The European Transport Ministers will be meeting in Luxembourg on Tuesday 18 June. They will adopt three negotiating positions (‘general approach’) and several agreements with the European Parliament.
Maritime safety. The ministers are expected to formally adopt four texts resulting from agreements with the European Parliament: - the revised directive governing investigations into maritime accidents (see EUROPE 13349/6); - the revised directive on combating maritime pollution (see EUROPE 13352/6); - the directive on port state control; - the directive on compliance with flag state requirements (see EUROPE 13359/13). Parliament approved the agreements in April (see EUROPE 13388/14).
The ministers are also expected to adopt their general approach for the last text in this package, namely the revision of the regulation on the governance structure of the European Maritime Safety Authority (EMSA) (see EUROPE 13430/10). Inter-institutional negotiations with the new Parliament could begin under the Hungarian Presidency of the Council, with a view to formal adoption of the entire package in the autumn, according to a diplomatic source.
To read the draft general approach, go to https://aeur.eu/f/cmt
The Spanish delegation will also inform the Council about the risk of carbon leakage in European ports.
Freight. The ministers will adopt two other general approaches on the revised directive on river information services and the new regulation on the use of rail capacity.
With regard to the first, the Council would like the directive to continue to apply only to inland waterways and inland ports that form part of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) and are directly linked to the inland waterways and inland ports of another Member State (see EUROPE 13429/6).
To read the draft general approach, go to https://aeur.eu/f/cjw
The new regulation on the use of rail capacity aims to change the way rail is managed and improve cross-border coordination (see EUROPE 13429/6).
To read the draft general approach, go to https://aeur.eu/f/coj
The Council is due to take note of progress reports on the Commission’s proposals on two other texts included in the package on the greening of freight transport: the directive on combined transport (see EUROPE 13429/7) and the directive on the weights and dimensions of certain road vehicles (see EUROPE 13428/15).
Passenger transport. Ministers are expected to adopt the agreement reached with Parliament on the revision of the rules on driving time and rest periods for drivers of occasional bus and coach services (see EUROPE 13391/27). Parliament adopted this agreement in March (see EUROPE 13370/25).
The Council will take note of the progress report on the proposal for a regulation on passenger rights in multimodal travel (see EUROPE 13429/5). According to the diplomatic source, there will be no discussion on this subject, as work is still underway to clarify the scope and avoid over-regulation.
The Dutch and Austrian delegations will present the fourth progress report on the platform for international rail passenger transport.
Road safety. The Council will take note of the progress reports on the draft Directive on the effect, at EU level, of certain driving disqualifications (see EUROPE 13430/11).
It will adopt the interinstitutional agreement on the cross-border exchange of information on offences, already approved by Parliament in April (see EUROPE 13387/34), as well as the conclusions of the Court of Auditors on road safety and possible progress on coordinated policy.
The ministers will also adopt the agreement with Parliament on the ‘Single European Sky’ (see EUROPE 13387/33). (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)