This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 71(1) and 93 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ( 1 ),

Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee ( 2 ),

Having regard to the Opinion of the Committee of the Regions ( 3 )

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty ( 4 ),

Whereas:

(1)	The elimination of distortions of competition between transport undertakings in the Member States calls for both the harmonisation of levy systems and the establishment of fair mechanisms for charging infrastructure costs to hauliers;

(2)	These objectives can be achieved only in stages;

(3)

A degree of harmonisation of levy systems has already been achieved through the adoption of Council Directive 92/81/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the harmonisation of the structures of excise duties on mineral oils ( 5 ) and Council Directive 92/82/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the approximation of the rates of excise duties on mineral oils ( 6 );

(4)

By judgment of 5 July 1995 in Case C-21/94 European Parliament v. Council ( 7 ) the Court of Justice of the European Communities annulled Council Directive 93/89/EEC of 25 October 1993 on the application by Member States of taxes on certain vehicles used for the carriage of goods by road and tolls and user charges for the use of certain infrastructures ( 8 ), while preserving the effects of that Directive until the Council had adopted a new Directive; therefore, Directive 93/89/EEC is replaced by this Directive;

(5)	Under present circumstances the adjustment of national levy systems should be confined to commercial vehicles of more than a certain gross laden weight;

(6)	For this purpose minimum rates should be set for the vehicle taxes currently applied by the Member States or any which might succeed them;

(7)	The use of road-friendly and less polluting vehicles should be encouraged through differentiation of taxes or charges, provided that such differentiation does not interfere with the functioning of the internal market;

(8)	It is appropriate that certain Member States may be granted a period of derogation from the minima to facilitate adaptation to the levels required by this Directive;

(9)	Certain local domestic transport operations with little impact on the Community transport market are at present subject to reduced rates of vehicle tax; in order to ensure smooth transition, Member States should be authorised to lay down temporary derogations from minimum rates;

(10)	Member States should be permitted to apply reduced rates or exemptions of vehicle taxes in the case of vehicles whose use is not liable to affect the Community transport market;

(11)	In order to make allowance for certain special situations, a procedure should be laid down whereby Member States may be permitted to maintain further exemptions or reductions;

(12)

Existing distortions of competition cannot be eliminated solely by harmonising taxes or fuel excise duties; however, until technically and economically more appropriate forms of levy are in place, such distortions may be attenuated by the possibility of retaining or introducing tolls and/or user charges for the use of motorways; in addition Member States should be allowed to levy charges for the use of bridges, tunnels and mountain passes;

(13)	In view of the specific conditions on certain Alpine routes, it may be appropriate for a Member State to disapply a user charge system from a well defined section of its motorway network in order to permit application of an infrastructure related charge;

(14)	Tolls and user charges should not be discriminatory nor entail excessive formalities or create obstacles at internal borders; therefore, adequate measures should be taken to permit the payment of tolls and user charges at any time and with different means of payment;

(15)	The rates of user charges should be based on the duration of the use made of the infrastructure in question and be differentiated in relation to the costs caused by the road vehicles;

(16)	Reduced rates of user charges should be applied temporarily for vehicles registered in Greece to take account of difficulties due to its geopolitical position;

(17)

In order to ensure that user charges and tolls are applied homogeneously, certain rules for determining their manner of application should be laid down, such as the characteristics of the infrastructure to which they are applicable, the maximum levels of certain rates and other general conditions that will have to be complied with; weighted average tolls should be related to the costs of construction, operating and developing the infrastructure network concerned;

(18)	Member States should be able to attribute to environmental protection and the balanced development of transport networks a percentage of the amount of the user charge or of the toll, provided that this amount is calculated in accordance with the provisions of this Directive;

(19)

The amounts in this Directive expressed in the national currency units of Member States adopting the euro were fixed on 1 January 1999 when the value of the euro was determined in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 2866/98 of 31 December 1998 on the conversion rates between the euro and the currencies of the Member States adopting the euro ( 9 ); it is appropriate that Member States not adopting the euro should review annually the amounts in this Directive in national currencies and adjust them where appropriate to take account of changes in the exchange rates; annual adjustments in national currencies may not be compulsory if the change resulting from the application of the new exchange rates is below a certain percentage level;

(20)	The principle of territoriality should be applied; two or more Member States may cooperate for the purpose of introducing a common system of user charges, subject to compliance with some additional conditions;

(21)	In accordance with the principle of proportionality, this Directive limits itself to the minimum required for the attainment of the objectives under the third paragraph of Article 5 of the Treaty;

(22)	A strict timetable should be set for reviewing the provisions of this Directive and considering adjustments to them, if necessary, with the aim of developing a more territorial levy system,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

This Directive applies to vehicle taxes, tolls and user charges imposed on vehicles as defined in Article 2.

This Directive shall not affect vehicles carrying out transport operations exclusively in the non-European territories of the Member States.

