Brussels, 05/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - The Irish Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers is expected to seal a great many agreements at theTransport Council, to be held in Luxembourg on Monday 10 June. These will cover various modes, from rail interoperability to marine equipment, via vehicle inspections and occurrence reporting in civil aviation. It will be a packed day for the transport ministers, who will also be holding various exchanges of views on the White Paper for transport, the connecting Europe facility and the Commission's recent proposals on the rights of airline passengers, of passengers at ports and the safety of passenger vessels.
Technical pillar. The most important agreement will undoubtedly be the general approach (which is provisional for translation reasons) on rail interoperability, the technical pillar of the fourth railway package, alongside governance and the opening-up of the domestic passenger market, including the revision of directives on interoperability and safety, as well as the revision of regulation 881/2004 on the European Railways Agency (ERA, see other article). Although initial discussions seem to have got off to a poor start at the previous Transport Council in March (see EUROPE 10803), the Irish Presidency seems to have been able to facilitate the debate by putting forward a sufficiently accommodating compromise, such that the debate on this subject on Monday should be a formality. In its general approach, the Council plans not to support a centralisation of the authorisation and certification procedures for rolling stock within the ERA, instead favouring a dual approach. For vehicles to be used in international transport, the ERA will be in the driving seat, with the support of the national safety agencies. As regards stock to be used solely domestically, the operators will be able to decide between the ERA and the national agency. This freedom helps to respond to the delegations' reservations related to transfers of power in safety matters from the national authorities to the European agency and an increase in the administrative burden. The ministers are therefore expected to extend the transition period from three years to five to simplify procedures, and extend interoperability exceptions for the neighbour countries of Russia, which operates different gauge sizes.
Technical inspection package. The Council is also expected to adopt a common approach on the two remaining planks of the technical inspection package, specifically roadworthiness inspections for commercial vehicles and vehicle registration documents, as the plank on the frequency of technical inspections was the subject of an initial approach at the Transport Council in December of last year. The ministers are expected to opt for the legislative format of the directive rather than a regulation for measures related to inspections of commercial vehicles, which recommend that vehicle documentation is checked first of all, and that a technical inspection is carried out if the visual inspection suggests a risk. The member states are also expected to exclude vans of less than 3.5 tonnes, despite a minority calling for them to be included. Germany would also like cargo securing to be excluded. Lastly, the ministers are expected to reject an annual inspection quota and to propose a phasing-in of the legislation over seven years. As regards suspending or getting rid of registration, the member states are calling for their specific individual natures to be taken into account.
Occurrences in civil aviation. Following an initial debate on the revision of the directive on reporting occurrences in civil aviation, to allow for developments in the list of occurrences and the voluntary reporting system, the Council is expected to reach a general approach ruling out certain categories of aircraft, adapting the categorisation of risks to avoid administrative burdens and ensuring the protection of the reporting party, subject to compliance with national laws. An additional debate may be necessary regarding the protection of these employees. On this, the ministers are also likely to delay the application time.
Marine equipment. The ministers are also expected to call for an extension of the transposition of the European rules to three years in their general approach on marine equipment (revision of Directive 96/98/EC), which is likely to be agreed upon on Monday. This provides for uniform application of the rules in order to ensure maritime safety and the prevention of pollution.
On the sidelines. In addition to the debates preceding the adoption of these four general approaches, the ministers will be informed about progress made on the connecting Europe facility. In any other business, the Lithuanian Presidency will present its working programme, the Commission will present its ports package and the revision of the rights of airline passengers. It will also provide information on the safety of passenger vessels, the ETS and the transparency of prices in the aviation sector. Over lunch, the ministers will discuss progress stemming from the White Paper for transport presented in 2011, and its impact on growth and employment. On the sidelines of the Council, the aviation agreement with Israel will be formally signed, following delays due to protests from workers in the aviation sector of that country. (MD/transl.fl)