Article 8Fair competition
1
The Commission shall monitor the conditions under which Union operators compete with United Kingdom operators for the provision of road freight transport services and coach and bus services covered by this Regulation.
2
Where the Commission determines that, as a result of any of the situations referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, the conditions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article are appreciably less favourable than those enjoyed by United Kingdom operators, it shall, without delay and in order to remedy that situation, adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 11 to:
a
suspend the application of Article 3 or Article 4(1) to (4) where the conditions of competition for United Kingdom road haulage operators, or United Kingdom bus and coach service operators, differ so much from those applying to Union operators that the provision of services by the latter is not economically viable for them;
b
establish limits to the allowable capacity available to United Kingdom road haulage operators, or United Kingdom bus and coach service operators, or to the number of journeys, or to both; or
c
adopt operational restrictions related to the types of vehicles or conditions of circulation.
3
The delegated acts referred to in paragraph 2 shall, under the conditions specified in that paragraph, be adopted to remedy the following situations:
a
the granting of subsidies by the United Kingdom;
b
failure by the United Kingdom to have in place or to effectively apply competition law;
c
failure by the United Kingdom to establish or maintain an independent competition authority;
d
the application by the United Kingdom of standards on the protection of workers, safety, security or the environment which are inferior to those laid down in Union law or, in the absence of relevant provisions in Union law, inferior to those applied by all Member States or, in any event, inferior to relevant international standards;
e
the application by the United Kingdom of standards relating to the granting of United Kingdom licences to road haulage operators or to coach and bus service operators which are inferior to those laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council19;
f
the application by the United Kingdom of standards relating to the qualification and training of professional drivers which are inferior to those laid down in Directive 2003/59/EC;
g
the application by the United Kingdom of road charging and taxation rules that diverge from the rules laid down in Directive 1999/62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council20; and
h
any form of discrimination against Union operators.
4
For the purposes of paragraph 1, the Commission may request information from the competent authorities of the United Kingdom or from United Kingdom operators. Where they do not provide the information requested within the reasonable period prescribed by the Commission, or provide incomplete information, the Commission may proceed in accordance with paragraph 2.