the message XSD and in the version attribute of the Header element of any XML message. The version number (‘n.m’) will be defined as fixed value in every release of the XML Schema Definition file (xsd).

                     Yes

                     Test Identifier

                     Optional id for testing. The originator of the test will populate the id and all participants in the workflow will forward/return the same id. In production it should be ignored and will not be used if it is supplied.

                     No

                     Technical Identifier

                     A UUID uniquely identifying each individual message. The sender generates a UUID and populates this attribute. This data is not used in any business capacity.

                     Yes

                     Workflow Identifier

                     The workflowId is a UUID and should be generated by the requesting Member State. This id is then used in all messages to correlate the workflow.

                     Yes

                     Sent At

                     The date and time (UTC) that the message was sent.

                     Yes

                     Timeout

                     This is an optional date and time (in UTC format) attribute. This value will be set only by the Hub for forwarded requests. This will inform the responding Member State of the time when the request will be timed out. This value is not required in MS2TCN_<x>_Req and all response messages. It is optional so that the same header definition can be used for all message types regardless of whether or not the timeoutValue attribute is required.

                     No

                     From

                     The ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 code of the Member State sending the message or ‘EU’.

                     Yes

                     To

                     The ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 code of the Member State to which the message is being sent or ‘EU’.

                     Yes

            Check Good Repute

                     Check Good Repute Request

                     Mandatory

                     Business Case Identifier

                     A serial or reference number identifying each individual request.

                     Yes

                     Requesting Competent Authority

                     The competent authority that has issued the search request.

                     Yes

                        Transport Manager Details

                        Yes, if no CPC details

                     Family Name

                     Transport manager's family name(s) as indicated on the CPC.

                     Yes

                     First Name

                     Transport manager's complete given name as indicated on the certificate of professional competence.

                     Yes

                     Date of Birth

                     Transport manager's birth date in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD).

                     Yes

                     Place of Birth

                     Transport manager's place of birth.

                     No

                        CPC Details

                        Yes, if no transport manager details

                     CPC Number

                     Number of certificate of professional competence

                     Yes

                     CPC Issue Date

                     Date of issuance of the CPC, in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD).

                     Yes

                     CPC Issue Country

                     Issuing country of the CPC in ISO 3166-1 alpha 2 format.

                     Yes

                     Check Good Repute Response

                     Mandatory

                     Business Case Identifier

                     A serial or reference number matching the business case identifier of the request.

                     Yes

                     Requesting Competent Authority

                     The competent authority that has issued the search request.

                     Yes

                     Responding Competent Authority

                     The competent authority that has responded to the search request.

                     Yes

                     Status Code

                     The status code of the search (e.g. found, not found, error, etc.).

                     Yes

                     Status Message

                     An explanatory status description (if necessary).

                     No

                        Found Transport Manager Details

                        Yes if Status Code is Found

                     Family Name

                     Transport manager's family name(s) as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                     First Name

                     Transport manager's complete given name as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                     Date of Birth

                     Transport manager's birth date in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD) as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                     Place of Birth

                     Transport manager's place of birth as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                     CPC Number

                     Number of certificate of professional competence as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                     CPC Issue Date

                     Date of issuance of the CPC, in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD) as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                     CPC Issue Country

                     Issuing country of the CPC in ISO 3166-1 alpha 2 format as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                     Total Managed Undertakings

                     The number of transport undertakings with which the transport manager is associated.

                     Yes

                     Total Managed Vehicles

                     The total number of vehicles with which the transport manager is associated.

                     Yes

                     Fitness

                     Declaration of either ‘Fit’ or ‘Unfit’.

                     Yes

                     End Date of Unfitness

                     End date of unfitness of the transport manager in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD). Applicable if the Fitness is unfit.

                     No

                     Search Method

                     The method used to find the transport manager: NYSIIS, CPC, Custom.

                     Yes

                        Transport Undertaking (for each found Transport Manager)

                        Yes if Managed Undertakings > 0

                     Transport Undertaking Name

                     The name of the transport undertaking (name and legal form) as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                     Transport Undertaking Address

                     The address of the transport undertaking (address, postal code, city, country) as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                     Community Licence Number

                     The serial number of the community licence of the transport undertaking as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                     Community Licence Status

                     The status of the community licence of the transport undertaking as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                     Managed Vehicles

                     The number of vehicles managed as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

            Infringement Notification

                     Infringement Notification Request

                     Mandatory

                     Business Case Identifier

                     A serial or reference number identifying each individual request.

                     Yes

                     Notifying Authority

                     The competent authority that issues the infringement notification.

                     Yes

                        Transport Undertaking

                        Yes

                     Transport Undertaking Name

                     The name of the transport undertaking against which the infringement is being recorded.

                     Yes

                     Community Licence Number

                     The serial number of the certified true copy of the Community license of the transport undertaking.

                     Yes

                     Vehicle Registration Number

                     The Vehicle registration number of the offending vehicle.

                     Yes

                     Vehicle Registration Country

                     The country in which the vehicle is registered.

