
Article 1 
Regulation (EC) No 823/2000 is amended as follows:

1.. In Article 2 the following points 6 and 7 are added:
'
6.. “commencement of the service” means the date on which the first vessel sails on the service or, when there has been substantial new investment, the date on which the first vessel sails under the conditions directly arising from that substantial new investment;
7.. “substantial new investment” means investment which results in the building, purchase or long-term charter of vessels, which are specifically designed, required and substantial for the operation of the service and which constitutes at least half of the total investment made by the consortium members in relation to the maritime transport service offered by the consortium.';
2.. In Article 5 point (a) is replaced by the following:
'
((a)) there is effective price competition between the members of the conference within which the consortium operates, due to the fact that the members are expressly authorised by the conference agreement, whether by virtue of a statutory obligation or otherwise, to apply independent rate action to any freight rate provided for in the conference tariff and/or to enter into individual confidential contracts; or';
3.. In Article 8 point (b) is replaced by the following:
'
((b)) the consortium agreement must give member companies the right to withdraw from the consortium without financial or other penalty such as, in particular, an obligation to cease all transport activity in the trade or trades in question, whether or not coupled with the condition that such activity may be resumed only after a certain period has elapsed. This right shall be subject to a maximum notice period of six months which may be given after an initial period of 18 months starting from the date of entry into force of the consortium agreement or the agreement to make a substantial new investment in the joint maritime service. If the date of entry into force of the agreement is earlier than the date of commencement of the service, the initial period shall not be more than 24 months starting from the date of entry into force of the consortium agreement or the date of entry into force of the agreement to make a substantial new investment in the joint maritime service.
However, in the case of a highly integrated consortium which has a net revenue pool and/or high level of investment due to the purchase or charter by its members of vessels specifically for the purpose of setting up the consortium, the maximum notice period shall be six months, which may be given after an initial period of 30 months starting from the date of entry into force of the consortium agreement or the agreement to make a substantial new investment in the joint maritime service. If the date of entry into force of the agreement is earlier than the date of commencement of the service, the initial period shall not be more than 36 months starting from the date of entry into force of the consortium agreement or the date of entry into force of the agreement to make a substantial new investment in the joint maritime service.';
4.. In the second paragraph of Article 14, the date ‘25 April 2005’ is replaced by ‘25 April 2010’.
Article 2 
This Regulation shall enter into force on 26 April 2005.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.Done at Brussels, 20 April 2005.
For the Commission
Neelie KROES
Member of the Commission