The European Commission (EC) has introduced rules applicable to road hauliers and road passenger transport operators, which includes a common classification of serious road safety infringements, as well as new specifications for smart tachographs, making the best use of new digital technologies, such as the Galileo satellite positioning system. The objective is to enhance road safety, contribute to a fairer competition between road transport operators and to facilitate a consistent enforcement of EU rules across all European borders. Removing legal and technical access barriers to the road transport market, and to strengthen the enforcement of applicable social legislation, is a priority on which the Commission intends to work further in the coming months, as was announced in the 2016 Commission Work Program. The common classification will reduce divergences in the way Member States deal with the same infringements, and will provide incentives for better compliance with the EU rules, contributing to enhanced road safety and ensuring fair business and working conditions. These initiatives will be discussed with Member States and stakeholders during a Road Transport Conference in Brussels in April. The Commission regulation on the classification of infringements provides for a common classification of serious and very serious infringements of EU road transport rules, which may lead to the loss of good repute of a road transport operator, and could further lead to the operator losing the Community license necessary to run a transport business in the EU. It will also contribute to improving the effectiveness of cross-border enforcement, as Member States are obliged to exchange information on serious and very serious infringements through the electronic system, known as the European Register of Road Transport Undertakings (ERRU).
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