Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 as regards minimum requirements on maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods and Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 as regards positioning by means of tachographs

Summary:

Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 - adopted by the co-legislators on 15 July 2020 - introducing a number of amendments to Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 and Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 concerning the requirements on maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks, daily and weekly rest periods, as well as positioning by means of tachographs.

Summaru:

Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 - known as the Driving Time Regulation - lays down rules on driving times, breaks and rest periods for drivers of lorries and buses in order to improve working conditions and road safety. Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 - known as the Tachograph Regulation - sets out the requirements on the construction, installation, use, testing and control of tachographs used in road transport in the European Union (EU).

Both Regulations are part of a wider effort to improve working conditions of drivers, ensure fair competition between operators and improve road safety. A REFIT assessment on social legislation in road transport and its enforcement concluded that the Driving Time Regulation had been only partly effective in achieving the general aims. The main difficulties encountered were linked to the shortcomings of the the rules themselves, but also insufficient enforcement and inability to address emerging social and market challenges.

The European Commission tabled the proposal for this Regulation on 31 May 2017 to rectify the identified shortcomings and to help improve the working and business conditions in the sector. The Regulation aims to clarify and update certain provisions and further upgrade the use of existing and future tachographs to ensure more cost-effective enforcement. The proposal was put forward as part of the Europe on the Move package. The Council of the European Union adopted its general approach in December 2018, followed by the European Parliament in April 2019. After four negotiating rounds, an informal agreement was reached between the co-legislators on a compromise text in December 2019. This was formally endorsed by the Council in April 2020 and by the Parliament in July 2020. The co-legislators signed off the Act on 15 July, which was published in the Official Journal on 31 July 2020.

• Primary Source

Commentary and Analysis

EPRS: Briefing, November 2017: Initial Appraisal of a European Commission Impact Assessment https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2017)611007

EPRS: Briefing, July 2020: Road transport: Driving, breaks, rest times and tachographs https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2017)608756

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Official

EUR-Lex: COM(2017)277: Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 as regards minimum requirements on maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods and Regulation (EU) 165/2014 as regards positioning by means of tachographs https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2017:277:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2017)184: Ex-post evaluation of the social legislation in road transport: Final report http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2017:184:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2017)185: Ex-post evaluation of the social legislation in road transport: Executive summary http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2017:185:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2017)186: Impact assessment http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2017:186:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2017)187: Executive summary of the impact assessment http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2017:187:FIN

European Parliament: Legislative Observatory: Procedure File for Proposal on Minimum requirements on maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods; positioning by means of tachographs https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?lang=en&reference=2017/0122(COD)

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