The European transport ministers will meet on Monday 4 December and are expected to adopt no fewer than eight EU Council positions (‘general approaches’) on issues such as maritime and road safety, ahead of negotiations with the European Parliament on these issues.
Maritime transport. The ministers are expected to adopt four ‘general approaches’ on four directives relating to maritime safety: - port State control; - compliance with flag State requirements; - investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector; - ship-source pollution.
These directives are part of the package that was presented by the European Commission in June (see EUROPE 13192/18), aimed at modernising EU rules on maritime safety and preventing ship-source pollution. This also involves implementing international legislation at European level.
The Croatian, Cypriot, Greek, Italian, Maltese and Portuguese delegations are expected to discuss the implementation of the EU Emissions Trading System (see EUROPE 13300/17), in particular their concerns for maritime freight transport.
Land transport. The ministers are expected as well to adopt three ‘general approaches’ on: - the regulation on minimum breaks and rest periods in the occasional passenger transport sector; - the directive on driving licences; - the directive on facilitating cross-border exchange of information on road-safety-related traffic offences.
The last two texts were debated during the ‘Transport’ Council in June. On the subject of driving licences, discussions revolved around the period of validity of the licence and the medical checks required to renew the licence (see EUROPE 13199/13). With regard to the exchange of information, discussions focused on the potential administrative overload that this text could generate (see EUROPE 13193/4).
The ministers are also expected to adopt their position on the ‘EU count emission’ regulation, which includes a common methodological approach enabling companies to calculate their greenhouse gas emissions. It is part of the package aimed at greening freight transport, presented by the Commission in July (see EUROPE 13220/21).
Although announced on the agenda, the ministers will not be adopting a position on the directive on the maximum dimensions and weights for certain road vehicles. According to a European source, the Member States have not been able to make sufficient progress on this text. A progress report will be presented instead.
Similarly, the Presidency will issue a progress report on the Directive on the Union-wide effect of certain driving disqualifications (see EUROPE 13187/12).
The ministers will also review the dossiers under negotiation with the European Parliament: - the revision of the Regulation on the guidelines of the Union for the development of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) (see EUROPE 13293/10); - the ‘Single European Sky’ regulations (see other news).
The Dutch delegation, supported by the Austrian delegation, will be reporting on fatigue among European pilots. Finally, the Belgian delegation will address the work programme of the next Presidency of the EU Council.
To see the programme: https://aeur.eu/f/9od (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)