                     Yes

                        Serious Infringement

                        Yes

                     Date of Infringement

                     Date of the infringement in ISO 8601 format. (YYYY-MM-DD)

                     Yes

                     Category

                     The category of the infringement:

                                 —

                                 MSI — Most serious infringement

                                 —

                                 VSI — Very serious infringement

                                 —

                                 SI — Serious infringement

                     Yes

                     Infringement Type

                     In accordance with the classification provided in Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 and Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2016/403

                     Yes

                     Date of Check

                     The date of the check at which infringement has been ascertained in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD).

                     Yes

                        Penalty Imposed (for each Serious Infringement)

                        Yes

                     Penalty Imposed Identifier

                     The serial number of the individual penalty imposed.

                     Yes

                     Final Decision Date

                     The final decision date of the penalty imposed in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD).

                     Yes

                     Penalty Type Imposed

                     Declaration of either:

                                 —

                                 101 — ‘Warning’

                                 —

                                 201 — ‘Temporary ban on cabotage operations’

                                 —

                                 202 — ‘Fine’

                                 —

                                 203 — ‘Prohibition’

                                 —

                                 204 — ‘Immobilisation’

                                 —

                                 102 — ‘Other’

                     Yes

                     Start Date

                     The start date of the penalty imposed in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)

                     No

                     End Date

                     The end date of the penalty imposed in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)

                     No

                     Is Executed

                     Yes/No

                     Yes

                        Penalty Requested (for each Serious Infringement)

                        No

                     Penalty Requested Identifier

                     The serial number of the individual penalty requested.

                     Yes

                     Penalty Type Requested

                     Declaration of either:

                                 —

                                 101 — ‘Warning’

                                 —

                                 301 — ‘Temporary withdrawal of some or all of the certified true copies of the Community licence’

                                 —

                                 302 — ‘Permanent withdrawal of some or all of the certified true copies of the Community licence’

                                 —

                                 303 — ‘Temporary withdrawal of the Community licence’

                                 —

                                 304 — ‘Permanent withdrawal of the Community licence’

                                 —

                                 305 — ‘Suspension of the issue of driver attestations’

                                 —

                                 306 — ‘Withdrawal of driver attestations’

                                 —

                                 307 — ‘Issue of driver attestations subject to additional conditions in order to prevent misuse’

                     Yes

                     Duration

                     The duration of the requested penalty (calendar days).

                     No

                     Infringement Notification Response

                     Mandatory

                     Business Case Identifier

                     A serial or reference number matching the business case identifier of the request.

                     Yes

                     Originating Authority

                     The competent authority that issued the original infringement notification.

                     Yes

                     Licensing Authority

                     The competent authority responding to the infringement notification.

                     Yes

                     Status Code

                     The status code of the infringement response (e.g. found, not found, error, etc.).

                     Yes

                     Status Message

                     An explanatory status description (if necessary).

                     No

                        Transport Undertaking

                        Yes

                     Transport Undertaking Name

                     The name of the transport undertaking as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                        Penalty Imposed

                        No

                     Penalty Imposed Identifier

                     The serial number of the individual penalty imposed (given in the Penalty Requested Identifier of the Infringement Notification).

                     Yes

                     Authority Imposing Penalty

                     The name of the authority imposing penalty.

                     Yes

                     Is Imposed

                     Yes/No

                     Yes

                     Penalty Type Imposed

                     Declaration of either:

                                 —

                                 101 — ‘Warning’

                                 —

                                 301 — ‘Temporary withdrawal of some or all of the certified true copies of the Community licence’

                                 —

                                 302 — ‘Permanent withdrawal of some or all of the certified true copies of the Community licence’

                                 —

                                 303 — ‘Temporary withdrawal of the Community licence’

                                 —

                                 304 — ‘Permanent withdrawal of the Community licence’

                                 —

                                 305 — ‘Suspension of the issue of driver attestations’

                                 —

                                 306 — ‘Withdrawal of driver attestations’

                                 —

                                 307 — ‘Issue of driver attestations subject to additional conditions in order to prevent misuse’

                                 —

                                 102 — ‘Other’

                     Yes

                     Start Date

                     The start date of the penalty imposed in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD).

                     No

                     End Date

                     The end date of the penalty imposed in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD).

                     No

                     Reason

                     Reason if penalty is not imposed.

                     No

                     Infringement Notification Acknowledgement

                     Mandatory

                     Business Case Identifier

                     A serial or reference number matching the business case identifier of the notification or the response.

                     Yes

                     Status Code

                     Status code of the acknowledgement.

                     Yes

                     Status Message

                     Status Message String

                     No

                     Originating Authority

                     For an IN_Ack: in the legislation this field is represented as ‘Destination Competent Authority Identifier’.
                     For an IR_Ack: in the legislation this field is represented as ‘Acknowledging Competent Authority Identifier’.

                     Yes

                     Licensing Authority

                     For an IN_Ack: in the legislation this field is represented as ‘Acknowledging Competent Authority Identifier’.
                     For an IR_Ack: in the legislation this field is represented as ‘Destination Competent Authority Identifier’.

