Admission of non-resident carriers to national road passenger transport services

It was with great interest that the Committee took note of this new proposal on cabotage in road-passenger transport, and it welcomes the fact that, compared to the provisions of the current Regulation 2454/92/EEC, the principle of the freedom to provide services has been extended. However, given that regular services are not covered by the current Regulation, the Committee is surprised at the speed with which these services are to be liberalized, and feels that a more gradual liberalization might have been more appropriate. Moreover, the Committee regrets: - that the Commission failed to present the report on the cabotage situation mentioned in Article 12 of Regulation 2454/92/EEC before going ahead with the new proposal, and that the sector was not consulted; - that the proposal was not dealt in tandem with the recently published proposed amendment to Regulation 684/92, with a view to harmonizing the provisions of the different legislation governing road-passenger transport; - that the Commission did not await the outcome of the discussions of the Green Paper on the Citizens' Network before presenting new regulations for the sector and calls on the Commission to give due consideration to the Committee Opinion on the Green Paper.