COMMISSION OPINION of 23 June 1978 addressed to the Government of the United Kingdom concerning the provisions relating to certain measures in the field of working conditions in road transport (78/614/EEC)

1. By letter dated 3 April 1978 from the office of its Permanent Representative to the European Communities and registered by the Secretariat-General of the Commission on 5 April 1978, the United Kingdom Government presented to the Commission for consultation a draft regulation concerning working conditions in road transport.

The United Kingdom Government consulted the Commission in accordance with the Council Decision of 21 March 1962 instituting a procedure for prior examination and consultation in respect of certain laws, regulations or administrative provisions concerning transport proposed in Member States (1). However, since much of what is dealt with in the proposed regulation concerns in particular the means of implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 543/69 of 25 March 1969 on the harmonization of certain social conditions relating to road transport (2), the Commission is of the opinion that the consultation essentially falls within the scope of the procedure provided for in Article 18 of that Regulation.

2. The Commission shares the United Kingdom Government's concern to create a clear legal situation as regards the rules on working conditions for the crews of vehicles engaged in road transport.

3. Regulation 4 (4) of the text sent to the Commission, only mentions as an obligatory interruption to the activity of driving a break of half an hour which may be divided up in the manner laid down in Article 8 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 543/69, whereas Article 8 (1) thereof imposes a break of one hour which may be replaced by two breaks of 30 minutes each, for drivers of the vehicles referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EEC) No 543/69. The Commission requests the United Kingdom Government to modify its proposed legislation accordingly.

4. Article 13 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 543/69 allows the Member States to apply higher minima or lower maxima than those laid down in the said Regulation. Moreover, the attention of the United Kingdom Government is drawn to the provisions of Article 2 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2827/77 (3) under which the Commission must "take care to ensure that there is no regression by comparison with what has already been achieved in practice in terms of social protection and road safety under the [existing] rules."

Since the relevant Community legislation cannot be used as a basis for the adoption of provisions which are socially regressive by comparison with the existing national legislation, the Commission requests the United Kingdom Government to review, in the light of these provisions, the measures which it proposes to take under regulation 4 (3) (5) and (6).

Done at Brussels, 23 June 1978.

For the Commission

Richard BURKE

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ No 23, 3.4.1962, p. 720/62. (2) OJ No L 77, 29.3.1969, p. 49. (3) OJ No L 334, 24.12.1977, p. 1.