                     Yes

                     Acknowledgement Type

                     Defining Acknowledgement Type
                     Possible Values:

                                 —

                                 ‘IN_Ack’

                                 —

                                 ‘IR_Ack’

                     Yes

            Check Community Licence

                     Check Community Licence Request

                     Mandatory

                     Business Case Identifier

                     A serial or reference number identifying each individual request.

                     Yes

                     Originating Authority

                     The authority issuing the search request.

                     No

                        Transport Undertaking

                        Yes

                     Transport Undertaking Name

                     The name of the transport undertaking for which the community licence details are requested.

                     Yes

                     Community Licence Number

                     The serial number of the certified true copy of the community license for which the details are requested.

                     Yes

                     Vehicle Registration Number

                     The vehicle registration number for which the certified true copy of the community licence is issued.

                     No

                     Check Community Licence Response

                     Mandatory

                     Business Case Identifier

                     A serial or reference number identifying each individual request.

                     Yes

                     Originating Authority

                     The authority that issued the search request.

                     No

                        Transport Undertaking

                        Yes

                     Transport Undertaking Name

                     The name of the transport undertaking (name and legal form) as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                     Transport Undertaking Address

                     The address of the transport undertaking (address, postal code, city, country) as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                        Community Licence Details

                        Yes

                     Licence Number

                     The serial number of the community licence of the transport undertaking as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                     Licence Status

                     The status of the community licence of the transport undertaking as recorded in the register:

                                 —

                                 ‘Active’

                                 —

                                 ‘Suspended’

                                 —

                                 ‘Withdrawn’

                                 —

                                 ‘Expired’

                                 —

                                 ‘Lost/stolen’

                                 —

                                 ‘Annulled’

                                 —

                                 ‘Returned’

                     Yes

                     Licence Type

                     The type of the community licence as recorded in the register. A declaration of:

                                 —

                                 ‘Community licence for passenger transport’

                                 —

                                 ‘National licence for passenger transport’

                                 —

                                 ‘Community licence for goods transport’

                                 —

                                 ‘National licence for goods transport’

                     Yes

                     Start Date

                     The start date of the community licence.

                     Yes

                     Expiry Date

                     The expiry date of the community licence.

                     Yes

                     Withdrawal Date

                     The withdrawal date of the community licence.

                     No

                     Suspension Date

                     The suspension date of the community licence.

                     No

                     Suspension Expiry Date

                     The date on which the community licence suspension expires.

                     No

                     Managed Vehicles

                     The number of vehicles managed as recorded in the register.

                     Yes

                        Certified True Copy Details

                        Yes

                     Licence Number

                     The serial number of the certified true copy of the community licence of the transport undertaking as recorded in the register (this is the licence number that was received in the request).

                     Yes

                     Licence Status

                     The status of the certified true copy of the community licence of the transport undertaking as recorded in the register:

                                 —

                                 ‘Active’

                                 —

                                 ‘Suspended’

                                 —

                                 ‘Withdrawn’

                                 —

                                 ‘Expired’

                                 —

                                 ‘Lost/stolen’

                                 —

                                 ‘Annulled’

                                 —

                                 ‘Returned’

                     Yes

                     Licence Type

                     The type of the certified true copy of the community licence as recorded in the register. A declaration of:

                                 —

                                 ‘Community licence for passenger transport’

                                 —

                                 ‘National licence for passenger transport’

                                 —

                                 ‘Community licence for goods transport’

                                 —

                                 ‘National licence for goods transport’

                     Yes

                     Start Date

                     The start date of the certified true copy of the community licence.

                     Yes

                     Expiry Date

                     The expiry date of the certified true copy of the community licence.

                     Yes

                     Withdrawal Date

                     The withdrawal date of the certified true copy of the community licence.

                     No

                     Suspension Date

                     The suspension date of the certified true copy of the community licence.

                     No

                     Suspension Expiry Date

                     The date on which the certified true copy of the community licence suspension expires.

                     No

      ANNEX IV

         TRANSLITERATION AND NYSIIS SERVICES

      1.   The NYSIIS algorithm implemented in the central hub shall be used to encode the names of all the transport managers in the national register.
      2.   Member States should always use the NYSIIS key as the primary search mechanism when searching the register for a transport manager via the CGR functionality.
      3.   Additionally, Member States may employ a custom algorithm to return additional results.
      4.   The search results will indicate via which search mechanism a record was found, either NYSIIS, or CPC or custom.

      ANNEX V

         SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

      1.   HTTPS must always be used for the exchange of messages between the central hub and the national systems.
      2.   National systems will use the PKI certificates provided by the Commission for the purposes of securing the transmission of messages between the national system and the hub.
      3.   National systems shall implement, as a minimum, certificates using the SHA-2 (SHA-256) signature hash algorithm and a 2 048 bit public key length.

      ANNEX VI

         SERVICE LEVELS

      1.   National systems shall fulfil the following minimum level of service:

                  1.1.

                  They shall be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

                  1.2.

