Brussels, 08/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - Public service obligation negotiations between the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the EU in the political pillar of the 4th rail package would seem to be stumbling on three points: the conditions for the direct award of public services, conditions for the transfer of rolling stock and social conditions, a European source told EUROPE on Friday 8 January.
Adoption by the Transport Council of a general approach on the governance and market-opening pillar was one of the priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU. It achieved its objective, but at the cost of numerous derogations (see EUROPE 11406) allowing exemptions on technical and geographical criteria and relaxing the conditions restricting the direct award of contracts - conditions which, indeed, had already been relaxed by the European Parliament which had adopted a joint position in February 2014.
Against this backdrop, the issue of access to rolling stock becomes a second stumbling block. The question, here, is what becomes of rolling stock when a contract is ceded to a new entrant: there is the cost but also the training of staff in using the material. In this, the member states determined that the European rules guaranteeing effective and non-discriminatory access to rolling stock should be neither too detailed nor too strict thereby allowing each member state and its competent authorities to adopt measures appropriate to the national context.
Lastly, the European Parliament tightened up, clarified and refined the initial text from the Commission on the transfer of staff after a change of operator, under the terms of Directive 2001/23 on safeguarding employees' rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts of undertakings or businesses. On this point, the member states agreed no position in their general approach, the same source said, as differences between legislations and national interests were too wide.
The first three interinstitutional dialogues focused on these various points in addition to the related issue of business confidentiality and reporting, the size of public service contracts and public transport plans. The next dialogue, the fourth, will take place on 28 January and is likely, too, to focus on delegated acts, “though the agenda may be amended by the Dutch Presidency”, indicated the same European source. The agenda will be drawn up in the next few days. According to the provisional timetable, at least two further interinstitutional dialogues are scheduled - on 23 February and on 16 March.
The Dutch Presidency is determined to make progress on the political pillar, said the same source, though wondering about the content were any agreement to be reached in the coming months. Alongside the PSO, numerous other points on governance and standardisation have to be discussed and agreed. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)