EEC ministers
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clear the decks
THIS week's meeting of the Common Market Council of Ministers in Luxembourg (CM last week) was expected to clear the general ground for decisions on half a dozen important measures by the year's end. Among these are the amendment of EEC Regulation 343/69 on driving hours and tachographs; the introduction )f the AETR rules on driving 2onditions; the harmonisation 3f commercial vehicle taxes; the future of Community haulage quotas; and infrastructure tharges — or road taxes. Also ;he vexed question of vehicle weight limits.
This week's meeting was also expected to give the goahead to the Commission to Ten negotiations with Austria, :T reece, Norway, Portugal, 3weden, Switzerland, Turkey tnd Yugoslavia for common 'tiles for "occasional" (ie nainly touring) road passenger services to or through those territories by EEC operators, and vice versa.
Britain's case for deferment of EEC rules, and the pressure from other members for changes, were not expected to be dealt with in detail this week. Most of Wednesday's meeting of the Transport Ministers was due to be devoted to discussing the proposals for adopting a more liberal Community transport policy. The Permanent Representatives Committee, the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee having given their views on the -Commission's October 1973 proposals, the Commission president has suggested that the Ministers should first discuss the organisation of transport policy, including access to the market; the co-ordination of national road and rail investment; and the implementation of the Rome Treaty's transport aims.