The draft mandate to be approved on Wednesday 6 March by the Member States' ambassadors to the European Union (Committee of Permanent Representatives - 'Coreper') on measures that the European Union could take to ensure rail safety and connectivity between the EU and the United Kingdom in the event of a no-deal Brexit is intended to be broader than the Commission's proposal was.
This draft text, submitted by the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU on 4 March, and of which EUROPE had a copy, echoes the Commission's proposal of 12 February (see EUROPE 12192). The institution at that point suggested a three-month extension of the validity of safety authorisations granted under Directive 2004/49/EC to infrastructure managers present in the United Kingdom and with active links with the EU.
According to the document, during discussions in the Council of the EU's ad hoc working party on Article 50 [TEU] on 14 and 26 February, France proposed extending the scope of the proposal and extending the duration of the final text.
The draft mandate thus recommends including in the scope of the text the safety certificates granted - again under Directive 2004/49/EC - to railway undertakings wishing to access infrastructure. The same shall apply to licences granted to railway operators under Directive 2012/34/EU and to licences granted to train drivers in accordance with the procedure laid down in Directive 2007/59/EC. This is in the area between border stations and terminals in the EU (Calais-Fréthun in France and Dundalk in Ireland) and the United Kingdom.
In addition, under the text, the extension of the validity of such approvals, certificates or licences would be in force for nine months, not three.
In addition, the text does not revert to the governance issues of the initial proposal, relating to the Commission's desire to no longer give jurisdiction to the Franco-British Intergovernmental Commission in terms of safety approvals for the Channel Tunnel, as defined under the Canterbury Treaty. This is due to the fact that the United Kingdom will become a third country.
In procedural terms, discussions with the European Parliament will differ somewhat from the traditional inter-institutional negotiations ('trilogues').
The Parliament will use the urgency procedure. This procedure, provided for in Article 154 of the institution's Rules of Procedure, must be requested in the Parliamentary plenary session on Monday 11 March and approved the following day. An informal discussion, which should be concluded, between the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU and representatives of the European Parliament will take place on the evening of 11 March.
Parliament’s text will be voted on Wednesday 13 March. If it is in line with the results of the discussion between the Council Presidency and Parliament’s representatives on 11 March, it should be considered as the final result, submitted for approval to the Council of the EU and the Parliament. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)