29.6.2007   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 171/1

(1)

The internal market comprises an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital must be ensured. To that end a comprehensive Community type approval system for motor vehicles, established by Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type approval of motor vehicles and their trailers (3), is in place. The technical requirements for the type approval of motor vehicles with regard to emissions should therefore be harmonised to avoid requirements that differ from one Member State to another, and to ensure a high level of environmental protection.

(2)

This Regulation is one of a number of separate regulatory acts in the context of the Community type approval procedure under Directive 70/156/EEC. Therefore, that Directive should be amended accordingly.

(3)

At the request of the European Parliament a new regulatory approach has been introduced in EU vehicle legislation. Thus, this Regulation lays down fundamental provisions on vehicle emissions, whereas the technical specifications will be laid down by implementing measures adopted following comitology procedures.

(4)

In March 2001 the Commission launched the Clean Air For Europe (CAFE) programme, the major elements of which are outlined in a communication of 4 May 2005. This has led to the adoption of a thematic strategy on air pollution by a communication of 21 September 2005. One of the conclusions of the thematic strategy is that further reductions in emissions from the transport sector (air, maritime and land transport), from households and from the energy, agricultural and industrial sectors are needed to achieve EU air quality objectives. In this context, the task of reducing vehicle emissions should be approached as part of an overall strategy. The Euro 5 and 6 standards are one of the measures designed to reduce emissions of particulate matter and ozone precursors such as nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons.

(5)

Achieving EU air quality objectives requires a continuing effort to reduce vehicle emissions. For that reason, industry should be provided with clear information on future emission limit values. This is why this Regulation includes, in addition to Euro 5, the Euro 6 stage of emission limit values.

(6)

In particular, a considerable reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel vehicles is necessary to improve air quality and comply with limit values for pollution. This requires reaching ambitious limit values at the Euro 6 stage without being obliged to forego the advantages of diesel engines in terms of fuel consumption and hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions. Setting such a step for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions at an early stage will provide long-term, Europe-wide planning security for vehicle manufacturers.

(7)

In setting emissions standards it is important to take into account the implications for markets and manufacturers' competitiveness, the direct and indirect costs imposed on business and the benefits that accrue in terms of stimulating innovation, improving air quality, reducing health costs and increasing life expectancy, as well as the implications for the overall impact on carbon dioxide emissions.

(8)

Unrestricted access to vehicle repair information, via a standardised format which can be used to retrieve the technical information, and effective competition on the market for vehicle repair and maintenance information services are necessary to improve the functioning of the internal market, particularly as regards the free movement of goods, freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services. A great proportion of such information is related to on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems and their interaction with other vehicle systems. It is appropriate to lay down technical specifications that manufacturers' websites should follow, along with targeted measures to ensure reasonable access for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Common standards agreed with the involvement of stakeholders, such as the OASIS (4) format, can facilitate the exchange of information between manufacturers and service providers. It is therefore appropriate to initially require the use of the technical specifications of the OASIS format and to ask the Commission to request CEN/ISO to further develop this format into a standard with a view to replacing the OASIS format in due course.

(9)

Not later than four years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission should review the operation of the system of access to all vehicle repair and maintenance information with a view to determining whether it would be appropriate to consolidate all provisions governing access to vehicle repair and maintenance information within a revised framework Directive on type approval. If the provisions governing access to all vehicle information are incorporated into that Directive, the corresponding provisions in this Regulation should be repealed, as long as the existing rights for access to repair and maintenance information are preserved.

(10)

The Commission should keep under review emissions which are as yet unregulated and which arise as a consequence of the wider use of new fuel formulations, engine technologies and emission control systems and, where necessary, submit a proposal to the European Parliament and to the Council with a view to regulating such emissions.

(11)

In order to facilitate the introduction and to maintain the existence of alternative fuel vehicles, which can have low nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions, and at the same time to encourage reduced emissions from petrol-powered vehicles, this Regulation introduces separate limit values for total hydrocarbons and total non-methane hydrocarbons.

(12)

Efforts should be continued to implement stricter emission limits, including reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, and to ensure that those limits relate to the actual performance of vehicles when in use.

(13)

In order to ensure that emissions of ultra fine particulate matter (PM 0,1 µm and below) are controlled, the Commission should adopt as soon as possible, and introduce at the latest upon entry into force of the Euro 6 stage, a number based approach to emissions of PM in addition to the mass based approach which is currently used. The number based approach to emissions of PM should draw on the results of the UN/ECE's Particulate Measurement Programme (PMP) and be consistent with the existing ambitious objectives for the environment.