                  Their availability shall be monitored by a heartbeat message issued from the central hub.

                  1.3.

                  Their availability rate shall be 98 %, according to the following table (the figures have been rounded to the nearest convenient unit):

                              An availability of

                              means an unavailability of

                              Daily

                              Monthly

                              Yearly

                              98 %

                              0,5 hours

                              15 hours

                              7,5 days

                        Member States are encouraged to respect the daily availability rate, however it is recognised that certain necessary activities, such as system maintenance, will require a down time of more than 30 minutes. However, the monthly and yearly availability rates remain mandatory.

                  1.4.

                  They shall respond to a minimum of 98 % of the requests forwarded to them in 1 calendar month.

                  1.5.

                  When sending check good repute responses, infringement notification acknowledgements and check community licence responses in accordance with Annex VIII:

                              1.5.1.

                              They shall respond to requests within 10 seconds.

                              1.5.2.

                              The global request timeout (time within which the requestor may wait for a response) shall not exceed 20 seconds.

                              1.5.3.

                              They shall be able to service a request rate of 6 messages per second.

                  1.6.

                  National systems will not send requests to the ERRU hub at a rate exceeding 2 requests per second.

                  1.7.

                  Every national system shall be able to cope with potential technical problems of the central hub or national systems in other Member States. These include, but are not limited to:

                              (a)

                              Loss of connection to the central hub

                              (b)

                              No response to a request

                              (c)

                              Receipt of responses after message timeout

                              (d)

                              Receipt of unsolicited messages

                              (e)

                              Receipt of invalid messages

            2.   The central hub shall:

                  2.1.

                  Feature an availability rate of 98 %.

                  2.2.

                  Provide to national systems notification of any errors, either via the response message or via a dedicated error message. The national systems, in turn, shall receive these dedicated error messages and have an escalation workflow in place to take any appropriate action to rectify the notified error.

            3.   Maintenance
      Member States shall notify other Member States and the Commission of any routine maintenance activities via the web application, at least 1 week before the beginning of those activities if technically possible.

      ANNEX VII

         LOGGING AND STATISTICS

      1.   This annex provides details of logging and statistical data collected at the central hub, not at the Member States.
      2.   In order to ensure privacy, the data for statistical purposes shall be anonymous. Data identifying a specific transport manager, transport undertaking or CPC will not be available for statistical purposes.
      3.   Logging information shall keep track of all transactions for monitoring and debugging purposes, and allow the generation of statistics about these transactions.
      4.   Personal data shall not be retained in the logs for more than 6 months. Statistical information will be retained indefinitely.
      5.   The statistical data used for reporting will include:

                  (a)

                  The requesting Member State.

                  (b)

                  The responding Member State.

                  (c)

                  The type of message

                  (d)

                  The status code of the response.

                  (e)

                  The date and time of the messages.

                  (f)

                  The response time.

      ANNEX VIII

         USE OF ERRU

      1.   CHECKING THE GOOD REPUTE OF TRANSPORT MANAGERS
      When verifying through ERRU, in accordance with Article 11(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, whether a transport manager has been declared in one of the Member States as unfit to manage the transport activities of an undertaking, Member States shall perform a broadcast CGR search by sending a Check Good Repute Request. The responding Member States shall reply to the request by sending a Check Good Repute Response.
      2.   EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION ON INFRINGEMENTS
      2.1.   When exchanging information on serious infringements through ERRU, in accordance with Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 or Article 23(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009, the Member State of infringement shall notify the Member State of establishment in the event of one or more infringements committed by a transport undertaking, in the frame of Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009. The notification shall be carried out by sending an Infringement Notification Request.
      2.2.   The Infringement Notification Request shall be sent as soon as possible, and at the latest within 6 weeks of the final decision on the matter. It will give the details of the infringements, the status of the penalties imposed and the penalties requested, if any, in the Member State of establishment.
      2.3.   The Member State of establishment shall reply to the Infringement Notification Request by sending an Infringement Notification Response, as soon as possible and at the latest within 6 weeks of the final decision on the matter, informing of which, if any, of the penalties requested by the Member State of infringement have been imposed. If such penalties are not imposed, the Infringement Notification Response shall include the reasons therefor.
      2.4.   In all cases, any Infringement Notification shall be acknowledged with an Infringement Notification Acknowledgment.
      3.   CHECKING THE COMMUNITY LICENCE
      3.1.   When checking the availability of the Community licence referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 and Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009, a Member State may request, via a Check Community Licence Request sent to the Member State of establishment, the information on the Community licence mentioned in Article 16(2)(d) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009.
      3.2.   The Member State of establishment shall reply by sending a Check Community Licence Response.


title: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 789/2012 of 31 August 2012 establishing the standard import values for determining the entry price of certain fruit and vegetables

text:
               1.9.2012

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 235/28

         COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 789/2012
   of 31 August 2012
   establishing the standard import values for determining the entry price of certain fruit and vegetables
   THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
   Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) (1),
   Having regard to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 of 7 June 2011 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 in respect of the fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetables sectors (2), and in particular Article 136(1) thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 lays down, pursuant to the outcome of the Uruguay Round multilateral trade negotiations, the criteria whereby the Commission fixes the standard values for imports from third countries, in respect of the products and periods stipulated in Annex XVI, Part A thereto.

