Brussels, 21/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - The monthly package of infringements adopted by the Commission on Thursday 21 February includes referrals to the Court of Justice of the EU on road and railway transport and reasoned opinions in air and road transport.
The European Commission is initiating court action against Austria, Finland and Poland for failure to correctly apply the EU working time rules for self-employed drivers. These three countries have failed to notify the measures taken to bring their national body of law into line with Directive 2002/15/EC, which was aimed at ensuring correct working conditions for drivers, road safety and healthy competition.
Slovenia, also, has been taken to dock as part of the infringement package as Ljubljana has not communicated the national measures taken to ensure railway interoperability, set out in the Directive 2008/57/EC. The European Commission has therefore decided to refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the EU. The directive in question should have been in application at national level by the end of December last. Slovenia failed to come into line by that date, thus creating an obstacle to the technical harmonisation of railways in Europe.
The Commission has also sent reasoned opinions to two other countries, which is the second stage in infringement proceedings. Lithuania and Spain will have two months in which to explain their position to the Commission. Should they fail to do so, the Commission may refer the states concerned to the Court of Justice.
Lithuania has received a reasoned opinion as it has not transposed European rules on periodical technical controls into its national body of law, and has not communicated information in this respect further to receiving letters of formal notice sent after the date of application early 2011.
Spain has received a reasoned opinion on the allocation of airport slots. Madrid is said not to have provided sufficient guarantees on the independence of the slot coordinator, who is in charge of allocating landing and take-off slots in a non-discriminatory, neutral and transparent manner, one of the essential pillars of a system that allows fair competition. The Commission has already opened an inquiry into this. Unless Spain can justify its behaviour, it will be referred to the EU Court of Justice. (MD/transl.jl)