(14)

To provide greater repeatability in measuring the mass and number of particulate emissions in the laboratory, the Commission should adopt a new measurement procedure replacing the current one. This should be introduced as soon as possible and at the latest upon entry into force of the Euro 6 stage. It should be based on the results of the PMP. When the new measurement procedure is implemented, the PM mass emission limits set out in this Regulation should be recalibrated, as the new procedure records a lower level of mass than the current one.

(15)

The Commission should keep under review the need to revise the New European Drive Cycle as the test procedure that provides the basis of EC type approval emissions regulations. Updating or replacement of the test cycles may be required to reflect changes in vehicle specification and driver behaviour. Revisions may be necessary to ensure that real world emissions correspond to those measured at type approval. The use of portable emission measurement systems and the introduction of the ‘not-to-exceed’ regulatory concept should also be considered.

(16)

OBD systems are important in the control of emissions during the use of a vehicle. Due to the importance of controlling real world emissions, the Commission should keep under review the requirements for such systems and the tolerance thresholds for monitoring faults.

(17)

A standardised method of measuring fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions of vehicles is necessary to ensure that no technical barriers to trade arise between Member States. Furthermore, it is also necessary to ensure that customers and users are supplied with objective and precise information.

(18)

Before drawing up a proposal for future emission standards, the Commission should set up studies designed to determine whether the continued subdivision of vehicle categories into groups is still necessary and whether mass neutral emission limits can be applied.

(19)

Member States should be able, by means of financial incentives, to accelerate the placing on the market of vehicles which satisfy the requirements adopted at Community level. However, such incentives should comply with the provisions of the Treaty, in particular the rules on state aid. This is in order to avoid distortions of the internal market. This Regulation should not affect the Member States’ right to include emissions in the basis for calculating taxes levied on vehicles.

(20)

Given that the legislation on vehicle emissions and fuel consumption has developed over more than 35 years and is now spread over more than 24 Directives, it is advisable to replace those Directives by a new regulation and a number of implementing measures. A regulation will ensure that the detailed technical provisions are directly applicable to manufacturers, approval authorities and technical services and that they can be updated in a much faster and more efficient way. Directives 70/220/EEC (5), 72/306/EEC (6), 74/290/EEC (7), 80/1268/EEC (8), 83/351/EEC (9), 88/76/EEC (10), 88/436/EEC (11), 89/458/EEC (12), 91/441/EEC (13), 93/59/EEC (14), 94/12/EC (15), 96/69/EC (16), 98/69/EC (17), 2001/1/EC (18), 2001/100/EC (19) and 2004/3/EC (20) should therefore be repealed. In addition, the Member States should also repeal the transposing legislation of the repealed Directives.

(21)

In order to clarify the scope of legislation on vehicle emissions, Directive 2005/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 September 2005 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the measures to be taken against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from compression-ignition engines for use in vehicles, and the emission of gaseous pollutants from positive-ignition engines fuelled with natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas for use in vehicles (21) should be amended in such a way as to cover all heavy-duty vehicles so as to make clear that this Regulation concerns light-duty vehicles.

(22)

To ensure a smooth transition from the existing Directives to this Regulation, the applicability of this Regulation should be deferred by a certain period after its entry into force. However, during that period manufacturers should be able to choose to have vehicles approved under either the existing Directives or this Regulation. Moreover, the provisions on financial incentives should be applicable immediately after the entry into force of this Regulation. The validity of type approvals granted under the existing Directives is not to be affected by the entry into force of this Regulation.

(23)

To ensure a smooth transition from the existing Directives to this Regulation, certain exceptions for vehicles designed to fulfil specific social needs should be foreseen in the Euro 5 stage. These exceptions should cease with the entry into force of the Euro 6 stage.

(24)

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (22).

(25)

In particular, power should be conferred on the Commission to introduce particle number based limit values in Annex I, as well as to recalibrate the particulate mass based limit values set out in that Annex. Since those measures are of general scope and are designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, they should be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny provided for in Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC.

(26)

Power should also be conferred on the Commission to establish specific procedures, tests and requirements for type approval, as well as a revised measurement procedure for particulates and a particle number based limit value, and to adopt measures concerning the use of defeat devices, access to vehicle repair and maintenance information and test cycles used to measure emissions. Since those measures are of general scope and are designed to supplement this Regulation by the addition of new non-essential elements, they should be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny provided for in Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC.

(27)

Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely the realisation of the internal market through the introduction of common technical requirements concerning emissions from motor vehicles and guaranteed access to vehicle repair and maintenance information for independent operators on the same basis as for authorised dealers and repairers, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives,

1.

‘hybrid vehicle’ means a vehicle with at least two different energy converters and two different energy storage systems (on vehicle) for the purpose of vehicle propulsion;

2.

