2.4.1999 Official Journal of the European Communities L 90/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 718/1999 of 29 March 1999 on a Community-fleet capacity policy to promote inland waterway transport THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 75 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (%), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Atrticle 189¢ of the Treaty (%), (1) Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 1101/89 (*) introduced arrangements for structural improvements in the inland waterway sector for the fleets operating on the linked inland waterway networks of Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Austria; whereas the objective of that Regulation was to reduce overcapacity in the inland waterway fleets by means of vessel-scrapping schemes coordinated at Community level; whereas that Regulation expires on 28 April 1999; (2) Whereas of the measures to support these structural improvement arrangements with the aim of avoiding aggravation of existing overcapacity or the emergence of further overcapacity, the ‘old-for-new’ rule has proved indispensable to balanced operation of the inland waterway market; whereas this rule also remains an essential instrument for intervention in the event of a serious disturbance on the same market, as defined in Article 1 of Directive 96/75/EC (%) whereas steps should be taken to prevent the benefits from the scrapping schemes conducted since 1990 (") OJ C 320, 17.10.1998, p. 4 and O] C 15, 20.1.1999, p. 15. () Opinion delivered on 2 December 1998 (O] C 40, 15.2.1999, . 47). ) PC))pini)on of the European Parliament of 3 December 1998 (O] C 398, 21.12.1998), Common Position of the Council of 21 December 1998 (O] C 55, 25.2.1999) and Decision of the European Parliament of 25 February 1999 (not yet published in the Official Journal). (" OJ L 116, 284.1989, p. 25. Regulation last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 742/98 of 2 April 1998 (O] L 103, 34.1998, p. 3). Council Directive 96/75/EC of 19 November 1996 on the systems of chartering and pricing in national and international inland waterway transport in the Community (O] L 304, 27.11.1996, p. 12). - ~ being wiped out by new capacity coming into service as soon as the abovementioned rule ends; whereas it is therefore encessary to retain the ‘old-for-new’ rule for a limited period of not more than four years while gradually reducing the ratios to zero to safeguard the transition and end the Community market interven- tion stage; whereas it is also important to maintain the ‘old-for-new’ instrument for regulating the capacity of the Community fleets beyond these four years, but as a standby mechanism set at zero which could be reac- tivated only in the event of serious market disturbance of the kind referred to in Article 7 of Directive 96/75/ EC; Whereas the emergence of new overcapacity must be kept in check effectively in every branch of the inland waterway transport market; whereas it is therefore important that the measures to be adopted should be generally applicable and cover all cargo vessels and pusher craft; whereas there should be exemption from such measures for vessels which, because they operate solely on closed national or international markets, in no way contribute to the overcapacity on the network of linked inland waterways and provision should be made for the possibility of exempting vessels which, because their deadweight tonnage is less than 450 tonnes, also do not contribute to such overcapacity; whereas, by contrast, private fleets performing own- account operations cannot be excluded because of their impact on transport markets; Whereas a common approach allowing Member States to take joint measures to attain the same objective is a sine qua non for regulating capacity; whereas to this end the scrapping funds introduced by Regulation (EEC) No 1101/89 in the Member States with inland waterways should be maintained, but under a