COMMISSION OPINION of 19 October 1981 addressed to the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on a draft law establishing rules concerning the publication of data relating to loads in North-South inland waterway traffic (81/886/EEC)

In accordance with Article 1 of the Council Decision of 21 March 1962 instituting a procedure for prior examination and consultation in respect of certain laws, regulations and administrative provisions concerning transport proposed in Member States (1), as amended by Decision 73/402/EEC (2), the Netherlands Government sent to the Commission by letter of 22 July 1981 from its Permanent Representation to the European Communities a draft law establishing rules concerning the publication of data relating to loads in North-South inland waterway traffic.

The letter from the Netherlands Permanent Representation reached the Commission on 27 July 1981 and, in accordance with Article 1 of the Council Decision referred to above, was also sent to the other Member States.

The Commission has not thought it necessary to call a meeting with representatives of the Netherlands Government to gain further information, or to arrange consultations with the other Member States pursuant to Article 2 (3) of the Decision.

Pursuant to Article 2 (1) of the Decision, the Commission hereby delivers the following opinion: 1. The Commission notes that the proposed law will make it compulsory to publish certain information on transport operations on inland waterway routes from the Netherlands to Belgium and France via the Belgo-Netherlands frontier (North-South traffic). Publication of this information should increase the transparency of the market in question.

The Commission approves of the objective pursued by the Netherlands Government in this draft law, all the more so since publication of the information in the form provided for will not encroach on the right to negotiate contracts freely and will not have any adverse effects on competition as the transport rates are not to be published. The Commission agrees with the Netherlands Government that it is wiser not to publish the actual transport rates for both economic and practical reasons.

Moreover, the draft law is a step towards achieving the objectives of the system for monitoring the markets for the carriage of goods by rail, road and inland waterway which the Commission set up in response to the Council declaration of 12 June 1978 and the Council resolution of 23 July 1981. That system also has the objective of providing information to react more effectively to any changes observed.

2. The Commission has no objections to the draft Netherlands law.

The Commission is informing the other Member States of this opinion.

Done at Brussels, 19 October 1981.

For the Commission

Giorgios CONTOGEORGIS

Member of the Commission (1) OJ No 23, 3.4.1962, p. 720/62. (2) OJ No L 347, 17.12.1973, p. 48.