Since 1 May 2015, the European Union has applied a new regulation regarding “the temporary importation of means of transport intended to be used by a natural person resident in the customs territory of the Union” (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32015R0234). This regulation also applies to vehicles belonging to or rented by CERN, registered in Switzerland and travelling in France, but does not necessitate any modifications to the provisions of Operational Circular No. 4 regarding the use of these vehicles. The Direction régionale des douanes du Léman (Léman regional customs directorate) has informed the Organization that members of the CERN personnel and contractors' personnel may present their CERN access card instead of the contract of employment specified in the European regulation in the event of inspection by the French customs authorities.

In this context, we would like to remind you of the following provisions of Operational Circular No. 4:

- Paragraph 10 (“Use of vehicles for private purposes (e.g. for transporting family members or for shopping) is prohibited in all circumstances, including in the context of standby service.”);

- Paragraph 24 (“Members of a contractor's personnel are not authorised to use a vehicle for travel between their place of residence and the place of work.”);

- Paragraph 22 (“Use of a vehicle for travel between the place of residence and the place of work must be authorised by the head of the department to which the member of the personnel is assigned.”);

- Paragraph 25 (“Except in the case of travel as specified in § 22, the driver must be in possession of a job order in order to drive a vehicle outside the permitted driving area.”);

- Paragraph 34 (“When making use of the vehicle, the driver must be in possession of the following documents:

a) his or her CERN access card,

b) a valid driving licence,

c) the documents for the vehicle (registration document, insurance “green card”, etc.),

d) a valid identity document (identity card, national passport or other travel document recognised in Switzerland and France) with the necessary visas where required (drivers are also recommended to be in possession of their legitimation documents issued by the Host States),

e) any additional authorisations (cf. Article III, § 22 to 31)”).