‘vehicles designed to fulfil specific social needs’ means diesel vehicles of category M1 which are either:

3.

‘reference mass’ means the mass of the vehicle in running order less the uniform mass of the driver of 75 kg and increased by a uniform mass of 100 kg;

4.

‘gaseous pollutants’ means the exhaust gas emissions of carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, expressed in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) equivalent, and hydrocarbons;

5.

‘particulate pollutants’ means components of the exhaust gas which are removed from the diluted exhaust gas at a maximum temperature of 325 °K (52 °C) by means of the filters described in the test procedure for verifying average tailpipe emissions;

6.

‘tailpipe emissions’ means the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants;

7.

‘evaporative emissions’ means the hydrocarbon vapours emitted from the fuel system of a vehicle other than those from tailpipe emissions;

8.

‘crankcase’ means the spaces in, or external to, an engine which are connected to the oil sump by internal or external ducts through which gases and vapours can be emitted;

9.

‘on-board diagnostic system’ or ‘OBD system’ means a system for emission control which has the capability of identifying the likely area of malfunction by means of fault codes stored in a computer memory;

10.

‘defeat device’ means any element of design which senses temperature, vehicle speed, engine speed (RPM), transmission gear, manifold vacuum or any other parameter for the purpose of activating, modulating, delaying or deactivating the operation of any part of the emission control system, that reduces the effectiveness of the emission control system under conditions which may reasonably be expected to be encountered in normal vehicle operation and use;

11.

‘pollution control device’ means those components of a vehicle that control and/or limit tailpipe and evaporative emissions;

12.

‘original pollution control device’ means a pollution control device or an assembly of such devices covered by the type approval granted for the vehicle concerned;

13.

‘replacement pollution control device’ means a pollution control device or an assembly of such devices intended to replace an original pollution control device and which can be approved as a separate technical unit as defined in Directive 70/156/EEC;

14.

‘vehicle repair and maintenance information’ means all information required for diagnosis, servicing, inspection, periodic monitoring, repair, re-programming or re-initialising of the vehicle and which the manufacturers provide for their authorised dealers and repairers, including all subsequent amendments and supplements to such information. This information includes all information required for fitting parts or equipment on vehicles;

15.

‘independent operator’ means undertakings other than authorised dealers and repairers which are directly or indirectly involved in the repair and maintenance of motor vehicles, in particular repairers, manufacturers or distributors of repair equipment, tools or spare parts, publishers of technical information, automobile clubs, roadside assistance operators, operators offering inspection and testing services, operators offering training for installers, manufacturers and repairers of equipment for alternative fuel vehicles;

16.

‘biofuels’ means liquid or gaseous fuels for transport, produced from biomass;

17.

‘alternative fuel vehicle’ means a vehicle designed to be capable of running on at least one type of fuel that is either gaseous at atmospheric temperature and pressure, or substantially non-mineral oil derived.

(a)

the need for the device is justified in terms of protecting the engine against damage or accident and for safe operation of the vehicle;

(b)

the device does not function beyond the requirements of engine starting;

or

(c)

the conditions are substantially included in the test procedures for verifying evaporative emissions and average tailpipe emissions.

(a)

tailpipe emissions, including test cycles, low ambient temperature emissions, emissions at idling speed, smoke opacity and correct functioning and regeneration of after-treatment systems;

(b)

evaporative emissions and crankcase emissions;

(c)

OBD systems and in-use performance of pollution control devices;

(d)

durability of pollution control devices, replacement pollution control devices, in-service conformity, conformity of production and roadworthiness;

(e)

measurement of greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption;

(f)

hybrid vehicles and alternative fuel vehicles;

(g)

extension of type approvals and requirements for small volume manufacturers;

(h)

test equipment;

and

(i)

reference fuels, such as petrol, diesel, gaseous fuels and biofuels, such as bioethanol, biodiesel and biogas.

(a)

an unequivocal vehicle identification;

(b)

service handbooks;

(c)

technical manuals;

(d)

component and diagnosis information (such as minimum and maximum theoretical values for measurements);

(e)

wiring diagrams;

(f)

diagnostic trouble codes (including manufacturer specific codes);

(g)

the software calibration identification number applicable to a vehicle type;

(h)

information provided concerning, and delivered by means of, proprietary tools and equipment;

and

(i)

data record information and two-directional monitoring and test data.

(a)

making false declarations during the approval procedures or procedures leading to a recall;

(b)

falsifying test results for type approval or in-service conformity;

(c)

withholding data or technical specifications which could lead to recall or withdrawal of type approval;

(d)

use of defeat devices;

and

(e)

refusal to provide access to information.

