6.
TRANSPORT POLICY
31993 R 3118: Council Regulation (EEC) No 3118/93 of 25 October
1993 laying down the conditions under which non-resident carriers
may operate national road haulage services within a Member State (OJ
L 279, 12.11.1993, p. 1), as last amended by:
— 32002 R 0484: Regulation (EC) No 484/2002 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 1.3.2002 (OJ L 76, 19.3.2002,
p. 1).
(a) By way of derogation from Article 1 of Regulation (EEC)
No 3118/93 and until the end of the second year following the
date of accession, carriers established in Slovakia shall be excluded
from the operation of national road haulage services in the other
Member States, and carriers established in the other Member States
shall be excluded from the operation of national road haulage
services in Slovakia.
(b) Before the end of the second year following the date of accession,
Member States shall notify the Commission whether they will
prolong this period for a maximum of two years or whether
they will fully apply Article 1 of the Regulation henceforth. In
the absence of such notification, Article 1 of the Regulation shall
apply. Only carriers established in those Member States in which
Article 1 of the Regulation applies may perform national road
haulage services in those other Member States in which Article 1
also applies.
(c) Before the end of the fourth year following the date of accession, in
case of serious disturbances, or threat thereof, in the national road
haulage market, Member States in which Article 1 of the Regu-
lation does not apply by virtue of paragraph (b) above shall notify
the Commission whether they will prolong this period for a
maximum of one year or whether they will fully apply Article 1
of the Regulation henceforth. In the absence of such notification,
Article 1 of the Regulation shall apply. Only carriers established in
those Member States in which Article 1 of the Regulation applies
may perform national road haulage services in those other Member
States in which Article 1 also applies.
(d) As long as Article 1 of the Regulation does not fully apply in all
Member States, those Member States in which Article 1 of the
Regulation applies by virtue of paragraph (b) or (c) above may
resort to the procedure set out below.
When a Member State referred to in the preceding subparagraph
undergoes a serious disturbance of its national market or parts
thereof due to or aggravated by cabotage, such as serious excess
of supply over demand or a threat to the financial stability or
survival of a significant number of road haulage undertakings,
that Member State shall inform the Commission and the other
Member States thereof and shall supply them with all relevant
particulars. On the basis of this information, the Member State
may request the Commission to suspend, in whole or in part,
the application of Article 1 of the Regulation, in order to restore
to normal the situation.
The Commission shall examine the situation on the basis of data
provided by the Member State concerned and shall decide within
one month of receipt of the request on the need for the adoption
of safeguard measures. The procedure laid down in the second,
third and fourth subparagraphs of paragraph 3, as well as
paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of Article 7 of the Regulation shall apply.
A Member State referred to in the first subparagraph above may, in
urgent and exceptional cases, suspend the application of Article 1
of the Regulation, followed by a reasoned ex-post notification to
the Commission.
(e) As long as Article 1 of the Regulation is not applied by virtue of
paragraphs (a) to (c) above, Member States may regulate access to
their national road haulage services by progressively exchanging
cabotage authorisations on the basis of bilateral agreements. This
may include the possibility of full liberalisation.
(f) The effect of the application of paragraphs (a) to (d) shall not lead
to more restrictive access to national road haulage services than
that prevailing on the date of signature of the Treaty of Accession.
7. TAXATION
1.
31977 L 0388: Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May
1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating
to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform basis
of assessment (OJ L 145, 13.6.1977, p. 1), as last amended by:
— 32002 L 0038: Council Directive 2002/38/EC of 7. 5. 2002 (OJ L
128, 15.5.2002, p. 41).
By way of derogation from Article 12(3)(a) of Directive 77/388/EEC,
Slovakia may maintain a) a reduced rate of value added tax of not less
than 5% on the supply of heat energy used by private households and
small entrepreneurs who are not registered for VAT for heating and the
production of hot water, excluding raw materials used to generate heat
energy, until 31 December 2008, and b) a reduced rate of value added
tax of not less than 5% on the supply of construction work for resi-
dential housing not provided as part of a social policy, and excluding
building materials until 31 December 2007.
Without prejudice to a formal decision to be adopted according to the
procedure set out in Article 12(3)(b) of Directive 77/388/EEC, Slovakia
may maintain a reduced rate of value added tax of not less than 5% on
the supply of natural gas and electricity until one year after the date of
accession.
EN
920
Official Journal of the European Union
23.9.2003