It shall also not affect vehicles registered in the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, the Azores or Madeira and carrying out transport operations exclusively in those territories or between those territories and, respectively, mainland Spain and mainland Portugal.

(aa) ‘construction costs’ means the costs related to construction, including, where appropriate, the financing costs, of:

— new infrastructure or new infrastructure improvements (including significant structural repairs), or

— infrastructure or infrastructure improvements (including significant structural repairs) completed no more than 30 years before 10 June 2008, where tolling arrangements are already in place on 10 June 2008, or completed no more than 30 years before the establishment of any new tolling arrangements introduced after 10 June 2008; costs regarding infrastructure or infrastructure improvements completed before these time limits may also be considered as construction costs where:

—

(i) a Member State has established a tolling system which provides for the recovery of these costs by means of a contract with a tolling system operator, or other legal acts having equivalent effect, which enter into force before 10 June 2008, or

(ii) a Member State can demonstrate that the case for building the infrastructure in question depended on its having a design lifetime in excess of 30 years.

In any event, the proportion of the construction costs to be taken into account shall not exceed the proportion of the current design lifetime period of infrastructure components still to run on 10 June 2008 or on the date when the new tolling arrangements are introduced, where this is a later date.

Costs of infrastructure or infrastructure improvements may include any specific expenditure on infrastructure designed to reduce nuisance related to noise or to improve road safety and actual payments made by the infrastructure operator corresponding to objective environmental elements such as protection against soil contamination;

2. Member States which replace any tax listed in paragraph l with another tax of the same kind shall notify the Commission, which shall make the necessary amendments.

Procedures for levying and collecting the taxes referred to in Article 3 shall be determined by each Member State.

As regards vehicles registered in the Member States, the taxes referred to in Article 3 shall be charged solely by the Member State of registration.

1. Whatever the structure of the taxes referred to in Article 3, Member States shall set the rates so as to ensure that the tax rate for each vehicle category or subcategory referred to in Annex I is not lower than the minimum laid down in that Annex.

Until two years after entry into force of the Directive, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain shall be authorised to apply rates that are lower than, but not less than, 65 % of the minima laid down in Annex I.

4. Without prejudice to the second subparagraph of paragraph l and to paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article or to Article 6 of Council Directive 92/106/EEC of 7 December 1992 on the establishment of common rules for certain types of combined transport of goods between Member States ( 12 ), Member States may not grant any exemption from, or any reduction in, the taxes referred to in Article 3 which would render the chargeable tax lower than the minimum referred to in paragraph l of this Article.

1. Without prejudice to Article 9 paragraph 1a, Member States may maintain or introduce tolls and/or user charges on the trans-European road network or on certain sections of that network, and on any other additional sections of their network of motorways which are not part of the trans-European road network under the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article and in Articles 7a to 7k. This shall be without prejudice to the right of Member States, in compliance with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to apply tolls and/or user charges on other roads, provided that the imposition of tolls and/or user charges on such other roads does not discriminate against international traffic and does not result in the distortion of competition between operators.

2. Member States shall not impose both tolls and user charges on any given category of vehicle for the use of a single road section. However, a Member State which imposes a user charge on its network may also impose tolls for the use of bridges, tunnels and mountain passes.

3. Tolls and user charges shall not discriminate, directly or indirectly, on the grounds of the nationality of the haulier, the Member State or the third country of establishment of the haulier or of registration of the vehicle, or the origin or destination of the transport operation.

4. Member States may provide for reduced toll rates or user charges, or exemptions from the obligation to pay tolls or user charges for vehicles exempted from the requirement to install and use recording equipment under Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 of 20 December 1985 on recording in road transport ( 13 ), and in cases covered by, and subject to the conditions set out in, Article 6(2)(a) and (b) of this Directive.

5. A Member State may choose to apply tolls and/or user charges only to vehicles having a maximum permissible laden weight of not less than 12 tonnes if it considers that an extension to vehicles of less than 12 tonnes would, amongst others:

Member States choosing to apply tolls and/or user charges only to vehicles having a maximum permissible laden weight of not less than 12 tonnes shall inform the Commission of their decision and on the reasons therefor.

1. User charges shall be proportionate to the duration of the use made of the infrastructure, not exceeding the values stipulated in Annex II, and shall be valid for a day, a week, a month or a year. The monthly rate shall be no more than 10 % of the annual rate, the weekly rate shall be no more than 5 % of the annual rate and the daily rate shall be no more than 2 % of the annual rate.

A Member State may apply only annual rates for vehicles registered in that Member State.

2. Member States shall set user charges, including administrative costs, for all vehicle categories, at a level which is no higher than the maximum rates laid down in Annex II.

