Thursday 23 April 2009
P6_TC1-COD(2008)0263

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 23 April 2009 with a view to the adoption of Directive 2009/…/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on laying down the framework for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and for interfaces with other transport modes

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

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

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ║,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (3),

Whereas:

(1)	The increase of road transport associated with the growth of the European economy and with the mobility requirements of the citizens is a primary cause of increasing congestion of the road infrastructure and energy consumption, as well as environmental and social problems.

(2)	The response to those major challenges cannot be limited to traditional measures including, notably, the expansion of the existing road transport infrastructure. Innovation will have a major role to play in finding appropriate solutions for the Community.

(3)

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are advanced applications that without embodying intelligence as such aim to provide innovative services on transport modes and traffic management and enable various users to be better informed and make safer, more coordinated and ‘smarter’ use of transport networks.

(4)

The application of information and communication technologies to the road transport sector and its interfaces with other transport modes (ITS) will make a significant contribution to improving environmental performance, efficiency, including energy efficiency, safety and security of road transport and passenger and freight mobility whilst at the same time ensuring the functioning of the internal market and increased levels of competitiveness and employment.

(5)	Several advanced applications and Community mechanisms have been developed for different transport modes such as for railway transport (ERTMS and TAF-TSI), open sea and inland waterways (LRITS, SafeSeaNet, VTMIS, RIS), air transport (SESAR) and land transport, for example, livestock transport.

(6)	Advances in the application of information and communication technologies to other transport modes should now be reflected in developments in the road transport sector, in particular with a view to ensuring higher levels of integration in that field between road transport and other transport modes.

(7)	In some Member States national applications of these technologies are already being deployed in the road transport sector, but such deployment remains fragmented and uncoordinated and cannot provide geographical continuity of ITS services throughout the Community.

(8)	To ensure a coordinated and effective deployment of ITS within the Community as a whole, common specifications should be introduced. In the first instance, priority should be given to four main areas of ITS development and deployment.

(9)

The common specifications should inter alia take into account and build upon the experience and results already obtained in this area, notably in the context of the eSafety initiative (4), launched by the Commission in April 2002. The eSafety Forum has been established by the Commission under that initiative to promote and further implement recommendations to support the development, deployment and use of eSafety systems.

(10)

Vehicles which are operated mainly for their historical interest and which were originally registered and/or type-approved and/or put into service before the entry into force of this Directive and of its implementing measures should not be affected by the rules and procedures laid down in this Directive.

(11)	ITS should build on interoperable systems based on open and public standards, available on a non-discriminatory basis to all application and service suppliers and users.

(12)	It is necessary to ensure in future the interoperability of applications and services provided by ITS deployment and covering, where appropriate, the backward compatibility of ITS applications and services.

(13)

The deployment and use of ITS applications and services will entail the processing of personal data. Such processing should be carried out in accordance with Community rules, as set out, inter alia, in Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (5) and in 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 (6).

(14)

The deployment and use of ITS applications and services, and notably traffic and travel information services, will entail the processing and use of road, traffic and travel data forming part of documents held by public sector bodies of the Member States. Such processing and use should be carried out in accordance with Community rules, as set out in Directive 2003/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 on the re-use of public sector information (7).

(15)

Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council  (8) establishes a framework for the type approval of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, whilst Directives 2002/24/EC (9) and 2003/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council  (10) relate to the type approval of two or three-wheel motor vehicles and agricultural or forestry tractors, their trailers and interchangeable towed machinery respectively. Although the provisions in these Directives cover ITS-related equipment installed in vehicles, they do not apply to external road infrastructure ITS equipment and software, which should accordingly be covered by national type-approval procedures.

(16)	For ITS applications and services for which accurate and guaranteed timing and positioning services are required, satellite-based infrastructures or any technology providing an equivalent level of precisions (11), such as Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) should be used.

(17)

Major stakeholders such as ITS service providers, associations of ITS users, transport and facilities operators, representatives of the manufacturing industry, social partners, professional associations and local authorities should have the possibility to advise the Commission on the commercial and technical aspects of the deployment of ITS within the Community.

(18)	The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive 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 (12).

