Directive 2004/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 4 Administrative Authority

1. Member States shall designate (an) administrative authority(ies), hereinafter referred to as "the Administrative Authority", which shall have responsibility for ensuring that all aspects of the safety of a tunnel are assured and which shall take the necessary steps to ensure compliance with this Directive.

2. The Administrative Authority may be set up at national, regional or local level.

3. Each tunnel in the Trans-European Road Network located on the territory of a single Member State shall fall under the responsibility of a single Administrative Authority. For each tunnel located on the territory of two Member States, each Member State shall designate an Administrative Authority or, alternatively, the two Member States shall designate a joint Administrative Authority. If there are two different Administrative Authorities, the decisions of either taken in the exercise of its respective competencies and responsibilities with regard to tunnel safety shall be adopted with the prior agreement of the other Authority.

4. The Administrative Authority shall commission tunnels in accordance with the procedure laid down in Annex II.

5. Without prejudice to further arrangements on this subject at national level, the Administrative Authority shall have power to suspend or restrict the operation of a tunnel if safety requirements are not met. It shall specify the conditions under which normal traffic may be resumed.

6. The Administrative Authority shall ensure that the following tasks are performed:

(a) testing and inspecting tunnels on a regular basis and drawing up safety requirements pertaining thereto;

(b) putting in place organisational and operational schemes (including emergency response plans) for the training and equipping of emergency services;

(c) defining the procedure for immediate closure of a tunnel in an emergency;

(d) implementing the necessary risk reduction measures.

7. Where bodies designated as Administrative Authorities existed prior to the designation referred to in this Article, those Administrative Authorities may continue their previous activities provided that they comply with this Directive.