The draft report by Roberts Zīle (ECR, Latvia) resonates with the European Commission proposal of 8 November last on market access rules for buses and coaches as part of the second “mobility” package (see EUROPE 11900). It calls for an appropriate framework for this process and therefore represents a less liberal position than that of the Commission but without any significant rupture with the proposal contained in the text.
Mr Zīle effectively mentions in his report that he “welcomes the Commission proposal” to revise the current 1073/2009 regulation on this subject. On the same grounds as what he mentioned during a debate on this proposal on 1 February last during the European Parliament transport committee (EUROPE 11952), several different ideas have been mooted on the subject, particularly that of the MEPs who want more protection of public service contracts, which compares with the approach already adopted in this regard.
Therefore, although the suggestions of the rapporteur are similar to those of the Commission in the context of international transport services for journeys that are less than 100 kilometres as the crow flies or regular national services of less than 100 or 120 km as the crow flies, Mr Zīle is advocating liberalisation of the sector for services that exceed these ceilings. According to the latter, a national control authority could effectively refuse a business access to a terminal if this access “compromises at least one existing or planned public service contract”, particularly if it the contract bundles profitable and unprofitable routes together, which is an implicit reference in this connection to the “Spanish model”.
Access could also, according to the draft report, be refused to a business if the latter intends to provide services “below their normal value” for an extended period of time in an effort to avoid unfair competitive practices.
Mr Zīle is also suggesting that member states are given the possibility of limiting this access for journeys in urban and suburban areas or when a contract has granted an exclusive right to operate a particular route or network or in a particular area, in return for the discharge of public service obligations. The rapporteur also suggests that terminals that are owned and used solely by the terminal operator for its own road passenger transport services can be excluded from sector liberalisation rules.
The draft report also stipulates that a state can have more liberal rules than the revised rules on regular national services.
Links with first mobility package. Two points are essentially linked to the first mobility package. Mr Zīle is suggesting that a member state can require a non-resident carrier to comply with the conditions relating to the requirement of establishment, as laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 if it is undertaking domestic operations on its territory. It also wants to return to the Commission proposal to remove the article on authorisations for cabotage for local excursions.
These two points will, nonetheless, require scrutiny under the terms of the results from the negotiations on the first mobility package, despite the fact that these negotiations are currently bogged down at the Council of the EU (see EUROPE 12036). Parliament will be giving its position on these texts during the July plenary session in a difficult context (see EUROPE 12041). (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)