On Wednesday 2 December, the ambassadors of the Member States to the EU (Coreper) approved the Council’s negotiating mandate for a new proposal for a regulation on maintaining a rail link between France and the United Kingdom. The mandate adopted corresponds word for word to the Commission’s initial proposal.
This proposal, unveiled on 27 November (EUROPE 12611/7), aims to ensure the temporary extension, beyond the end of the post-Brexit transition period on 31 December, of certain authorisations, certificates and licences relating to rail operations in the Channel Tunnel.
Once adopted, it will allow infrastructure managers and railway undertakings to continue to operate normally until France and the United Kingdom reach an agreement on the future mandate of the safety authority responsible for the cross-Channel rail link since 1986 (see EUROPE 12549/9). France has indeed been mandated in this respect by the EU (see EUROPE 12577/16).
However, in light of the information provided by the French delegation to the EU Council Working Party on the United Kingdom, it is “unlikely that a protocol will be in place by 31 December”, the German Presidency stated in a note dated 30 November, as seen by EUROPE.
“Given the urgency of the matter”, it had recommended that the text be adopted under the urgency procedure – a solution which the Member States therefore adopted.
If the European Parliament in turn agrees to approve the text as it stands, it could be put to the vote of MEPs at first reading during their next plenary session (14–17 December). This would allow the Council to approve the Parliament’s position in the meantime and allow the text to take effect in time before the end of the transition period. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)