Brussels, 11/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 10 December, the European Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Germany, following the German vote against the decision of June 2014 (2014/699/EU) establishing the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the 25th session of the revision committee of the Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF).
The Commission takes the view that by breaking ranks over the decision, Germany has failed in its obligations and in particular, its duty of 'fair competition' laid down in the Treaty on the European Union (Article 4 §3), which states that the “member states must respect and assist each other mutually in the accomplishment of all missions stemming from the treaties”, take measures to ensure the execution of the obligations under the acts of the institutions of the EU and “refrain from any measure which may jeopardise the achievement of the objectives of the Union”.
Berlin now has two months to respond to the Commission, which could then decide to bring the matter before the Court of Justice of the EU, if the German response is not felt to be satisfactory. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)