               (2)

               The standard import value is calculated each working day, in accordance with Article 136(1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011, taking into account variable daily data. Therefore this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
   Article 1
   The standard import values referred to in Article 136 of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 are fixed in the Annex to this Regulation.
   Article 2
   This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

      This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
      Done at Brussels, 31 August 2012.

            For the Commission, On behalf of the President,
         José Manuel SILVA RODRÍGUEZ

            Director-General for Agriculture and Rural Development

      (1)  OJ L 299, 16.11.2007, p. 1.

      (2)  OJ L 157, 15.6.2011, p. 1.

      ANNEX
      Standard import values for determining the entry price of certain fruit and vegetables

                  (EUR/100 kg)

                  CN code

                  Third country code (1)

                  Standard import value

                  0702 00 00

                  MK

                  66,1

                  ZZ

                  66,1

                  0707 00 05

                  MK

                  43,1

                  TR

                  95,4

                  ZZ

                  69,3

                  0709 93 10

                  TR

                  115,3

                  ZZ

                  115,3

                  0805 50 10

                  AR

                  99,9

                  CL

                  88,4

                  TR

                  96,0

                  UY

                  89,5

                  ZA

                  95,6

                  ZZ

                  93,9

                  0806 10 10

                  BA

                  54,5

                  CL

                  196,9

                  EG

                  209,6

                  TR

                  149,7

                  ZZ

                  152,7

                  0808 10 80

                  AR

                  114,4

                  BR

                  92,8

                  CL

                  124,1

                  NZ

                  127,0

                  US

                  153,4

                  ZA

                  100,4

                  ZZ

                  118,7

                  0808 30 90

                  CN

                  78,2

                  TR

                  137,2

                  ZA

                  95,3

                  ZZ

                  103,6

                  0809 30

                  TR

                  175,7

                  ZZ

                  175,7

                  0809 40 05

                  BA

                  62,2

                  HR

                  73,9

                  IL

                  73,7

                  MK

                  67,5

                  ZZ

                  69,3

         (1)  Nomenclature of countries laid down by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1833/2006 (OJ L 354, 14.12.2006, p. 19). Code ‘ZZ’ stands for ‘of other origin’.


title: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/459 of 19 March 2015 specifying the technical characteristics of the 2016 ad hoc module on young people on the labour market provided for by Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98  Text with EEA relevance

text:
               20.3.2015

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 76/6

         COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2015/459
   of 19 March 2015
   specifying the technical characteristics of the 2016 ad hoc module on young people on the labour market provided for by Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98
   (Text with EEA relevance)
   THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
   Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 of 9 March 1998 on the organisation of a labour force sample survey in the Community (1), and in particular Article 7a(5) thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               In order to monitor progress towards the common objectives set out in the Europe 2020 Strategy and the related ‘Youth on the Move’ flagship initiative (2), it is necessary to have a comprehensive set of data on young people and their transition towards the labour market that allows comparisons to be made between Member States.

               (2)

               In its Communication Rethinking Education: Investing in skills for better socioeconomic outcomes
                   (3), the Commission encourages Member States to introduce reforms of their education systems, in order that young people are equipped with the right skills for employment.

               (3)

               In its Resolution of 27 November 2009 on a renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010-18) (4), the Council underlines the need for better knowledge and understanding of the living conditions, values and attitudes of young women and men.

               (4)

               In its Recommendation of 22 April 2013 on establishing a Youth Guarantee (5), the Council encourages Member States to implement Youth Guarantee schemes as soon as possible, preferably from the start of the 2014-20 multiannual financial framework. They are advised to make use of the EU's Common Strategic Framework Funds and the European Social Fund in particular for this purpose.

               (5)

               In its Communication Working together for Europe's young people: A call to action on youth unemployment
                   (6), the Commission encourages Member States to implement the Youth Guarantee and to invest in young people. It promotes online services that allow young people to search job opportunities advertised by employers from their own and other Member States, while also helping SMEs to recruit young people from across Europe.

               (6)

               Commission Regulation (EU) No 318/2013 (7) establishes the 2016 ad hoc module on young people on the labour market.

               (7)

               Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1397/2014 (8) specifies and gives a description of the areas of specialised information (‘ad hoc sub-modules’) to be included in the 2016 ad hoc module on young people on the labour market.

               (8)

               Regulation (EU) No 545/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9) provides that the technical characteristics, the filters, the codes and the deadline for the transmission of data under each ad hoc sub-module referred to in recital 7 should be specified by the Commission.

               (9)

               The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the European Statistical System Committee,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
   Article 1
   The technical characteristics of the 2016 ad hoc module on young people on the labour market, the filters and codes to be used, and the deadline by which data shall be sent to the Commission are set out in the Annex to this Regulation.
   Article 2
   This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

      This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
      Done at Brussels, 19 March 2015.

