Brussels, 09/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - The social aspects in road transport are set to dominate the next Transport Council, the last to be chaired by Luxembourg, on Thursday 10 December, with a policy debate being held.
Transport ministers will take stock of current legislation and consider how best to guarantee harmonised interpretation and systematic enforcement. They will, in particular, discuss Regulation No 561/2006 on driving time and rest periods, Directive 2006/22 on minimum levels of verification and Regulation 3821/85 on the recording equipment to be used in road transport, along with the regulations establishing common rules on access to international freight and passenger transport markets (1071/2009, 1072/2009 and 1073/2009).
Several member states have cases lodged against them by the Commission currently being heard by the Court of Justice of the EU (see EUROPE 11416) and the number of infringements of the rules on driving time, breaks and rest periods remains high, with 3.9 million infringements detected between 2011 and 2012. The Commission intends to bring forward new road transport initiatives next year.
Ministers are expected to adopt, without discussion, its position at first reading on the three legislative acts that make up the technical pillar of the fourth railway package, on which informal agreement was reached in June (see EUROPE 11347). These are directives on railway safety and interoperability, and a regulation on the EU railway agency (ERA). They will also give their agreement in principle on the international protocol on liability and compensation for damages related to the transport by sea of harmful and dangerous substances. The member states are expected to sign this protocol, with the exception of those parts that relate to legal cooperation in civil matters.
Among the “other business” points, Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc will set out for ministers her aviation strategy for Europe that was presented on Monday 7 December (see EUROPE 11447 and 11448). The Dutch delegation will present the findings of the investigation into the crash of flight MH17 in July 2014 (see EUROPE 11410). It will also set out the work programme of the incoming Dutch Presidency in transport. The Commission will report on the state of the energy union. Lastly, ministers will take stock of the election of the council (2016-2019) of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Over a working lunch, ministers will discuss road safety issues in light of the recent, somewhat mixed, results, particularly from some Eastern European states (see EUROPE 11281). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)