Brussels, 19/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - MEPs who are to negotiate the 4th Railway Package will have a hard task ahead of them. Presentation of the package by Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas, on Tuesday 19 February, has left the European Parliament transport committee sceptical. The relative governance flexibility was not lost on the MEPs. They were also concerned about the risk for small, less profitable railway lines, once liberalisation of domestic railway traffic has been enacted.
Kallas said that the Commission suggests total unbundling when it comes to infrastructure managers, operators and the relationship between them (see EUROPE 10775). He said there are no plans to find a compromise on the setting in place of a “structure that allows unfair competition to be evacuated”. He was also adamant about the fact that one cannot have railway lines on which duties are paid only to end up in the pockets of competitors. Nonetheless, he did mitigate his comments saying that one agrees to have vertically or horizontally integrated structures but with clear rules for separation of the functions, and transparent financial flows. Integrated structures in place before adoption of the 4th Railway Package could continue, subject to strict conditions, even if no more holding companies are created after adoption of the legislative package.
This relative flexibility is a source of amusement for MEPs. Dominique Riquet (EPP, France) regrets the weakness of the provision and asks “how one can avoid trickery that is not financial trickery in a system that is still integrated?” He told the commissioner that “if you do not manage to have a clear separation, then you will end up with a 5th railway package”. His Belgian counterpart, Mathieu Grosch, has the impression that he has seen the same tragedy many times before. “There are different sensitivities, sometimes different systems, but one thing never changes - exploitation efficiency. One must ensure that the market is transparent, that there are no cross subsidies”, he said. The Liberal, Philippe De Backer (ALDE, Belgium) was unwavering saying he felt it necessary to put an end to the last national monopolies.
Another question which is playing on MEPs' minds is that of the liberalisation of domestic passenger traffic, and how to maintain less profitable lines, given the prospect of it being obligatory to make public calls for tenders for public service missions. The spokesman for the Socialists on transport, Saïd El Khadraoui of Belgium, summed up the situation, saying: “Competition must flourish at regional level and there must not only be public service contracts for the most profitable lines. It is necessary to incite operators to take the different lines in charge”. Fearing “a fragmentation of the network that would engender more problems than solutions”, he recommended “solutions that are suitable for the size of the countries”. Commissioner Kallas admitted on this subject that he was “willing to discuss the matter and take into account the various solutions applied at national level from which we could take inspiration to successfully open the market”. He concluded: “It is not a matter of a revolution. We want maximum flexibility so that the system can operate as it should”. (our translation throughout) (MD/transl.jl)