            For the Commission

            The President

         Jean-Claude JUNCKER

      (1)  OJ L 77, 14.3.1998, p. 3.

      (2)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Youth on the Move: An initiative to unleash the potential of young people to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the European Union, adopted on 15 September 2010, COM(2010) 477 final.

      (3)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Rethinking Education: Investing in skills for better socioeconomic outcomes, adopted on 20 November 2012, COM(2012) 669 final.

      (4)  OJ C 311, 19.12.2009, p. 1.

      (5)  OJ C 120, 26.4.2013, p. 1.

      (6)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — Working together for Europe's young people: A call to action on youth unemployment, adopted on 19 June 2013 — COM(2013) 447 final.

      (7)  Commission Regulation (EU) No 318/2013 of 8 April 2013 adopting the programme of ad hoc modules, covering the years 2016 to 2018, for the labour force sample survey provided for by Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 (OJ L 99, 9.4.2013, p. 11).

      (8)  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1397/2014 of 22 October 2014 amending Regulation (EU) No 318/2013 adopting the programme of ad hoc modules, covering the years 2016 to 2018, for the labour force sample survey provided for by Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 (OJ L 370, 30.12.2014, p. 42).

      (9)  Regulation (EU) No 545/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 on the organisation of a labour force sample survey in the Community (OJ L 163, 29.5.2014, p. 10).

      ANNEX
      This Annex sets out the technical characteristics, filters and codes to be used in the ad hoc module on young people on the labour market scheduled to be carried out in 2016. It also sets the dates for submission of data to the Commission.

         Deadline for transmission of the results to the Commission: 31 March 2017.

         Filters and codes to be used for sending data: as set out in Annex III to Commission Regulation (EC) No 377/2008 (1), as amended by Annex I to Commission Regulation (EU) No 317/2013 (2).

         Columns reserved for optional weighting factors, to be used in cases of subsampling or non-response: columns 228-231 containing whole numbers and columns 232-233 containing decimal places.

         Sub-module ‘Educational background’

         Filter: 15≤AGE≤ 34

                  Name/Column

                  Code

                  Description

                  Filter

                  WORKEXP
                  211

                     Work experience during studies

                  HATLEVEL≠000

                     Paid or unpaid work experience during the highest level of education (HATLEVEL)

                  1

                  Both paid and unpaid work experience

                  2

                  Paid work experience only

                  3

                  Unpaid work experience only

                  4

                  No work experience during HATLEVEL

                  9

                  Not applicable (not included in the filter)

                  Blank

                  Unknown

                  WORKSTUD
                  212

                     Work-based learning

                  WORKEXP = 1-3

                     Type of work experience that is part of the curriculum of the highest level of education (HATLEVEL)

                  1

                  Apprenticeship (operational Eurostat definition)

                  2

                  Mandatory traineeship

                  3

                  Mandatory work-based training where distinction between 1 and 2 is not possible

                  4

                  Optional traineeship (part of education)

                  5

                  Work outside the curriculum

                  9

                  Not applicable (not included in the filter)

                  Blank

                  Unknown

                  ADDLEVEL
                  213-214

                     Level of additional formal education

                  EDUCSTAT = 2

                     Level and orientation of formal education that person started after reaching highest level of education

                  00

                  No other formal education started after reaching the highest level of education

                  10

                  ISCED 1

                  20

                  ISCED 2

                  30

                  ISCED 3 where distinction by orientation is not possible

                  34

                  ISCED 3 general programme

                  35

                  ISCED 3 vocational programme

                  40

                  ISCED 4 where distinction by orientation is not possible

                  44

                  ISCED 4 general programme

                  45

                  ISCED 4 vocational programme

                  50

                  ISCED 5

                  60

                  ISCED 6

                  70

                  ISCED 7

                  80

                  ISCED 8

                  99

                  Not applicable (not included in the filter)

                  Blank

                  Unknown

                  DROPREAS
                  215

                     Reason for dropping out

                  EDUCSTAT = 2 and ADDLEVEL≠00

                     Main reason for not completing the level of formal education started

                  0

                  Completed last formal education

                  Did not complete last formal education due to:

                  1

                  The level of difficulty

                  2

                  Failure of study to meet needs or interest

                  3

                  The costs of studying

                  4

                  A wish to start working

                  5

                  Family reasons

                  6

                  Health reasons

                  7

                  Other

                  9

                  Not applicable (not included in the filter)

                  Blank

                  Unknown

                  LEAVDATE
                  216-221

                     Date of leaving formal education

                  EDUCSTAT = 2 and ADDLEVEL≠00

                     Year and month of leaving formal education

                  Enter the four digits of the year concerned

                  9999

                  Not applicable (not included in the filter)

                  Blank

                  Unknown (year)

                  Enter the two digits of the month concerned

                  99

                  Not applicable (not included in the filter)

                  Blank

                  Unknown (month)

