Brussels, 16/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - The 4th railway package is incessantly stalling. No new date has so far been set for the next trialogue on the technical pillar. Differences of opinion between the Council and the Parliament on the subject are proving more intractable than previously thought.
The most recent meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives in the European Union (Coreper) held last week did not manage to shift things forward on the ground with regard to the 4th railway package. It was only able to take note of the results of the previous trialogue meeting, which was not very promising either (see EUROPE 11243). It has therefore been decided to “postpone” the trialogue negotiations that were due to take place.
One Latvian Presidency source indicated that the discussions between the Council and the Parliament were not expected to take place before the beginning of March. The Presidency believes that effort still needs to be agreed on the subject. No fewer than three Council workgroup meetings examined this question last week, with another two this week.
The Presidency would like to present a compromise package on the technical pillar and spend more time to this effect. Expectations are of equal measure regarding the European Commission, which is suspected of taking the promising technical pillar hostage (see EUROPE 11243), whilst waiting for the Council to adopt a position on the political pillar, which is believed to be even more sensitive. (Marie-Pauline Desset)