(a)

amendment of this Regulation in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 15(3) for the purpose of recalibrating the particulate mass based limit values set out in Annex I to this Regulation, and introducing particle number based limit values in that Annex so that they correlate broadly with the petrol and diesel mass limit values;

(b)

adoption of a revised measurement procedure for particulates and a particle number limit value, in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 15(3).

(a)

The title shall be replaced by the following:

‘Directive 2005/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 September 2005 on type approval of heavy duty vehicles and engines with respect to their emissions (Euro IV and V)’;

(b)

Article 1 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 1

For the purposes of this Directive the following definitions shall apply:

(c)

Section 1 of Annex I shall be replaced by the following:

—

Directive 70/220/EEC,

—

Directive 72/306/EEC,

—

Directive 74/290/EEC,

—

Directive 77/102/EEC,

—

Directive 78/665/EEC,

—

Directive 80/1268/EEC,

—

Directive 83/351/EEC,

—

Directive 88/76/EEC,

—

Directive 88/436/EEC,

—

Directive 89/458/EEC,

—

Directive 91/441/EEC,

—

Directive 93/59/EEC,

—

Directive 93/116/EC,

—

Directive 94/12/EC,

—

Directive 96/44/EC,

—

Directive 96/69/EC,

—

Directive 98/69/EC,

—

Directive 98/77/EC,

—

Directive 1999/100/EC,

—

Directive 1999/102/EC,

—

Directive 2001/1/EC,

—

Directive 2001/100/EC,

—

Directive 2002/80/EC,

—

Directive 2003/76/EC,

—

Directive 2004/3/EC.

29.6.2007   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 171/17

(1)

Regular and good quality Community statistics on the structure and activity of foreign affiliates in the whole economy are essential for an adequate assessment of the impact of foreign-controlled enterprises on the European Union economy. This would also facilitate the monitoring of the effectiveness of the internal market and the gradual integration of the economies in the context of globalisation. In this context, multinational enterprises are playing a leading role, but small and medium-sized enterprises can also be concerned by foreign control.

(2)

The implementation and review of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and of the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPs) as well as the current and future negotiations on further agreements call for the relevant statistical information to be made available in order to assist the negotiations.

(3)

For the preparation of economic, competition, enterprise, research, technical development and employment policies in the context of the liberalisation process, statistics on foreign affiliates to measure direct and indirect effects of foreign control on employment, wages and productivity in particular countries and sectors are necessary.

(4)

The information provided under existing Community legislation or available in Member States is insufficient, inadequate or insufficiently comparable to serve as a reliable basis for the work of the Commission.

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 184/2005 (3) establishes a common framework for the systematic production of Community statistics on balance of payments, international trade in services and foreign direct investment. As balance of payments statistics cover only partially the data included in the GATS, it is essential that detailed statistics on foreign affiliates be produced regularly.

(6)

Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 58/97 of 20 December 1996 concerning structural business statistics (4) and Council Regulation (EEC) No 696/93 of 15 March 1993 on the statistical units for the observation and analysis of the production system in the Community (5) established a common framework for the collection, compilation, transmission and evaluation of Community statistics on the structure and activity of businesses in the Community.

(7)

The compilation of national accounts according to the Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of 25 June 1996 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community (6) requires comparable, complete and reliable business statistics on foreign affiliates.

(8)

Collectively, the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services of the United Nations, the Balance of Payments Manual (fifth edition) of the International Monetary Fund, the Benchmark Definition on foreign direct investment and the Handbook on Economic Globalisation Indicators of the Organisation for the Economic Cooperation and Development establish the general rules for compiling international comparable statistics on foreign affiliates.

(9)

The production of specific Community statistics is governed by the rules set out in Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community Statistics (7).

(10)

Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the creation of common statistical standards for the production of comparable statistics on foreign affiliates, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale or effects of the action, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve that objective.

(11)

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (8).

(12)

In particular, power should be conferred on the Commission to adapt the definitions in Annexes I and II and the level of detail in Annex III as well as to make any consequential changes to Annexes I and II, to implement the results of the pilot studies and to define the proper common quality standards and the contents and periodicity of the quality reports. Since those measures are of general scope and are designed to amend non-essential elements of, or to supplement, this Regulation by the addition of new non-essential elements, they should be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny laid down in Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC.