1. The infrastructure charge shall be based on the principle of the recovery of infrastructure costs. The weighted average infrastructure charge shall be related to the construction costs and the costs of operating, maintaining and developing the infrastructure network concerned. The weighted average infrastructure charge may also include a return on capital and/or a profit margin based on market conditions.

2. The costs taken into account shall relate to the network or the part of the network on which infrastructure charges are levied and to the vehicles that are subject thereto. Member States may choose to recover only a percentage of those costs.

1. The external-cost charge may be related to the cost of traffic-based air pollution. On road sections crossing areas with a population exposed to road traffic-based noise pollution, the external-cost charge may include the cost of traffic-based noise pollution.

The external-cost charge shall vary and be set in accordance with the minimum requirements and the methods as specified in Annex IIIa and shall respect the maximum values set out in Annex IIIb.

2. The costs taken into account shall relate to the network or the part of the network on which external-cost charges are levied and to the vehicles that are subject thereto. Member States may choose to recover only a percentage of those costs.

3. The external-cost charge related to traffic-based air pollution shall not apply to vehicles which comply with the most stringent EURO emission standards until four years after the dates of application laid down in the rules which introduced those standards.

4. The amount of the external-cost charge shall be set by the Member State concerned. If a Member State designates an authority for this purpose, the authority shall be legally and financially independent from the organisation in charge of managing or collecting part or all of the charge.

By one year after the adoption of future and more stringent EURO emission standards, the European Parliament and the Council shall, in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, determine the corresponding maximum values in Annex IIIb.

1. Member States shall calculate the maximum level of infrastructure charge using a methodology based on the core calculation principles set out in Annex III.

2. For concession tolls, the maximum level of the infrastructure charge shall be equivalent to, or less than, the level that would have resulted from the use of a methodology based on the core calculation principles set out in Annex III. The assessment of such equivalence shall be made on the basis of a reasonably long reference period appropriate to the nature of the concession contract.

3. Tolling arrangements which were already in place on 10 June 2008 or for which tenders or responses to invitations to negotiate under the negotiated procedure were received pursuant to a public procurement process before 10 June 2008 shall not be subject to the obligations set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 for as long as those arrangements remain in force and provided that they are not substantially amended.

1. In exceptional cases concerning infrastructure in mountainous regions, and after informing the Commission, a mark-up may be added to the infrastructure charge levied on specific road sections which are subject to acute congestion, or the use of which by vehicles is the cause of significant environmental damage, on condition that:

The first subparagraph shall apply to new cross-border projects subject to the agreement of all Member States involved in that project.

2. A mark-up may be applied to an infrastructure charge which has been varied in accordance with Article 7g.

3. After receiving the required information from a Member State intending to apply a mark-up, the Commission shall make this information available to the members of the Committee referred to in Article 9c. If the Commission considers that the planned mark-up does not meet the conditions set out in paragraph 1, or if it considers that the planned mark-up will have significant adverse effects on the economic development of peripheral regions, it may reject or request amendment of the plans for charges submitted by the Member State concerned. These implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 9c(2).

4. On road sections where the criteria for applying a mark-up pursuant to paragraph 1 are met, the Member States may not levy an external-cost charge unless a mark-up is applied.

5. The amount of the mark-up shall be deducted from the amount of the external-cost charge calculated in accordance with Article 7c, except for vehicles of EURO emission classes 0, I and II from 15 October 2011, and III from 2015 onwards. All these revenues generated by the simultaneous application of the mark-up and the external cost charges shall be invested in financing the construction of priority projects of European interest identified in Annex III to Decision No 661/2010/EU.

1. Member States shall vary the infrastructure charge according to the EURO emission class of the vehicle in such a way that no infrastructure charge is more than 100 % above the same charge for equivalent vehicles meeting the strictest emission standards. Existing concession contracts are exempted from this requirement until the contract is renewed.

A Member State may nevertheless derogate from the requirement of varying the infrastructure charge if:

2. Where, in the event of a check, a driver or, if appropriate, the haulier, is unable to produce the vehicle documents necessary to ascertain the EURO emission class of the vehicle, Member States may apply tolls up to the highest level chargeable.

3. The infrastructure charge may also be varied for the purpose of reducing congestion, minimising infrastructure damage and optimising the use of the infrastructure concerned or promoting road safety, on condition that:

4. The variations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 are not designed to generate additional toll revenue. Any unintended increase in revenue shall be counterbalanced by changes to the structure of the variation which must be implemented within two years from the end of the accounting year in which the additional revenue is generated.

1. At least six months before the implementation of a new infrastructure charge tolling arrangement, Member States shall send to the Commission:

2. Within six months of receiving all the necessary information in accordance with paragraph 1, the Commission shall give an opinion as to whether the obligations of Article 7e are complied with. The opinions of the Commission shall be made available to the Committee referred to in Article 9c.

