Brussels, 20/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - Whether this is a question of governance or the opening up of the public services, the informal agreement on the political pillar of the fourth railway package obtained on Tuesday evening 19 April, during the final inter-institutional dialogue, appears to be a compromise in favour of the member states, explained several different sources.
The negotiations were delayed after the attacks on 22 March (see EUROPE 11518) and, right up to the end, stalled on the question of separating the operators from network managers, the social guarantee for employees during the transfer of one operator to another and, finally, the transition time frames for opening up the national markets to competition (see EUROPE 11464). In all these different points, it would appear that the position of the member states, characterised by many different derogations (see EUROPE 11406), was the one that was retained overall.
Therefore, on the question of separating operators from network managers in the integrated structures, such as the SNCF or Deutsche Bahn, the Commission proposed to introduce a genuine "Chinese wall" and clearly divide the roles in an effort to avoid any conflict of interest. This position was supported by the European Parliament. The final casting only provides a limited separation between these two activities in the integrated structures and France and Germany have therefore won their arguments on this question.
On the issue of maintaining social conditions and personnel during a change of operator, the EP was of the opinion that it should be mandatory. This position was supported by the ETF (European Transport Federation), the Community of European Railways (CER), as well as the SNCF. The French group considers that it has been put at a disadvantage in the call for proposals with competitors that are not subject to the same social constraints. The proposal remained unacceptable to the Council right up to the very end. Ultimately, it will be up to the competent authorities to determine whether a "preservation" clause will be introduced in the calls for tender or not, which was sharply criticised by Karima Delli (Greens/EFA, France) and Ismail Ertug (S&D, Germany). The position reached in the trilogue is therefore not different to the provisions included in the 2001/23/EC directive on the harmonisation of member states' legislation on maintaining workers' rights in company transfers.
Finally, the member states were successful in extending to a maximum, the transition periods for market liberalisation. It will therefore be possible to directly allocate until 2023, contracts of a 10 year duration, which effectively means that the national markets will be open until 2033. It should be pointed out that the Commission had proposed 2019 as the year for ending contracts by way of direct allocation and their expiry by 2022. France was also able to ensure that its interests prevailed with regard to the high-speed routes by toughening up the specific tests on economic balance when determining whether the entry of a competitor endangered the sustainability of the public contract, explained the European institutions.
During the final inter-institutional dialogue session, the Commission made a commitment to carrying out a mid-term review of direct contract allocations, which will certainly be in 2019. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)