(13)

The Statistical Programme Committee, established by Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom (9), and the Committee on Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments Statistics, established by Council Decision 2006/856/EC (10), have been consulted,

(a)

‘foreign affiliate’ shall mean an enterprise resident in the compiling country over which an institutional unit not resident in the compiling country has control, or an enterprise not resident in the compiling country over which an institutional unit resident in the compiling country has control;

(b)

‘control’ shall mean the ability to determine the general policy of an enterprise by choosing appropriate directors, if necessary. In this context, enterprise A is deemed to be controlled by an institutional unit B when B controls, whether directly or indirectly, more than half of the shareholders’ voting power or more than half of the shares;

(c)

‘foreign control’ shall mean that the controlling institutional unit is resident in a different country from the one where the institutional unit over which it has control is resident;

(d)

‘branches’ shall mean local units not constituting separate legal entities, which are dependent on foreign-controlled enterprises. They are treated as quasi-corporate enterprises within the meaning of point 3(f) of the Explanatory notes to Section III (B) of the Annex to Regulation (EEC) No 696/93;

(e)

‘statistics on foreign affiliates’ shall mean statistics describing the overall activity of foreign affiliates;

(f)

‘inward statistics on foreign affiliates’ shall mean statistics describing the activity of foreign affiliates resident in the compiling country;

(g)

‘outward statistics on foreign affiliates’ shall mean statistics describing the activity of foreign affiliates abroad controlled by an institutional unit resident in the compiling country;

(h)

‘ultimate controlling institutional unit of a foreign affiliate’ shall mean the institutional unit, proceeding up a foreign affiliate's chain of control, which is not controlled by another institutional unit;

(i)

‘enterprise’, ‘local unit’ and ‘institutional unit’ shall each have the same meaning as in Regulation (EEC) No 696/93.

(a)

setting out the appropriate format and procedure for the transmission of results by Member States;

and

(b)

granting derogations to Member States when their national systems require major adaptations, including granting derogations from any new requirements following pilot studies, pursuant to Article 8(2).

(a)

adapting definitions in Annexes I and II, adapting the level of detail in Annex III, and making any consequential changes in Annexes I and II;

(b)

implementing the results of the pilot studies, pursuant to Article 5(4);

and

(c)

defining proper common quality standards and the contents and periodicity of the quality reports, pursuant to Article 6(3).

(a)

assess the quality of the statistics produced;

(b)

assess the benefits accruing to the Community, the Member States, the providers and users of statistical information of the statistics produced in relation to the costs;

(c)

assess the progress of the pilot studies and their implementation;

and

(d)

identify areas for potential improvement and amendments considered necessary in light of the results obtained and the costs involved.

29.6.2007   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 171/32

(1)

The high level of the prices payable by users of public mobile telephone networks, such as students, business travellers and tourists, when using their mobile telephones when travelling abroad within the Community is a matter of concern for national regulatory authorities, as well as for consumers and the Community institutions. The excessive retail charges are resulting from high wholesale charges levied by the foreign host network operator and also, in many cases, from high retail mark-ups charged by the customer's own network operator. Reductions in wholesale charges are often not passed on to the retail customer. Although some operators have recently introduced tariff schemes that offer customers more favourable conditions and lower prices, there is still evidence that the relationship between costs and prices is not such as would prevail in fully competitive markets.

(2)

The creation of a European social, educational and cultural area based on the mobility of individuals should facilitate communication between people in order to build a real ‘Europe for Citizens’.

(3)

Directive 2002/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on access to, and interconnection of, electronic communications networks and associated facilities (Access Directive) (3), Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services (Authorisation Directive) (4), Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework Directive) (5), Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive) (6) and Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications) (7) (hereinafter together referred to as ‘the 2002 regulatory framework for electronic communications’) aim to create an internal market for electronic communications within the Community while ensuring a high level of consumer protection through enhanced competition.

(4)

This Regulation is not an isolated measure, but complements and supports, insofar as Community-wide roaming is concerned, the rules provided for by the 2002 regulatory framework for electronic communications. That framework has not provided national regulatory authorities with sufficient tools to take effective and decisive action with regard to the pricing of roaming services within the Community and thus fails to ensure the smooth functioning of the internal market for roaming services. This Regulation is an appropriate means of correcting this situation.

(5)

The 2002 regulatory framework for electronic communications draws on the principle that ex ante regulatory obligations should only be imposed where there is not effective competition, providing for a process of periodic market analysis and review of obligations by national regulatory authorities, leading to the imposition of ex ante obligations on operators designated as having significant market power. The elements constituting this process include the definition of relevant markets in accordance with the Commission's Recommendation (8) on relevant product and service markets within the electronic communications sector susceptible to ex ante regulation in accordance with Directive 2002/21/EC (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Recommendation’), the analysis of the defined markets in accordance with the Commission's guidelines on market analysis and the assessment of significant market power under the Community regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (9), the designation of operators with significant market power and the imposition of ex ante obligations on operators so designated.