3. Before the implementation of a new external-cost charge tolling arrangement, Member States shall send the Commission:

4. The Commission shall take a decision as to whether the obligations of Articles 7b, 7c, 7j or 9(2) are complied with by:

The Member State concerned shall adapt the proposed external-cost charge in order to be in conformity with the decision. The decision of the Commission shall be made available to the Committee referred to in Article 9c, to the European Parliament and to the Council.

1. Member States shall not provide for discounts or reductions for any users in relation to the external-cost charge element of a toll.

2. Member States may provide for discounts or reductions to the infrastructure charge on condition that:

3. Subject to the conditions provided for in Article 7g(3)(b) and in Article 7g(4), toll rates may, in exceptional cases, namely for specific projects of high European interest identified in Annex III to Decision No 661/2010/EU, be subject to other forms of variation in order to secure the commercial viability of such projects where they are exposed to direct competition with other modes of vehicle transport. The resulting charging structure shall be linear, proportionate, made public, and available to all users on equal terms and shall not lead to additional costs being passed on to other users in the form of higher tolls. The Commission shall verify compliance with those conditions prior to the implementation of the charging structure in question.

1. Tolls and user charges shall be applied and collected and their payment monitored in such a way as to cause as little hindrance as possible to the free flow of traffic and to avoid any mandatory controls or checks at the Union’s internal borders. To this end, Member States shall cooperate in establishing methods for enabling hauliers to pay tolls and user charges 24 hours a day, at least at major sales outlets, using common means of payment, inside and outside the Member States in which they are applied. Member States shall provide adequate facilities at the points of payment for tolls and user charges so as to maintain normal road safety standards.

2. The arrangements for collecting tolls and user charges shall not, financially or otherwise, place non-regular users of the road network at an unjustified disadvantage. In particular, where a Member State collects tolls or user charges exclusively by means of a system that requires the use of a vehicle on-board unit, it shall ensure that appropriate on-board units compliant with the requirements of Directive 2004/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the interoperability of electronic road toll systems in the Community ( 16 ) can be obtained by all users under reasonable administrative and economic arrangements.

3. If a Member State levies a toll on a vehicle, the total amount of the toll, the amount of the infrastructure charge and/or the amount of the external-cost charge shall be indicated in a receipt provided to the haulier, as far as possible by electronic means.

4. Where economically feasible, Member States shall levy and collect external-cost charges by means of an electronic system which complies with the requirements of Article 2(1) of Directive 2004/52/EC. The Commission shall promote cooperation between Member States that may prove necessary to ensure the interoperability of electronic toll collection systems at European level.

Without prejudice to Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, this Directive does not affect the freedom of Member States which introduce a system of tolls and/or user charges for infrastructure to provide appropriate compensation for those charges.

1. Two or more Member States may cooperate in introducing a common system for user charges applicable to their territories as a whole. In that case, those Member States shall ensure that the Commission is closely involved therein and in the system's subsequent operation and possible amendment.

2. A common system shall be subject to the following conditions in addition to those in Article 7:

Each Member State shall monitor the system of tolls and/or user charges to ensure that it functions in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner.

1. Two or more Member States may cooperate in introducing a common system for tolls applicable to their combined territories as a whole. In such a case, those Member States shall ensure that the Commission is informed about such cooperation and the system’s subsequent operation and possible amendment.

2. The common toll system shall be subject to the conditions set out in Articles 7 to 7k. Other Member States may join the common system.

1. This Directive shall not prevent the non-discriminatory application by Member States of:

1a. This Directive shall not prevent the non-discriminatory application by Member States of regulatory charges specifically designed to reduce traffic congestion or combat environmental impacts, including poor air quality, on any roads located in an urban area, including trans-European network roads crossing urban areas.

2. Member States shall determine the use of revenues generated by this Directive. To enable the transport network to be developed as a whole, revenues generated from infrastructure and external costs charges, or the equivalent in financial value of these revenues, should be used to benefit the transport sector, and optimise the entire transport system. In particular, revenues generated from external cost charges, or the equivalent in financial value of these revenues, should be used to make transport more sustainable, including one or more of the following:

This paragraph shall be deemed to be applied by Member States, if they have in place and implement fiscal and financial support policies which leverage financial support to the trans-European network and which have an equivalent value of at least 15 % of the revenues generated from infrastructure and external cost charges in each Member State.

Member States shall establish appropriate controls and determine the system of penalties applicable to infringements of the national provisions adopted under this Directive. They shall take all necessary measures to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties established shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

The Commission shall facilitate dialogue and the exchange of technical know-how between Member States in relation to the implementation of this Directive and in particular the Annexes.

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers ( 17 ).

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union as regards:

The procedures set out in Articles 9e, 9f and 9g shall apply to the delegated acts referred to in this Article.

1. The power to adopt the delegated acts referred to in Article 9d shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time.

2. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and the Council.

3. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in Articles 9f and 9g.

