On Wednesday 9 September, the EU Council’s Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States (Coreper) adopted its position on a draft regulation aimed at “meeting the urgent needs of the rail sector” (see EUROPE 12513/13).
The text gives Member States the possibility of relieving undertakings in the sector of certain charges (track access, reservation and surcharge rights) while ensuring timely reimbursement to infrastructure managers.
German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer, whose country currently holds the Presidency of the EU Council, said that these provisions should “ensure the continuity of rail transport by reducing the risk of Covid-19-related business failures in this sector”.
In its text, the EU Council introduces a clarification on the application of the derogation concerning track access charges.
It wishes to allow States to apply this derogation according to the different segments of the market: according to whether, for example, it is a question of passenger transport, freight transport or particular types of freight.
It would therefore be up to each State to decide whether or not to implement these derogations, in a transparent, objective and non-discriminatory manner, the institution said.
This measure has given rise to questions and fears in the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport (see EUROPE 12551/3) and could be a stumbling block for the forthcoming negotiations, which will be conducted under the urgency procedure.
While the EU Council did not reconsider the period of application of these measures - from 1 March 2020 to 31 December 2020 - nor the possibility of the Commission to renew them, the EU Council understands that the derogations can only be extended for a maximum of 6 months at a time and for a total of 18 months after the entry into force of the Regulation.
The obligation for States to inform the Commission of any measures they take and the obligation for the Commission to make this information available to the public have also been added. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)