(6)

The Recommendation identifies as a relevant market susceptible to ex ante regulation the wholesale national market for international roaming on public mobile networks. However, the work undertaken by the national regulatory authorities (both individually and within the European Regulators Group) in analysing the wholesale national markets for international roaming has demonstrated that it has not yet been possible for a national regulatory authority to address effectively the high level of wholesale Community-wide roaming charges because of the difficulty in identifying undertakings with significant market power in view of the specific circumstances of international roaming, including its cross-border nature.

(7)

As regards the retail provision of international roaming services, the Recommendation does not identify any retail market for international roaming as a relevant market, owing among other things to the fact that international roaming services at retail level are not purchased independently but constitute only one element of a broader retail package purchased by customers from their home provider.

(8)

In addition, the national regulatory authorities responsible for safeguarding and promoting the interests of mobile customers normally resident within their territory are not able to control the behaviour of the operators of the visited network, situated in other Member States, on whom those customers depend when using international roaming services. This obstacle could also diminish the effectiveness of measures taken by Member States based on their residual competence to adopt consumer protection rules.

(9)

Accordingly, there is pressure for Member States to take measures to address the level of international roaming charges, but the mechanism for ex ante regulatory intervention by national regulatory authorities provided by the 2002 regulatory framework for electronic communications has not proved sufficient to enable those authorities to act decisively in the consumers' interest in this specific area.

(10)

Furthermore, the European Parliament resolution on European electronic communications regulation and markets 2004 (10) called on the Commission to develop new initiatives to reduce the high costs of cross-border mobile telephone traffic, while the European Council of 23 and 24 March 2006 concluded that focused, effective and integrated information and communication technology (ICT) policies both at European and national level are essential to achieving the renewed Lisbon Strategy's goals of economic growth and productivity and noted in this context the importance for competitiveness of reducing roaming charges.

(11)

The 2002 regulatory framework for electronic communications, on the basis of considerations apparent at that time, was aimed at removing all barriers to trade between Member States in the area that it harmonised, inter alia, measures which affect roaming charges. However, this should not prevent the adaptation of harmonised rules in step with other considerations in order to find the most effective means of achieving a high level of consumer protection whilst improving the conditions for the functioning of the internal market.

(12)

The 2002 regulatory framework for electronic communications, in particular the Framework Directive, should therefore be amended to allow for a departure from the rules otherwise applicable, namely that prices for service offerings should be determined by commercial agreement in the absence of significant market power, and to thereby accommodate the introduction of complementary regulatory obligations which reflect the specific characteristics of Community-wide roaming services.

(13)

The retail and wholesale roaming markets exhibit unique characteristics which justify exceptional measures which go beyond the mechanisms otherwise available under the 2002 regulatory framework for electronic communications.

(14)

Regulatory obligations should be imposed at both retail and wholesale level to protect the interests of roaming customers, since experience has shown that reductions in wholesale prices for Community-wide roaming services may not be reflected in lower retail prices for roaming owing to the absence of incentives for this to happen. On the other hand, action to reduce the level of retail prices without addressing the level of the wholesale costs associated with the provision of these services could risk disrupting the orderly functioning of the Community-wide roaming market.

(15)

These regulatory obligations should take effect as soon as possible, while providing the operators concerned with a reasonable period to adapt their prices and service offerings to ensure compliance, and apply directly in all Member States.

(16)

A common approach should be employed for ensuring that users of terrestrial public mobile telephone networks when travelling within the Community do not pay excessive prices for Community-wide roaming services when making or receiving voice calls, thereby achieving a high level of consumer protection while safeguarding competition between mobile operators and preserving both incentives for innovation and consumer choice. In view of the cross-border nature of the services concerned, this common approach is needed so that mobile operators can operate within a single coherent regulatory framework based on objectively established criteria.

(17)

The most effective and proportionate approach to regulating the level of prices for making and receiving intra-Community roaming calls is the setting at Community level of a maximum average per-minute charge at wholesale level and the limiting of charges at retail level through the introduction of a Eurotariff. The average wholesale charge should apply between any pair of operators within the Community over a specified period.

(18)

The Eurotariff should be set at a level which guarantees a sufficient margin to operators and encourages competitive roaming offerings at lower rates. Operators should actively offer a Eurotariff to all their roaming customers, free of charge, and in a clear and transparent manner.

(19)

This regulatory approach should ensure that retail charges for Community-wide roaming provide a more reasonable reflection of the underlying costs involved in the provision of the service than has been the case. The maximum Eurotariff that may be offered to roaming customers should therefore reflect a reasonable margin over the wholesale cost of providing a roaming service, whilst allowing operators the freedom to compete by differentiating their offerings and adapting their pricing structures to market conditions and consumer preferences. This regulatory approach should not apply to value added services.