1. The delegation of power referred to in Article 9d may be revoked by the European Parliament or by the Council.

2. The institution which has commenced an internal procedure for deciding whether to revoke the delegation of power shall endeavour to inform the other institution and the Commission within a reasonable time before the final decision is taken, indicating the delegated power which could be subject to revocation and possible reasons for a revocation.

3. The decision of revocation shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision and shall take effect immediately or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of the delegated acts already in force. It shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

1. The European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act within a period of two months from the date of notification.

At the initiative of the European Parliament or the Council this period shall be extended by two months.

2. If, on expiry of that period, neither the European Parliament nor the Council has objected to the delegated act, it shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and shall enter into force at the date stated therein.

The delegated act may be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force before the expiry of that period if the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission of their intention not to raise objections.

3. If the European Parliament or the Council objects to a delegated act, it shall not enter into force. The institution which objects shall state the reasons for objecting to the delegated act.

1. For the purpose of this Directive, the rates of exchange between the euro and the national currencies of the Member States which have not adopted the euro shall be those in force on the first working day of October and published in the Official Journal of the ►M3 European Union ◄ ; they shall have effect from 1 January of the following calendar year.

2. Member States which have not adopted the euro may maintain the amounts in force at the time of the annual adjustment made pursuant to paragraph 1 if the conversion of the amounts expressed in euro would result in a change of less than 5 % when expressed in national currencies.

1. The amounts in euro as laid down in Annex II and the amounts in cent as laid down in Tables 1 and 2 in Annex IIIb shall be reviewed every two years starting on 1 January 2013, in order to take account of changes in the EU-wide Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices excluding energy and unprocessed food (as published by the Commission (Eurostat)).

The amounts shall be adapted automatically, by increasing the base amount in euro or cent by the percentage change in that index. The resulting amounts shall be rounded up to the nearest euro with regard to Annex II, rounded up to the nearest tenth of a cent with regard to Table 1 in Annex IIIb and rounded up to the nearest hundredth of a cent with regard to Table 2 in Annex IIIb.

2. The Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union the adapted amounts referred to in paragraph 1. Those adapted amounts shall enter into force on the first day of the month following publication.

1. By 16 October 2014, and every four years thereafter, Member States which levy an external-cost charge and/or an infrastructure charge shall draw up a report on tolls, including concession tolls, levied on their territory and shall forward it to the Commission which shall make it available to the other Member States. That report may exclude tolling arrangements that were already in place on 10 June 2008 and which do not include external-cost charges, as long as those arrangements remain in force and provided that they are not substantially amended. That report shall comprise information on:

2. By 16 October 2015, the Commission, assisted by the Committee referred to in Article 9c, shall present a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation and effects of this Directive, in particular as regards the effectiveness of the provisions on the recovery of the costs related to traffic-based pollution, and on the inclusion of vehicles of more than 3,5 and less than 12 tonnes. The report shall also analyse, based on continuous monitoring, and assess, amongst others:

The report shall also evaluate the use of electronic systems to levy and collect infrastructure and external-cost charges and their degree of interoperability pursuant to Directive 2004/52/EC.

3. The report shall be accompanied, if appropriate, by a proposal to the European Parliament and the Council for further revision of this Directive.

4. By 16 October 2012, the Commission shall present a report that summarises the other measures, such as regulatory policies, taken to internalise or reduce the external costs related to environment, noise and health from all transport modes, including the legal basis and maximum values used.

In order to ensure fair intermodal competition while gradually charging the external costs of all transport modes, it shall include a timetable of the measures which remain to be taken to address other modes or vehicles and/or the external-cost elements not taken into account yet, taking into account progress in revising Council Directive 2003/96/EC of 27 October 2003 restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity ( 18 ).

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 1 July 2000. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt such measures, 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 such a reference shall be adopted by Member States.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive. The Commission shall inform the other Member States thereof.

This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

3. ‘EURO III’/‘EURO IV’/‘EURO V’/‘EEV’ vehicles

The specific masses of carbon monoxide, total hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and particulates, determined by the ESC test and the exhaust gas opacity, determined by the ELR test, must not exceed the following values (1):
	Mass of carbon monoxides (CO) g/kWh	Mass of hydrocarbons (HC) g/kWh	Mass of nitrogen oxides (NOx) g/kWh	Mass of particulates (PT) g/kWh	Exhaust gas m-1
‘EURO III’ vehicle	2,1	0,66	5,0	0,10 (2)	0,8
‘EURO IV’ vehicle	1,5	0,46	3,5	0,02	0,5
‘EURO V’ vehicle	1,5	0,46	2,0	0,02	0,5
‘EEV’ vehicle	1,5	0,25	2,0	0,02	0,15
(1) A test cycle consists of a sequence of test points, each point being defined by a speed and a torque which the engine must respect in steady state (ESC test) or transient operating conditions (ETC and ELR tests). (2) 0,13 for engines whose unit cylinder capacity is less that 0,7 dm3 and the nominal speed is in excess of 3 000 min-1.

