Brussels, 01/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - Key areas of railway reform will soon be changing hands at the European Parliament. The political groups have named two new rapporteurs on opening up the rail passenger transport market.
The European election results have added further disruption to the negotiations due to begin shortly on the fourth rail package. The two rapporteurs on the political, and therefore most difficult, chapter of railway reform, were not re-elected. Wim van de Camp (EPP, Netherlands) is expected to be taking over from Mathieu Grosch (EPP, Belgium) as rapporteur on public service obligations and David-Maria Sassoli (S&D, Italy) is expected to take over from Saïd El Khadraoui (S&D, Belgium) on railway infrastructure governance.
The political groups at the European Parliament keep the reports which find themselves without a rapporteur following the European elections. The political families, therefore, reallocated them one to their members, just before the end of the summer recess. During the future negotiations on the fourth railway package, these new rapporteurs will, then, have to take responsibility for a report that they did not in fact draft, in accordance with the negotiations mandate adopted by the European Parliament last February (see EUROPE 11027).
Sassoli has been a member of the transport and tourism committee since 2010 and is also the rapporteur on the revision of Regulation 216/2008 on aerodromes, air traffic management and air navigation services. Van de Camp was a member of the civil liberties and justice and home affairs committee during the previous Parliament. (MD)