As of 4 December 2011, admission to the occupation of road haulage operator and road passenger transport operator in the European Union is governed by Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009. This regulation replaces Directive 96/26/EC as amended by Directive 98/76/EC.
These rules cover road hauliers using vehicles of over 3.5 tonnes (the maximum authorised mass) and commercial transport undertakings operating vehicles with seats for 9 passengers, including the driver, or more.
According to the regulation, operators must fulfill four criteria to access the profession:
- Good repute criterion, which shall ensure adequate entrepreneurial ethical conduct. Manipulating a tachograph, for example, would be considered a serious infringement leading to the loss of a good reputation.
- Financial standing, which requires operators to have capital assets available every annual accounting year of at least € 9000 for the first vehicle and € 5000 for each additional vehicle.
- Professional competence, which requires practical knowledge and the aptitude of professionals in the sector by means of an obligatory exam with common arrangements, marking and certificates.
- To have an effective and stable establishment in a Member State.
A transport manager who is responsible for respecting the road transport legislation in force must be designated by each road transport operator.
National authorities have to carry out regular checks to ensure that undertakings continue to satisfy these four criteria. In order to facilitate the monitoring of road transport undertakings, Member States have to set up national electronic registers which are interconnected (ERRU) to facilitate the cooperation and exchange of information at European level.
The purpose of these rules is:
- to achieve greater harmonisation of standards between Member States, particularly as regards levels of financial standing required and the standard of professional competence expected;
- to facilitate the right of establishment in other Member States and the mutual recognition of professional status;
- to improve the overall professional standing and quality of road transport;
- to prevent unscrupulous firms from seeking to gain market advantages by skimping on safety and working conditions.
Legislation
Policy
Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation in the period from 1 January 2017 until 31 December 2018 of certain provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 establishing common rules concerning the conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of road transport operator
Report on the State of the EU Road Haulage Market
Report on the implementation in the period from 1 January 2015 until 31 December 2016 of certain provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 establishing common rules concerning the conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of road transport operator (2nd report from the Commission on the implementation by Member States of certain provisions concerning the access to the occupation of road transport operator)
Notice under under Article 7 of Regulation 1071/2009 – Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs)
Under Article 7 of Regulation 1071/2009: “Member States may require that undertakings established in their territories demonstrate that they have at their disposal for these vehicles (vehicles used for the carriage of goods, the permissible laden mass of which does not exceed 3,5 tonnes) the same amounts of capital and reserves as for the vehicles referred to in the first subparagraph. In such cases, the competent authority of the Member State concerned shall inform the Commission accordingly, and the Commission shall make that information publicly available.”
Member States having informed the Commission that they have required undertakings established in their territories to demonstrate that they have at their disposal for LCVs at their disposal the same amounts of capital and reserves as for the vehicles that have a permissible laden mass exceeding 3,5 tonnes:
- The Italian Republic
- The Kingdom of Sweden
- The Kingdom of the Netherlands