(19)

In particular the Commission should be empowered to adopt measures concerning the amendment of the Annexes and measures laying down more detailed specifications for the development, implementation and use of interoperable ITS. Since those measures are of general scope and are designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, inter alia by supplementing it with new non-essential elements, they must be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny provided for in Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC.

(20)

In order to guarantee a coordinated approach, the Commission should ensure coherence between the activities of the committee established by this Directive and those of the Committee established by 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 (13), the Committee set up by Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 of 20 December 1985 on recording equipment in road transport (14), and the Committee referred to in Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 September 2007 establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles (15).

(21)

Since the objectives of this Directive, namely to ensure the coordinated deployment and use of interoperable ITS throughout the Community, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of its scale and effects, 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 Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Subject matter and scope

This Directive establishes a framework for the coordinated and coherent deployment and use of ITS, including interoperable ITS , within the Community and the development of the specifications necessary for that purpose.

It shall apply to all ITS for travellers, vehicles and infrastructure and their interaction in the field of road transport, including urban transport, and interfaces with other transport modes.

The application of this Directive and of the measures referred to in Article 4 shall be without prejudice to the requirements of the Member States relating to public order and public security.

Article 2

Definitions

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

(a)

‘Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)’ means systems, in which information and communication technologies are applied, in support of road transport (including infrastructure, vehicles and users) and, traffic and mobility management and for the interfaces with other transport modes , including the provision of multimodal interoperable ticketing ;

(b)	‘interoperability’ means the capacity of systems, and of the underlying business processes, to exchange data and to share information and knowledge;

(c)	‘ITS application’ means an operational instrument for the application of ITS;

(d)	‘ITS service’ means the deployment of an ITS application through a well-defined organisational and operational framework with the aim of contributing to ║ user safety, efficiency, comfort and/or to facilitate or support transport and travel operations;

(e)	‘ITS service provider’ means any provider of an ITS service, whether public or private;

(f)	‘ITS user’ means any user of ITS applications or services including travellers, vulnerable transport users , road transport infrastructure users and operators, fleet managers and operators of emergency services;

(g)	‘nomadic device’ means an item of communication or information equipment that can be brought inside the vehicle by the driver to be used while driving, such as a mobile phone, navigation system or pocket personal computer;

(h)	‘platform’ means the encompassing functional, technical and operational environment enabling the deployment, provision or exploitation of ITS applications and services;

(i)	‘vulnerable transport users’ means non-motorised transport users, such as pedestrians and cyclists as well as motor-cyclists and persons with disabilities or limited mobility;

(j)	‘the minimum level of ITS applications and services’ means the basic level of ITS applications and services, which are indispensable elements of the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T).

Article 3

Deployment of ITS

1.   Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure the coordinated deployment and use of effective interoperable ITS applications and services within the Community.

2.     Where possible, Member States shall ensure the backward compatibility of ITS applications and services within the Community.

3.   Member States shall in particular:

(a)	ensure that reliable and regularly updated relevant road transport data is made available to ITS users and ITS service providers;

(b)	ensure that road traffic and travel data and other relevant information can be exchanged between the competent traffic information and control centres in different regions or in different Member States;

(c)	apply ITS to all modes of transport and to the interfaces between them, ensuring a high level of integration between all transport modes;

(d)	take the necessary measures to integrate safety and security-related ITS systems into vehicles and road infrastructure and to develop safe human-machine interfaces (HMIs), in particular for nomadic devices;

(e)	take the necessary measures to integrate different ITS applications, involving the exchange of information and communication between vehicles and the road infrastructure within a single platform;

(f)	avoid creating geographical fragmentation and discontinuity.

4.   For the purpose of ITS applications and services that require global, continuous, accurate and guaranteed timing and positioning services, satellite-based infrastructures, or any technology providing equivalent levels of precision, such as DSRC, shall be used.

5.   When adopting the measures provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 Member States shall require compliance with the principles set out in Annex I.

6.     The Member States shall take account of the morphological particularities of geographically isolated regions and the distances that have to be covered to reach them, making an exception if need be to the cost-efficiency ratio principle referred to in Annex I.