                  NCONREAS
                  222

                     Reason for not continuing education

                  EDUCSTAT = 2 and ADDLEVEL = 00 and HATLEVEL = 000-500

                     Main reason for not continuing formal education

                  0

                  Highest level of education was considered high enough

                  1

                  The level of difficulty

                  2

                  Failure of study to meet needs or interest

                  3

                  The costs of studying

                  4

                  A wish to start working

                  5

                  Family reasons

                  6

                  Health reasons

                  7

                  Other

                  9

                  Not applicable (not included in the filter)

                  Blank

                  Unknown

         Sub-module ‘Finding a job’

         Filter: 15≤AGE≤ 34

                  Name/Column

                  Code

                  Description

                  Filter

                  SUPPORT
                  223

                     Support received for finding work

                  (WSTATOR = 1,2 and STARTIME< 12) or WSTATOR = 3-5

                     Most helpful type of support for finding a job received from public agencies during the previous 12 months

                  0

                  No support received

                  Most helpful type of support:

                  1

                  Assistance in finding job vacancies

                  2

                  Advice on how to apply for a job

                  3

                  Advice on opportunities for training and education

                  4

                  Being given a place on a work programme

                  5

                  Being given a place on an educational or training programme

                  6

                  Other

                  7

                  Support received, but not considered helpful

                  8

                  Support received, but level of helpfulness unknown

                  9

                  Not applicable (not included in the filter)

                  Blank

                  Unknown

                  FINDMETH
                  224

                     Method of finding current job

                  STAPRO = 3

                     Method used to find current main job

                  1

                  Advertisements, via any channel

                  2

                  Relatives, friends or acquaintances

                  3

                  Public employment office

                  4

                  Private employment agency

                  5

                  Education or training provider

                  6

                  Contacted employer directly

                  7

                  Employer contacted person directly

                  8

                  Other method

                  9

                  Not applicable (not included in the filter)

                  Blank

                  Unknown

                  OKLEVEL
                  225

                     Appropriateness of job given the respondent's level of education

                  WSTATOR = 1,2

                     Extent to which the respondent's current main job corresponds to their level of education

                  1

                  The job corresponds well to their education

                  2

                  The job corresponds to some extent to their education

                  3

                  The job does not correspond very well to their education

                  4

                  The job does not correspond at all to their education

                  9

                  Not applicable (not included in the filter)

                  Blank

                  Unknown

                  MOVE4JOB
                  226

                     Willingness to move for job

                     Willingness to change place of residence for a job

                  1

                  Respondent has moved or would be willing to move within their country

                  2

                  Respondent has moved or would be willing to move to another EU country

                  3

                  Respondent has moved or would be willing to move outside the EU

                  4

                  Respondent has not moved or would not be willing to move for a job

                  Blank

                  Unknown

                  CMT4JOB
                  227

                     Willingness to commute for job

                     Willingness to have a long commute for a job

                  1

                  Respondent is currently commuting or would be willing to commute for longer than one hour (each direction)

                  2

                  Respondent is not currently commuting and would not be willing to commute for longer than one hour (each direction)

                  Blank

                  Unknown

         (1)  Commission Regulation (EC) No 377/2008 of 25 April 2008 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 on the organisation of a labour force sample survey in the Community as regards the codification to be used for data transmission from 2009 onwards, the use of a subsample for the collection of data on structural variables and the definition of the reference quarters (OJ L 114, 26.4.2008, p. 57).

         (2)  Commission Regulation (EU) No 317/2013 of 8 April 2013 amending the Annexes to Regulations (EC) No 1983/2003, (EC) No 1738/2005, (EC) No 698/2006, (EC) No 377/2008 and (EU) No 823/2010 as regards the International Standard Classification of Education (OJ L 99, 9.4.2013, p. 1).


title: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 870/2014 of 11 August 2014 on criteria for applicants for rail infrastructure capacity  Text with EEA relevance

text:
               12.8.2014

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 239/11

         COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 870/2014
   of 11 August 2014
   on criteria for applicants for rail infrastructure capacity
   (Text with EEA relevance)
   THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
   Having regard to Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 establishing a single European railway area (1), and in particular Article 41(3) thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               Article 41(2) of Directive 2012/34/EU provides for the possibility for infrastructure managers to set requirements with regard to applicants to ensure that their legitimate expectations about future revenues and utilisation of the infrastructure are safeguarded.

               (2)

               These requirements should be appropriate, transparent and non-discriminatory. They can only include the provision of a financial guarantee that should not exceed an appropriate level proportional to the contemplated level of activity, and assurance of the capability of the applicant to prepare compliant bids for infrastructure capacity.

               (3)

               Financial guarantees could take the form of advance payments or guarantees provided by financial institutions

               (4)

               The appropriateness of the requirements referred to in Recital (2) should take account of the fact that the infrastructure of competing transport modes, such as road and air transport, sea ships and inland waterways, is often free of user charges and hence also free of financial guarantees thereon. In order to ensure fair competition between transport modes, financial guarantees should be limited to the strict minimum in terms of level and duration.

