Brussels, 22/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - The vote on the fourth rail package that was to have taken place on 26 November at the European Parliament's transport committee will now be held on 17 December.
The postponement has been caused by the large number of amendments lodged and the difficulty of finding compromises in so short a timescale. The committee members decided, therefore, it would be better to give themselves more time. The postponement is not due to problems on any specific issue, but simply the sheer number of amendments to be got through. It is easier to strike agreement on technical issues, while reports on governance and opening up the domestic passenger market to competition, the very essence of the legislation, are far more controversial. In a desire to deal with all the various parts of the package as a whole, the MEPs decided to delay the vote on the different reports by one month. The European Rail Freight Association says that “members of the European Parliament are using delaying tactics. Indeed, the European Parliament might not be able to vote on these issues before the European elections”. (MD/transl.fl)