sport Ministers (Brussels Meeting) (Hansard, 18 December 1975)

§ Dr. Gilbert

The first item of importance was our request for deferment of the application to internal traffic of EEC Regulation 543/69, which deals with road transport drivers' hours. Although I made it quite clear that it would be utterly impracticable for the United Kingdom to implement the Regulation from 1st January 1976 the Council was unable to reach agreement. We received support from many quarters, however, and the Commission undertook to review our request, and those of other new member States, with a view to making proposals early in the New Year. The Department will be issuing guidance to the road transport industry within the next few days on the problems created by the situation.

Amendments to the Regulations were also discussed at the meeting and the Commission undertook to make formal proposals as soon as possible. The tachograph Regulation 1463/70 was not discussed.

The second item of importance was the question of harmonisation of weights and dimensions of commercial road vehicles. I emphasised strongly that it was quite impracticable and undesirable, for economic and environmental reasons, to increase the present axle weight of 10 tons in the United Kingdom. Representatives of some other countries, particularly the Federal Republic of Germany, were strongly of the same view in respect of heavy vehicle traffic on their roads. There are to be further technical studies on the whole problem.

Decisions were made to extend the experimental bracket tariff system for one more year in such a way as to exclude the three new member States, to carry out further studies on the proposed draft directive on commercial vehicle taxation, to extend the present community quota for goods vehicles for one year at the present level and to accept a compromise solution for a directive on the reciprocal recognised of navigability certificates for inland waterway vessels.