Competition in transport by rail, road and inland waterway

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EC) No 169/2009 — competition rules with regard to transport by rail, road and inland waterway

Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) — rules applying to companies: prevention, restriction or distortion of competition

Article 102 TFEU — rules applying to companies: abuses by companies in a dominant position

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION AND ARTICLES 101 AND 102 TFEU?

The regulation sets out the EU’s competition rules as they apply to transport by road, rail and inland waterways.

Articles 101 and 102 TFEU prohibit anticompetitive agreements and concerted practices between businesses, as well as abuses of dominance*.

KEY POINTS

Regulation (EC) No 169/2009 applies to agreements, decisions and concerted practices which have as their aim or effect:

• the fixing of transport rates and conditions;
• the limitation or control of the supply of transport;
• the sharing of transport markets;
• the application of technical improvements or technical cooperation;
• the joint financing or acquisition of transport equipment or supplies, where this is
  • directly related to the supply of transport services and
  • necessary for the joint operation of services by a group of road or inland waterway transport businesses.

Exception for technical agreements

However, the prohibition provided for in Article 101(1) TFEU does not apply to agreements, decisions or concerted practices which have the aim and effect of applying technical improvements or achieving technical cooperation by:

• standardising equipment, transport supplies, vehicles or fixed installations;
• exchanging or pooling staff, equipment, vehicles or fixed installations for the purpose of operating transport services;
• organising and carrying out successive, complementary, substitute or combined transport operations, and the fixing and applying of inclusive rates and conditions for such operations, including special competitive rates;
• using, for journeys by a single mode of transport, the routes which are most rational from the operational point of view;
• coordinating transport timetables for connecting routes;
• grouping of single consignments;
• establishing uniform rules as to the structure of tariffs and their conditions of application, provided those rules do not lay down transport rates and conditions.

Exemption for groups of small and medium-sized businesses

The regulation also allows for the exemption of groups of small and medium-sized businesses, where:

• the individual capacity of each firm belonging to a group may not exceed 1,000 tonnes for road transport or 50,000 tonnes for inland waterway transport;
• the total carrying capacity of any group must not exceed 10,000 tonnes for road transport and 500,000 tonnes for inland waterway transport.

However, if the implementation of agreements, decisions or concerted practices has effects which are incompatible with Article 101(3) TFEU, businesses may be required to make such effects cease.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 25 March 2009.

Regulation (EC) No 169/2009 codifies and repeals Regulation (EEC) No 1017/68 with the exception of Article 13(3) of that regulation, which continues to apply to decisions adopted under Article 5 of that regulation before 1 May 2004, until those decisions expire.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

• EU competition policy in the transport sector (European Commission).

KEY TERMS

MAIN DOCUMENTS

Council Regulation (EC) No 169/2009 of 26 February 2009 applying rules of competition to transport by rail, road and inland waterway (Codified version) (OJ L 61, 5.3.2009, pp. 1-5)

Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union — Part Three — Union policies and internal actions — Title VII — Common rules on competition, taxation and approximation of laws — Chapter 1 — Rules on competition — Section 1 — Rules applying to undertakings — Article 101 (ex Article 81 TEC) (OJ C 202, 7.6.2016, pp. 88-89)

Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union — Part Three — Union policies and internal actions — Title VII — Common rules on competition, taxation and approximation of laws — Chapter 1 — Rules on competition — Section 1 — Rules applying to undertakings — Article 102 (ex Article 82 TEC) (OJ C 202, 7.6.2016, p. 89)

last update 06.03.2018