               (5)

               These financial guarantees are only appropriate if they are necessary for the purpose of reassuring the infrastructure manager about the future revenues and utilisation of the infrastructure. Considering that infrastructure managers are able to rely on the checks and surveillance of the financial fitness of railway undertakings under the licensing procedure in accordance with Chapter III of Directive 2012/34/EU, and in particular Article 20 of that Directive, the need for financial guarantees is further reduced.

               (6)

               The principle of non-discrimination applies to those guarantees, therefore there should be no distinction between the guarantee requirements for privately and publicly owned applicants.

               (7)

               Guarantees should be commensurate with the level of risk posed by the applicant for the infrastructure manager at different stages of capacity allocation. The risk is considered generally to be low as long as the capacity can be reallocated to other railway undertakings.

               (8)

               A guarantee which is requested in relation to the preparation of compliant bids can only be considered as appropriate, transparent and non-discriminatory if the infrastructure manager sets out clear and transparent rules for preparing a capacity request in the network statement, and offers the necessary support tools to applicants. Since it is not possible to objectively determine the capability of preparing compliant bids before the application procedure, any lack of capability can only be determined after that procedure, on the basis of a repeated failure to put forward those bids or provide the necessary information to the infrastructure manager. The applicant is responsible for that failure which carries a sanction involving the exclusion of the applicant from the application for a specific train path.

               (9)

               The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee referred to in Article 62(1) of Directive 2012/34/EU,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
   Article 1
   Subject matter
   This Regulation sets out requirements for financial guarantees that an infrastructure manager may request to ensure that its legitimate expectations about future revenues are met without exceeding a level proportional to level of activities contemplated by the applicant. The requirements include in particular the conditions when a guarantee or an advance payment may be requested and the level and duration of a financial guarantee. In addition, this Regulation sets out certain details as regards the criteria to assess the capability of an applicant to prepare compliant bids for infrastructure capacity.
   Article 2
   Definitions
   For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definition applies:

               ‘financial guarantee’ means: (a) advance payments to reduce and anticipate future obligations to pay infrastructure charges; or (b) contractual arrangements by which a financial institution such as bank commits to ensure that such payments are effected once they are due.

         Article 3
   Conditions for financial guarantees
   1.   The applicant may choose to meet a request for financial guarantee by means of either advance payment or contractual arrangement in the meaning of Article 2. Where an infrastructure manager requires an applicant to provide an advance payment for infrastructure charges, it may not at the same time request other financial guarantees for the same contemplated activities.
   2.   An infrastructure manager shall not request applicants to provide financial guarantees unless the credit rating of the applicant suggests that he might have difficulties in effecting regular payments for infrastructure charges. The infrastructure manager shall mention such credit ratings in the section on charging principles of its network statement, if applicable. The infrastructure manager shall base his request for a financial guarantee on ratings not older than two years provided by a credit rating agency.
   3.   The infrastructure manager shall not request a financial guarantee:

               (a)

               from the designated railway undertaking if a financial guarantee has already been granted or paid by the applicant, which is not a railway undertaking, to cover future payments for the same contemplated activities;

               (b)

               if the infrastructure charge is to be paid directly to the infrastructure manager by a competent authority pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2).

         Article 4
   Level and duration of financial guarantees
   1.   The level of financial guarantees regarding one applicant shall not exceed the estimated amount of charges incurred during two months of train operations requested.
   2.   Reservation charges paid in accordance with Article 36 of Directive 2012/34/EU shall be deducted from the maximum estimated amount of charges referred to in paragraph 1.
   3.   An infrastructure manager shall not require that a financial guarantee takes effect more than 10 days before the first of the month in which the railway undertaking starts the train operations the payment of infrastructure charges from which this financial guarantee is to cover. If the capacity is allocated after this point in time, the infrastructure manager may request the financial guarantee at short notice.
   Article 5
   Capability to prepare compliant bids for infrastructure capacity
   The infrastructure manager shall not reject an application for a specific train path on grounds of failing to provide assurance of the capability to prepare a compliant bid for infrastructure capacity, within the meaning of Article 41(2) of Directive 2012/34/EU, unless:

               (a)

               the applicant has failed to answer two subsequent requests requiring the provision of the missing information or has repeatedly responded in a way that does not satisfy the conditions set out in the network statement referred to in Article 27 of Directive 2012/34/EU and in Annex IV to that Directive regarding the application procedures for train paths; and

               (b)

               the infrastructure manager is able to demonstrate at the request of and to the satisfaction of the regulatory body that it has taken all reasonable steps to support the correct and timely submission of applications.

         Article 6
   Transitional provision
   Where necessary, infrastructure managers shall align their network statements to the provisions of this Regulation for the first timetable period following the entry into force of this Regulation.
   Article 7
   This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication the Official Journal of the European Union.
   It shall apply from 16 June 2015.

      This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
      Done at Brussels, 11 August 2014.

            For the Commission

            The President

         José Manuel BARROSO

      (1)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 32.

      (2)  Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on public passenger transport services by rail and by road and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) Nos 1191/69 and 1107/70, OJ L 315, 3.12.2007, p. 1.