Article 4

Specifications

1.   The Commission shall define specifications for the deployment and use of ITS ▐ in the following priority areas:

(a)	optimal use of road, traffic and travel data;

(b)	continuity of traffic and freight management ITS services on European transport corridors and in conurbations;

(c)	road safety and security;

(d)	integration of the vehicle into the transport infrastructure.

2.     The Commission shall define specifications for the obligatory deployment and use of the minimum level of ITS applications and services, in particular in the following areas:

(a)	the provision of EU-wide real-time traffic and travel information services;

(b)	data and procedures for the provision of free minimum universal traffic information services;

(c)	the harmonised introduction of eCall throughout Europe;

(d)	appropriate measures on secure parking places for trucks and commercial vehicles and on telematics-controlled parking and reservation systems.

3.     The Commission shall define specifications for the necessary deployment and use of ITS beyond the minimum level of ITS applications and services for Community co-financed trans-European road network (TERN) construction or maintenance.

4.   The specifications shall comply with the principles set out in Annex I and shall comprise at least the core elements set out in Annex II.

5.     In order to ensure interoperability and the apportionment of liabilities, the Commission shall complement, where necessary, the core elements set out in Annex II with specifications for the planning, implementation and operational use of ITS services and shall stipulate the content of the services and service providers’ obligations.

6.     The specifications shall also determine the conditions under which Member States may, in conjunction with the Commission, impose additional rules for the provision of such services throughout or in part of their territory.

7.     The measures referred to in paragraphs 1 to 6, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 9(3).

8.     The Commission shall conduct a suitable impact assessment prior to the adoption of the specifications referred to in paragraphs 5 and 6.

9.     Additional principles and/or core elements of specifications not provided for in this Directive shall be added to Annex I and/or II in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty.

Article 5

Type-approval of road-infrastructure related ITS equipment and software

1.   Where necessary for efficiency, including energy efficiency, safety or security, or environmental protection reasons, ITS equipment and software applications falling outside the scope of Directives 2002/24/EC, 2003/37/EC and 2007/46/EC, shall be type-approved before being put into service.

2.     For ITS equipment and software applications referred to in paragraph 1, the relevant specifications on liability shall be communicated to the national bodies responsible for the type-approval of ITS equipment and software applications covered by this Directive.

3.   Member States shall notify to the Commission the national bodies responsible for the type-approval of ITS equipment and software applications, including for the accreditation of ITS software application suppliers, covered by this Directive. The Commission shall communicate such information to the other Member States.

4.   All Member States shall recognise type-approvals issued by the national bodies of the other Member States referred to in paragraph 3.

5.     ITS equipment and software may be placed on the market and put into service only if, when properly installed and maintained and used for their intended purpose, they do not endanger the health and safety of persons and the environment, in accordance with relevant Community legislation, and, where appropriate, property.

6.     ITS equipment and software shall be presumed to meet the adopted specifications as provided for by Article 4 if they conform to, where available, the relevant national or European standards in accordance with Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and rules on Information Society services (16).

Article 6

Committee on technical standards and regulations

Where a Member State or the Commission considers that the standards referred to in Article 5 (6) do not entirely meet the adopted specifications as provided for by Article 4, the Member State concerned or the Commission shall inform the Standing Committee set up by Article 5 of Directive 98/34/EC giving the reasons therefor. The Committee shall issue an opinion as a matter of urgency.

Taking into account the Committee’s opinion, the Commission shall notify the Member States as to whether or not those standards should be withdrawn from the communications referred to in Article 5 of this Directive.

Article 7

Rules on privacy, security and re-use of information

1.   Member States shall ensure that the collection, storage and processing of personal data in the context of the operation of ITS is carried out in accordance with the Community rules protecting the freedoms and fundamental rights of individuals, in particular Directives 95/46/EC and 2002/58/EC.

2.     In order to ensure privacy, the use of anonymous data shall be encouraged, where appropriate, for the performance of the ITS application and/or service.

3.     Personal data shall only be processed insofar as processing is necessary for the performance of the ITS application and/or service.

4.     Where special categories of data referred to under Article 8 of Directive 95/46/EC are involved, such data shall only be processed where the data subject has given his or her explicit consent to the processing of those data on an informed basis.

