Brussels, 05/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - The Transport Council has finalised its work on the technical pillar of the 4th railway package. Under the chairmanship of the Greek Presidency, European transport ministers adopted a political agreement on railway safety rules, railway interoperability and the European Railway Agency.
In its political agreement, the Council advocates a dual system for granting vehicle circulation authorisation and safety certificates. The competent national authorities will remain in charge of these procedures for rolling stock used exclusively for domestic transport. The European Railway Agency will become the main component part in these procedures for international railway transport vehicles over the five years following adoption of the railway package. The Agency will therefore become a one-stop shop to help speed up certification procedures and make them less expensive, as well as avoiding any concealed restrictions to free competition.
Political agreement had already been reached on all of these legislative acts. The work of the Greek Presidency, as well as the technical pillar as a whole, should ensure coherence among these different texts and align already common amendments with the European Parliament's position at first reading (adopted in February).
Although European Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas warmly welcomed the political agreement, he did regret that the Council had weakened the role of the European Railway Agency in comparison to the Commission's initial proposal that sought to concentrate all the different tasks and competencies in the hands of this agency. He also regretted that the transition period had been extended from two to five years.
This technical pillar was deemed to be easier to tackle than the political section, which the Italian Presidency will be working on from July (opening up the railway passenger transport market, railway structure governance and public service obligations). Once the two pillars have been approved by the Council, negotiations with the European Parliament, which has already had its position since February, can begin on this railway reform. (MD)