Brussels, 14/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - The Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) has strongly criticised the attitude of the European Commission and the European Railway Agency (ERA), accusing the former of seeking to “dictate” the rules and the latter of “causing confusion” in the VKM (Vehicle Keeper Markings) register. In a press release issued on Friday 11 June, OTIF is critical of the unilateral decision, taken without prior notice by ERA, pushed by the Commission, no longer to observe the agreement on joint maintenance of the VKM register. Since July 2007 the VKM register has been updated on the basis of data exchange between ERA and OTIF. ERA provided codifications of vehicle keepers within the EU member states of OTIF as well as the relevant data from the COTIF zone and the member states of the Organisation for Cooperation of Railways (OSJD). Since the end of April, ERA has, without prior warning according to OTIF, banned access to its meetings and changed the timetable for data updates. OTIF, which continues to wish to work with ERA, says it is the “arrogant” attitude of the European Commission, in the middle of negotiating the EU's accession to OTIF, which is the cause of this dispute. It is the wish of the Commission (and of ERA which, just like OTIF, is responsible for approving rolling stock in the EU) to get rid of competitors. Also criticised is the disconnection clause which the Commission proposed during accession negotiations. This clause, which was rejected by OTIF, states that member states' obligations take precedence over those contracted in international agreements if the scope of the two texts is identical (as is the case with OTIF). On Thursday 10 June, OTIF Secretary General Stefan Schimming sent a letter to Mathias Ruete, Director General at the Commission's Mobility and Transport Directorate (DG MOVE) and to the Chairman and members of the ERA Administrative Board, which is due to hold its next meeting on Tuesday 15 June. (A.By./transl.rt)