Goods and passengers: admission to the occupation of road transport operator and mutual recognition of diplomas

This Directive harmonises admission to the occupation of road transport operator in national and international transport and to facilitate the effective exercise of the right of establishment of those operators.

ACT

Council Directive 96/26/EC of 29 April 1996 on admission to the occupation of road haulage operator and road passenger operator and mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications intended to facilitate for these operators the right to freedom of establishment in national and international transport operations [Official Journal L 124 of 23.05.1996]. [See amending acts].

SUMMARY

This Directive consolidates existing legislation in the sense that it merely replaces Council Directive 74/561/EEC on admission to the occupation of road haulage operators and road passenger transport operator respectively in national and international transport operations, which has repeatedly been amended, and Council Directive 77/796/EEC concerning the mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications for goods haulage operators and road passenger transport operators, which has likewise been amended on several occasions.

Admission to the occupation of road transport operator:

• the Directive covers any natural person or undertaking transporting by road more than nine persons, including the driver, in motor vehicles or transporting goods in vehicles whose permissible weight, including trailers, exceeds 3.5 tonnes or whose permissible total laden weight, including trailers, exceeds 6 tonnes;
• Member States may, after consulting the Commission, exempt certain undertakings subject to the respect of certain conditions laid down in the Directive;
• the Directive specifies for the Member States the minimum criteria with which potential road transport operators must comply, namely good repute, appropriate financial standing and professional competence.

Mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other qualifications: Member States must accept as sufficient proof the certificates and documents issued by another Member State certifying that these conditions are satisfied.

Directive 98/76/EC specifies the scope of Directive 96/26/EC for the carriage of passengers and goods by road. It amends the requirements relating to the financial standing of transport operators and lays down certain transitional provisions applicable to Austria, Finland and Sweden. Directives 2004/66/EC and 2006/103/EC amend the text following the 2004 and 2007 enlargements.

RELATED ACTS

Directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2003 on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers, amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 and Council Directive 91/439/EEC and repealing Council Directive 76/914/EEC [Official Journal L 226 of 10.09.2003].

Last updated: 24.05.2007