(20)

This regulatory approach should be simple to implement and monitor in order to minimise the administrative burden both for the operators which are affected by its requirements and for the national regulatory authorities charged with its supervision and enforcement. It should also be transparent and immediately understandable to all mobile customers within the Community. Furthermore it should provide certainty and predictability to operators providing wholesale and retail roaming services. The level in monetary terms of the maximum per-minute charges at wholesale and retail level should therefore be specified in this Regulation.

(21)

The maximum average per-minute charge at wholesale level so specified should take account of the different elements involved in the making of a Community-wide roaming call, in particular the cost of originating and terminating calls over mobile networks and including overheads, signalling and transit. The most appropriate benchmark for call origination and for call termination is the average mobile termination rate for mobile network operators in the Community, based on information provided by the national regulatory authorities and published by the Commission. The maximum average per-minute charge established by this Regulation should therefore be determined taking into account the average mobile termination rate, which offers a benchmark for the costs involved. The maximum average per-minute charge at wholesale level should decrease annually to take account of reductions in mobile termination rates imposed by national regulatory authorities from time to time.

(22)

The Eurotariff applicable at retail level should provide roaming customers with the assurance that they will not be charged an excessive price when making or receiving a regulated roaming call, whilst leaving the home operators sufficient margin to differentiate the products they offer to customers.

(23)

All consumers should have the option of choosing without additional charges or preconditions a simple roaming tariff which will not exceed regulated rates. A reasonable margin between wholesale costs and retail prices should ensure that operators cover all their specific roaming costs at retail level including appropriate shares of marketing costs and handset subsidies and are left with an adequate residual to yield a reasonable return. A Eurotariff is an appropriate means to provide both the consumer with protection and the operator with flexibility. In line with the wholesale level the maximum levels of the Eurotariff should decrease annually.

(24)

New roaming customers should be fully informed of the range of tariffs that exist for roaming within the Community, including the tariffs which are compliant with the Eurotariff. Existing roaming customers should be given the opportunity to choose a new tariff compliant with the Eurotariff or any other roaming tariff within a certain time frame. For existing roaming customers who have not made their choice within this time frame, it is appropriate to distinguish between those who had already opted for a specific roaming tariff or package before the entry into force of this Regulation and those who had not. The latter should be automatically accorded a tariff that complies with this Regulation. Roaming customers who already benefit from specific roaming tariffs or packages which suit their individual requirements and which they have chosen on that basis should remain on their previously selected tariff or package if, after having been reminded of their current tariff conditions, they fail to express a choice within the relevant time period. Such specific roaming tariffs or packages could include, for example, roaming flat-rates, non-public tariffs, tariffs with additional fixed roaming charges, tariffs with per-minute charges lower than the maximum Eurotariff or tariffs with set-up charges.

(25)

Providers of retail Community-wide roaming services should have a period within which to adjust their prices to comply with the limits laid down in this Regulation.

(26)

Similarly, providers of wholesale Community-wide roaming services should have an adaptation period to comply with the limits laid down in this Regulation.

(27)

Since this Regulation provides that the Directives making up the 2002 regulatory framework for electronic communications are without prejudice to any specific measure adopted for the regulation of Community-wide roaming charges for mobile voice telephony calls, and since providers of Community-wide roaming services may be required by this Regulation to make changes to their retail roaming tariffs in order to comply with the requirements of this Regulation, such changes should not trigger for mobile customers any right under national laws transposing the 2002 regulatory framework for electronic communications to withdraw from their contracts.

(28)

This Regulation should not prejudice innovative offers to consumers which are more advantageous than the maximum Eurotariff as defined in this Regulation, but rather should encourage innovative offers to roaming customers at lower rates. This Regulation does not require roaming charges to be reintroduced in cases where they have been abolished altogether, nor does it require existing roaming charges to be increased to the level of the limits set out in this Regulation.

(29)

Home providers may offer a fair-use, all-inclusive, monthly flat-rate to which no charge limits apply. This flat-rate could cover Community-wide roaming voice and/or data communication services (including Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)) within the Community.

(30)

To ensure that all users of mobile voice telephony may benefit from the provisions of this Regulation, the retail pricing requirements should apply regardless of whether roaming customers have a pre-paid or a post-paid contract with their home provider, and regardless of whether the home provider has its own network, is a mobile virtual network operator or is a reseller of mobile voice telephony services.

(31)

Where Community providers of mobile telephony services find the benefits of interoperability and end-to-end connectivity for their customers jeopardised by the termination, or threat of termination, of their roaming arrangements with mobile network operators in other Member States, or are unable to provide their customers with service in another Member State as a result of a lack of agreement with at least one wholesale network provider, national regulatory authorities should make use, where necessary, of the powers under Article 5 of the Access Directive to ensure adequate access and interconnection in order to guarantee such end-to-end connectivity and the interoperability of services, taking into account the objectives of Article 8 of the Framework Directive, in particular the creation of a fully functioning single market for electronic communications services.

