92003E0620

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0620/03

by Carles-Alfred Gasòliba i Böhm (ELDR) to the Commission

(3 March 2003)

Subject: Freedom of establishment and the securing of authorisation to carry out roadworthiness tests on vehicles in Germany

Restrictions on the freedom of nationals from one Member State to establish themselves within the territory of another Member State are prohibited under Article 43 of the EC Treaty, save where they are justified in the public interest. Those restrictions have been interpreted by the Court of Justice as including rules or provisions which apply both to nationals and to non-nationals alike but which in practice make it problematic or less advantageous for nationals from one Member State to establish themselves in another.

Annex VIIIb of the 28 September 1988 Strassenverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung (StVZO) lays down the requirements which bodies wishing to carry out roadworthiness tests in Germany must fulfil in order to secure the necessary authorisation from each federal state. One such requirement is that of submitting a series of documents and demonstrating that certain conditions of a practical nature have been met, including one to the effect that the body seeking authorisation must comprise a minimum of 60 independent experts and that a minimum number of those experts must be based within the country in which recognition is being sought.

Does the Commission not think that insisting that those requirements be met before authorisation can be granted restricts freedom of establishment, since it calls for business investment to be made and entrepreneurial risks to be taken in advance? In practice, this makes it less attractive for a national from some other Member State to set up a vehicle roadworthiness testing business in Germany.

Does the Commission not consider that the requirements laid down under German law place disproportionate restrictions on the freedom of establishment, even if such restrictions may be justified in the public interest?

Does the Commission not consider the German law in question to be incompatible with the general principles underlying Council Directive 96/96/EC(1) of 20 December 1996 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers?

(1) OJ L 46, 17.2.1997, p. 1.

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(10 April 2003)

The Commission has taken note of the circumstances described by the Honourable Member.

It does not have detailed knowledge of the legislation in question and will lose no time in investigating the matter.

The Commission will naturally inform the Honourable Member of the results of its enquiries.