Moteur vehicles

Number of axles and maximum permissible gross laden weight (in tonnes)		Minimum rate of tax (in euro/year)
Not less than	Less than	Driving axle(s) with air suspension or recognised equivalent (1)	Other driving axle(s) suspension systems
Two axles
12	13	0	31
13	14	31	86
14	15	86	121
15	18	121	274
Three axles
15	17	31	54
17	19	54	111
19	21	111	144
21	23	144	222
23	25	222	345
25	26	222	345
Four axles
23	25	144	146
25	27	146	228
27	29	228	362
29	31	362	537
31	32	362	537
(1) Suspension recognised as equivalent in accordance with the definition in Annexe II to Council Directive 96/53/EC of 25 July 1996 laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international traffic (OJ L 235, 17.9.1996, p. 59).

VEHICLE COMBINATIONS (ARTICULATED VEHICLES AND ROAD TRAINS)

Number of axles and maximum permissible gross laden weight (in tonnes)		Minimum rate of tax (in euro/year)
Not less than	Less than	Driving axle(s) with air suspension or recognised equivalent (1)	Other driving axle(s) suspension systems
2 + 1 axles
12	14	0	0
14	16	0	0
16	18	0	14
18	20	14	32
20	22	32	75
22	23	75	97
23	25	97	175
25	28	175	307
2 + 2 axles
23	25	30	70
25	26	70	115
26	28	115	169
28	29	169	204
29	31	204	335
31	33	335	465
33	36	465	706
36	38	465	706
2 + 3 axles
36	38	370	515
38	40	515	700
3 + 2 axles
36	38	327	454
38	40	454	628
40	44	628	929
3 + 3 axles
36	38	186	225
38	40	225	336
40	44	336	535
(1) Suspension recognised as equivalent in accordance with the definition in Annex II to Council Directive 96/53/EC of 25 July 1996 laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international traffic (OJ L 235, 17.9.1996, p. 59).

MAXIMUM AMOUNTS IN EURO OF USER CHARGES, INCLUDING ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 7(7)

Maximum monthly and weekly rates are in proportion to the duration of the use made of the infrastructure.

The daily user charge is equal for all vehicle categories and amounts to EUR 11.

This Annex stipulates the core principles for the calculation of weighted average infrastructure charge to reflect Article 7b(1). The obligation to relate infrastructure charges to costs shall be without prejudice to the freedom of Member States to choose, in accordance with Article 7b(2), not to recover the costs in full through infrastructure charges revenue, or to the freedom, in accordance with Article 7f, to vary the amounts of specific infrastructure charges away from the average.

The application of these principles shall be fully consistent with other existing obligations under ►M3 Union ◄ law, in particular the requirement for concession contracts to be awarded in accordance with Directive 2004/18/EC and other ►M3 Union ◄ instruments in the field of public procurement.

Where a Member State engages in negotiations with one or more third parties with a view to establishing a concession contract regarding the construction or operation of a part of its infrastructure, or in view of this purpose engages in a similar arrangement based on national legislation or an agreement entered into by the government of a Member State, compliance with these principles shall be judged on the basis of the outcome of these negotiations.

These costs shall include all costs incurred by the infrastructure operator which are not covered under Section 2 and which relate to the implementation, operation and management of the infrastructure and of the tolling system. They shall include in particular:

The costs may include a return on capital or profit margin reflecting the degree of risk transferred.

Such costs shall be apportioned on a fair and transparent basis between all vehicle classes that are subject to the tolling system.

— The following table gives a set of indicative equivalence factors. Where a Member State uses equivalence factors with ratios differing from those in the table, they shall be based on objectively justifiable criteria and shall be made public.

—

Vehicle class (1)	Equivalence factors
Vehicle class (1)	Structural repair (2)	Investments	Annual maintenance
Between 3,5 t and 7,5 t, Class 0	1	1	1
> 7,5 t, Class I	1,96	1	1
> 7,5 t, Class II	3,47	1	1
> 7,5 t, Class III	5,72	1	1
(1) See Annex IV for the determination of the vehicle class. (2) The vehicle classes correspond to axle weights of 5,5, 6,5, 7,5 and 8,5 tonnes respectively.

This Annex sets out the minimum requirements for levying an external-cost charge and for calculating the maximum weighted average external-cost charge.

The Member State shall specify precisely the part or parts of their road network which are to be subject to an external-cost charge.

Where a Member State chooses to levy an external-cost charge on only a part or parts of the road network falling within the scope of this Directive, the part or parts shall be chosen after an assessment establishing that:

The Member State shall notify the Commission of the classification of vehicles according to which the toll shall vary. It shall also notify the Commission of the location of roads subject to higher external-cost charges (called hereafter ‘suburban roads (including motorways)’), and of roads subject to lower external-cost charges (called hereafter ‘interurban roads (including motorways)’).