5.   ▐ Member States shall ensure that ITS data and records are protected against misuse, including unlawful access, alteration or loss and may not be used for purposes other than those referred to in this Directive .

6.   Directive 2003/98/EC shall apply.

▐

Article 8

Programming

1.     The Commission shall prepare an annual work programme on the basis of the core elements set out in Annex II for the first time … (17) at the latest.

2.     The Commission shall take into account the results of the work conducted by committees established in accordance with other Community acts, relating to the different areas of ITS, including the European ITS Advisory Group referred to in Article 10.

3.     The Commission shall, in close cooperation with the Member States, ensure general consistency and complementarity of ITS deployment with other relevant Community policies, programmes and actions.

4.     The Commission shall cooperate actively with European and international standardisation bodies on the provisions set out in Annexes I and II.

5.     The Commission shall act in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 9(2) for the purposes of:

(a)	adopting and amending the annual work programme;

(b)	determining the priority areas for international cooperation.

The annual work programme and the priority areas for international cooperation shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union .

6.     In accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 9(3), the Commission shall, no later than … (18), adopt a working programme with targets and deadlines for implementing the core elements set out in Annex II.

Article 9

Committee

1.   The Commission shall be assisted by a committee, called the European ITS Committee ║, composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission.

2.     Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.

3.   Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to (4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

Article 10

European ITS Advisory Group

1.    The Commission shall establish a European ITS Advisory Group to advise it on the business and technical aspects of the deployment and use of ITS throughout the Community. The group shall be composed of high level representatives from relevant ITS service providers, associations of users, transport and facilities operators, manufacturing industry, social partners, professional association, local authorities and other relevant fora.

2.     The Commission shall ensure that the representatives of the European ITS Advisory Group are competent and that the Group includes adequate representation from those sectors of industry and of those users affected by measures which might be proposed by the Commission under this Directive.

3.     The European ITS Advisory Group shall be called upon to provide a technical opinion on the drafting of the specifications referred to in Article 4.

4.     The work of the European ITS Advisory Group shall be carried out in a transparent manner.

Article 11

Reporting

1.   Member States shall submit to the Commission by … (19) at the latest a detailed report on their national activities and projects regarding the priority areas laid down in Article 4(1) and including at least the information set out in Annex III.

2.   Member States shall provide to the Commission by … (20) at the latest their plans for national ITS actions over the following five years including at least the information set out in Annex III.

3.   Member States shall report annually thereafter on the progress made in the implementation of these plans.

4.   The Commission shall every six months report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the progress made for the implementation of this Directive accompanied by an analysis on the functioning of the rules set out in Annexes I and II and shall assess the need to amend this Directive.

In particular the Commission shall every six months report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the status of funding, and if necessary the Commission shall make a proposal for financing the implementation of the minimum level of ITS applications and services.

Article 12

Transposition

1.   Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by … (21) at the latest. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions and a correlation table between those provisions and this Directive.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

2.   Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 13

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 14

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

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(1)  Opinion of 13 May 2009 (not yet published in the OJ).

(2)  OJ C …

(3)  Position of the European Parliament of 23 April 2009.

(4)  http://www.esafetysupport.org/download/European_Commission/048-esafety.pdf

(5)  OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.

(6)  OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37.

(7)  OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 90.

(8)  OJ L 263, 9.10.2007, p. 1.

(9)  OJ L 124, 9.5.2002, p. 1.

(10)  OJ L 171, 9.7.2003, p. 1.

(11)  See Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 ║ (OJ L 3, 5.1.2005, p. 1) and Regulation (EC) No 683/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council ║ (OJ L 196, 24.7.2008, p. 1).

(12)  OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

(13)  OJ L 166, 30.4.2004, p. 124.

(14)  OJ L 370, 31.12.1985, p. 8.

(15)  OJ L 263, 9.10.2007, p. 1.

(16)   OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 37.

(17)   Three months from the entry into force of this Directive.

(18)   Six months from the entry into force of this Directive.

(19)  Six months from the entry into force of this Directive.

(20)  Two years from the entry into force of this Directive.

(21)   12 months from the entry into force of this Directive.