Brussels, 24/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - The public service passenger transport guidelines published by the European Commission on Friday 21 March are being strongly criticised by incumbent rail operators.
The European Commission has interpreted many aspects of EU Regulation 1370/2007 on public contracts for train, underground, tram and bus services, but the European Rail Community (CER) warns that the new interpretation goes further than the original regulation, adding new rules. CER Executive Director Libor Lochman said: “In sharp contrast with what is stated in the European Commission press release/FAQ, the stakeholders were not sufficiently involved in the preparatory process of the interpretative guidelines. (…) I am convinced that when the Commission decides to make use of a consultation of the stakeholders, it should pursue the dialogue after the closure of the consultation period. These guidelines are, from a pure process viewpoint, a sad example of how things should not happen in Brussels if we want to maintain and enhance mutual trust between the stakeholders and the legislators”. (MD)