Brussels, 06/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - The airport package will be practically off the Council agenda by the end of this parliament and little expected to develop in railway reform. On 1 January, Greece took over the reins of the EU presidency and has not displayed any great ambition on these issues, despite their importance to European mobility.
The airport package had already been sidelined by the Lithuanian Presidency and, although it seeks to improve airport capacity, it does not appear to be on the Greek Presidency priority list either. At the very most, the Presidency will inform the various delegations of the progress made in the European regulation on noise pollution, at the Transport Council on 14 March. This is one of the three least controversial aspects in the package. The others focus on the allocation of take-off and landing slots and the liberalisation of baggage handling services. The Transport Council's provisional agenda under the Greek Presidency no longer mentions the Single European Sky 2+ package, to which the states had given a very hostile reception at the informal meeting of transport ministers under the Lithuanian Presidency. Nonetheless, on air transport-related dossiers, the Greek Presidency does intend to establish a political agreement on the revision of passenger rights on 14 March.
The railway agenda will also be given scant attention because only a general approach or a policy agreement on the revision of the regulation on the European Railway Agency is planned for this date. This issue effectively comprises the technical pillar of the 4th railway package. The political plank will be looked at on 6 June by transport ministers called on to take note of the progress report and participate in a political debate on the opening up of the domestic railway transport market. During this Council, ministers are, however, expected to adopt the public-private partnership proposal, “Shift2rail”, which dedicates almost €1 billion to railway innovation.
The port package may be given a more substantial boost, with the adoption of a general approach on access to port services and the financial transparency of ports during the June Council.
In the field of road transport, the Transport Council in June is expected to tackle the question of revising the weights and dimensions of heavy goods vehicles but no decision is expected to be taken on the subject. A first reading political agreement could also be reached on the issue of the automatic emergency accident service, the eCall initiative (general approach planned for 6 March).
Finally, the intermodal issue of alternative fuels will be the subject of information provided by the Presidency on 14 March. (MD/transl.fl)