Where applicable, it shall also notify the Commission of the exact time periods corresponding to the night period during which a higher external noise-cost charge may be imposed to reflect greater noise nuisances.

The classification of roads as suburban roads (including motorways) and interurban roads (including motorways), and the definition of time periods shall be based on objective criteria related to the level of exposure of the roads and their vicinities to pollution such as population density, and the yearly number of pollution peaks measured in accordance with this Directive. The criteria used shall be included in the notification.

For each vehicle class, type of road and time period, the Member State or, if appropriate, an independent authority shall determine a single specific amount. The resulting charging structure, including the start time and the end time of each night period where the external-cost charge includes the cost of noise pollution, shall be transparent, made public and available to all users on equal terms. The publication should occur in a timely manner before implementation. All parameters, data and other information necessary to understand how the various external-cost elements are calculated shall be made public.

When setting the charges, the Member State or, if appropriate, an independent authority shall be guided by the principle of efficient pricing that is a price close to the social marginal cost of the usage of the vehicle charged.

The charge shall also be set after having considered the risk of traffic diversion together with any adverse effects on road safety, the environment and congestion, and any solutions to mitigate these risks.

The Member State or, if appropriate, an independent authority, shall monitor the effectiveness of the charging scheme in reducing environmental damage arising from road transport. It shall every two years adjust, if appropriate, the charging structure and the specific amount of the charge set for a given class of vehicle, type of road and period of time to the changes in transport supply and demand.

When a Member State chooses to include all or part of the cost of traffic-based air pollution in the external-cost charge, the Member State or, if appropriate, an independent authority shall calculate the chargeable cost of traffic–based air pollution by applying the following formula or by taking the unit values in Table 1 of Annex IIIb if the latter are lower:

The emission factors shall be the same as those used by the Member State to draft the national emissions inventories provided for in Directive 2001/81/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2001 on national emission ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants ( 20 ) (which requires use of the EMEP/CORINAIR Emission Inventory Guidebook ( 21 )). The monetary cost of pollutants shall be estimated by the Member State or, if appropriate, an independent authority, respecting the state of the article

The Member State or, if appropriate, an independent authority may apply scientifically proven alternative methods to calculate the value of air pollution costs using data from air pollutant measurement and the local value of the monetary cost of air pollutants, provided that the results do not exceed the unit values referred to in Table 1 of Annex IIIb for any class of vehicles.

When a Member State chooses to include all or part of the cost of traffic-based noise pollution in the external-cost charge, the Member State or, if appropriate, an independent authority shall calculate the chargeable cost of traffic–based noise pollution by applying the following formulae or by taking the unit values in Table 2 of Annex IIIb if the latter are lower:

The traffic-based noise pollution relates to the impact on noise levels measured close to the point of exposure and behind anti-noise barriers, if any.

The population exposed to noise level k shall be taken from the strategic noise maps drafted under Article 7 of Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 25 June 2002 relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise ( 22 ).

The cost per person exposed to noise level k shall be estimated by the Member State or, if appropriate, an independent authority, respecting the state of the article

The weighted average daily traffic shall assume an equivalence factor ‘e’ of no more than 4 between heavy goods vehicles and passenger cars.

The Member State or, if appropriate, an independent authority may apply scientifically proven alternative methods to calculate the value of noise costs provided that the results do not exceed the unit values referred to in Table 2 of Annex IIIb.

The Member State or, if appropriate, an independent authority, may establish differentiated noise charges to reward the use of quieter vehicles provided it does not result in discrimination against foreign vehicles. If differentiated noise charges are introduced, the charges for the noisiest category of vehicles may not exceed the unit values referred to in Table 2 of Annex IIIb and four times the noise charge for the quietest vehicle.

This Annex sets out the parameters to be used to calculate the maximum weighted average external-cost charge.

Table 1: Maximum chargeable air pollution cost

cent/vehicle.kilometre	Suburban roads (including motorways)	Interurban roads (including motorways)
EURO 0	16	12
EURO I	11	8
EURO II	9	7
EURO III	7	6
EURO IV	4	3
EURO V	0	0
after 31 December 2013	3	2
EURO VI	0	0
after 31 December 2017	2	1
Less polluting than EURO VI	0	0

The values of Table 1 may be multiplied by a factor of up to 2 in mountain areas to the extent that it is justified by the gradient of roads, altitude and/or temperature inversions.

The values in Table 2 may be multiplied by a factor of up to 2 in mountain areas to the extent that it is justified by the gradient of roads, temperature inversions and/or amphitheatre effect of valleys.

Vehicles are classed in subcategories 0, I, II and III according to the damage they cause to the road surface, in ascending order (Class III is thus the category causing most damage to road infrastructure). The damage increases exponentially with the increase in axle weight.