(32)

In order to improve the transparency of retail prices for making and receiving regulated roaming calls within the Community and to help roaming customers make decisions on the use of their mobile telephones while abroad, providers of mobile telephony services should enable their roaming customers easily to obtain information free of charge on the roaming charges applicable to them when making or receiving voice calls in a visited Member State. Moreover, providers should give their customers, on request and free of charge, additional information on the per-minute or per-unit data charges (including VAT) for the making or receiving of voice calls and also for the sending and receiving of SMS, MMS and other data communication services in the visited Member State.

(33)

Transparency also requires that providers furnish information on roaming charges, in particular on the Eurotariff and the all-inclusive flat-rate should they offer one, when subscriptions are taken out and each time there is a change in roaming charges. Home providers should provide information on roaming charges by appropriate means such as invoices, the internet, TV advertisements or direct mail. Home providers should ensure that all their roaming customers are aware of the availability of regulated tariffs and should send a clear and unbiased communication to these customers describing the conditions of the Eurotariff and the right to switch to and from it.

(34)

The national regulatory authorities which are responsible for carrying out tasks under the 2002 regulatory framework for electronic communications should have the powers needed to supervise and enforce the obligations under this Regulation within their territory. They should also monitor developments in the pricing of voice and data services for mobile customers when roaming within the Community including, where appropriate, the specific costs related to roaming calls made and received in the outermost regions of the Community and the need to ensure that these costs can be adequately recovered on the wholesale market, and that traffic steering techniques are not used to limit choice to the detriment of customers. They should ensure that up-to-date information on the application of this Regulation is made available to interested parties and publish the results of such monitoring every six months. Information should be provided on corporate, post-paid and pre-paid customers separately.

(35)

In-country roaming in the outermost regions of the Community where mobile telephony licences are distinct from those issued in respect of the rest of the national territory could benefit from rate reductions equivalent to those practised on the Community roaming market. The implementation of this Regulation should not give rise to less favourable pricing treatment for customers using in-country roaming services as opposed to customers using Community-wide roaming services. To this end, the national authorities may take additional measures consistent with Community law.

(36)

In view of the fact that, in addition to voice telephony, new mobile data communication services are gaining ever more ground, this Regulation should make it possible to monitor market developments in those services too. The Commission, therefore, should also monitor the market for roaming data communication services, including SMS and MMS.

(37)

Member States should provide for a system of penalties to be applied in the event of breach of this Regulation.

(38)

Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to establish a common approach to ensure that users of public mobile telephone networks when travelling within the Community do not pay excessive prices for Community-wide roaming services when making or receiving voice calls, thereby achieving a high level of consumer protection while safeguarding competition between mobile operators, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States in a secure, harmonised and timely manner and can therefore be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.

(39)

This common approach should be established for a limited time period. This Regulation may, in the light of a review to be carried out by the Commission, be extended or amended. The Commission should review the effectiveness of this Regulation and the contribution which it makes to the implementation of the regulatory framework and the smooth functioning of the internal market and also examine the impact of this Regulation on the smaller mobile telephony providers in the Community and their position in the Community-wide roaming market,

(a)

‘Eurotariff’ means any tariff not exceeding the maximum charge, provided for in Article 4, which a home provider may levy for the provision of regulated roaming calls in compliance with that Article;

(b)

‘home provider’ means an undertaking that provides a roaming customer with terrestrial public mobile telephony services either via its own network or as a mobile virtual network operator or reseller;

(c)

‘home network’ means a terrestrial public mobile telephone network located within a Member State and used by a home provider for the provision of terrestrial public mobile telephony services to a roaming customer;

(d)

‘Community-wide roaming’ means the use of a mobile telephone or other device by a roaming customer to make or receive intra-Community calls while in a Member State other than that in which his home network is located, by means of arrangements between the operator of the home network and the operator of the visited network;

(e)

‘regulated roaming call’ means a mobile voice telephony call made by a roaming customer, originating on a visited network and terminating on a public telephone network within the Community or received by a roaming customer, originating on a public telephone network within the Community and terminating on a visited network;

(f)

‘roaming customer’ means a customer of a provider of terrestrial public mobile telephony services, by means of a terrestrial public mobile network situated in the Community, whose contract or arrangement with his home provider permits the use of a mobile telephone or other device to make or to receive calls on a visited network by means of arrangements between the operator of the home network and the operator of the visited network;

(g)

‘visited network’ means a terrestrial public mobile telephone network situated in a Member State other than that of the home network and permitting a roaming customer to make or receive calls by means of arrangements with the operator of the home network.