Road transport: distribution of permits for heavy goods vehicles travelling in Switzerland

The Council took note of progress on the dossier concerning the proposal for a Regulation on the distribution of permits for heavy goods vehicles travelling in Switzerland. Stressing the importance of being able to make full use of the transit options which would be open in Switzerland, the Council instructed the Permanent Representatives Committee to continue working on the dossier so that it might reach agreement at its October meeting. Of the seven sectoral agreements between the Community and Switzerland in the process of being ratified, one concerns carriage of goods and passengers by rail and by road. It grants Community carriers, for a transition period, a quantity of permits allowing them to operate vehicles weighing over 28 tonnes within Swiss territory. In February 1999 the Commission submitted a proposal for a Regulation to introduce tables allocating those permits between Member States. Following the European Parliament's first-reading Opinion on the proposal, the Commission submitted an amended proposal accepting Parliament's amendments in March 2000. �