Road transport: recording equipment, tachograph

The common position of the Council essentially followed the opinion of the European Parliament, which, at first reading, had called for the way to be paved for the introduction of a new generation of fully digital recording equipment with integrated memory according with the system referred to in Annex I(B). Over a period of more than two years, it had become clear in the light of technical progress and thinking within the industry that this was the right approach and that it was therefore no longer justified to retain the option (Annex I(A)) which represented an intermediate stage between the present tachograph and fully digital recording equipment. As option I(B) accorded entirely with the objectives which the Commission had in mind in drawing up its proposal for amending Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 and Directive 88/599/EEC, the Commission expressed a favourable opinion on the common position as a whole.