All motor vehicles and vehicle combinations of a maximum permissible laden weight below 7,5 tonnes belong to damage class 0.

Driving axles with air suspension or recognised equivalent (1)		Other driving axle suspension systems		Damage class
Number of axles and maximum permissible gross laden weight (in tonnes)		Number of axles and maximum permissible gross laden weight (in tonnes)
Not less than	Less than	Not less than	Less than
Two axles
7,5 12 13 14 15	12 13 14 15 18	7,5 12 13 14 15	12 13 14 15 18	I
Three axles
15 17 19 21 23 25	17 19 21 23 25 26	15 17 19 21	17 19 21 23
		23 25	25 26	II
Four axles
23 25 27	25 27 29	23 25	25 27	I
		27 29 31	29 31 32	II
29 31	31 32
(1) Suspension recognised as equivalent according to the definition in Annex II to Council Directive 96/53/EC of 25 July 1996 laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international traffic (OJ L 235, 17.9.1996, p. 59). Directive as last amended by Directive 2002/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 67, 9.3.2002, p. 47).

Driving axles with air suspension or recognised as equivalent		Other driving axle suspension systems		Damage class
Number of axles and maximum permissible gross laden weight (in tonnes)		Number of axles and maximum permissible gross laden weight (in tonnes)
Not less than	Less than	Not less than	Less than
2 + 1 axles
7,5 12 14 16 18 20 22 23 25	12 14 16 18 20 22 23 25 28	7,5 12 14 16 18 20 22 23 25	12 14 16 18 20 22 23 25 28	I
2 + 2 axles
23 25 26 28	25 26 28 29	23 25 26 28	25 26 28 29
29	31	29	31	II
31	33	31	33
33 36	36 38	33	36	III
2 + 3 axles				II
36 38	38 40	36	38
		38	40	III
3 + 2 axles				II
36 38	38 40	36	38
		38 40	40 44	III
40	44
3 + 3 axles
36 38	38 40	36	38	I
		38	40	II
40	44	40	44

( 3 ) Opinion delivered on 3 June 1999 (not yet published in the Official Journal).

( 4 ) Opinion of the European Parliament of 17 July 1997 (OJ C 286, 22.9.1997, p. 217), Council Common Position of 18 January 1999 (OJ C 58, 1.3.1999, p. 1) and Decision of the European Parliament of 7 May 1999 (not yet published in the Offcial Journal).

( 5 ) OJ L 316, 31.10.1992, p. 12. Directive as last amended by Directive 94/74/EC (OJ L 365, 31.12.1994, p. 46).

( 6 ) OJ L 316, 31.10.1992, p. 19. Directive as amended by Directive 94/74/EC. [1995] ECR I-1827.

( 7 ) OJ L 36, 9.2.1988, p. 33. Directive as last amended by Directive 96/1/EC (OJ L 40, 17.2.1996, p. 1).

( 10 ) OJ L 228, 9.9.1996, p. 1. Decision as last amended by Decision No 884/2004/EC (OJ L 167, 30.4.2004, p. 1).

( 11 ) OJ L 134, 30.4.2004, p. 114. Directive as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2083/2005 (OJ L 333, 20.12.2005, p. 28).

( 19 ) The application of equivalence factors by Member States may take account of road construction developed on a phased basis or using a long life cycle approach.

( 21 ) Methodology of the European Environmental Agency: http://reports.eea.europa.eu/EMEPCORINAIR5/

		Official Journal
		No	page	date
►M1	DIRECTIVE 2006/38/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 17 May 2006	L 157	8	9.6.2006
►M2	COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2006/103/EC of 20 November 2006	L 363	344	20.12.2006
►M3	DIRECTIVE 2011/76/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL Text with EEA relevance of 27 September 2011	L 269	1	14.10.2011
►M4	COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2013/22/EU of 13 May 2013	L 158	356	10.6.2013

Mass of carbon monoxide (CO) g/kWh	Mass of hydrocarbons (HC) g/kWh	Mass of nitrogen oxides (NOx) g/kWh
12,3	2,6	15,8

	Mass of carbon monoxide (CO) g/kWh	Mass of hydrocarbons (HC) g/kWh	Mass of nitrogen oxides (NOx) g/kWh	Mass of particulates (PT) g/kWh
‘EURO I’ vehicle	4,9	1,23	9,0	0,4 (1)
‘EURO II’ vehicle	4,0	1,1	7,0	0,15
(1) A coefficient of 1,7 is applied to the particulate emission limit value in the case of engines with a power rating of 85 kW or less.

	maximum three axles	minimum four axles
EURO 0	1 332	2 233
EURO I	1 158	1 933
EURO II	1 008	1 681
EURO III	876	1 461
EURO IV and less polluting	797	1 329