Wednesday and Thursdays' Council, to focus especially on maritime safety, will adopt "rail package" and discuss fundamental problems of air and road transport as well as "Galileo" project

Brussels, 19/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - The theme of maritime safety will dominate the debates at the Transport Council to be held on Wednesday and Thursday 20 and 21 December in Brussels, under the presidency of French Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot. The ministers should also finally adopt the "rail package" that will open internal rail freight transport up to competition as of 2003. For this last Council under French Presidency, with a full programme, the ministers will also tackle several other key issues such as the launching of the operational phase of the European satellite positioning system (Galileo), the social conditions in road transport and the liberalisation of public transport. We give below the agenda of this session that should end on Thursday evening, probably after a night debate on Wednesday.

• AIR TRANSPORT:

European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA). The Council is expected to adopt conclusions on the setting up of the future European Aviation Safety Authority, which will be responsible for the certification of aeronautical equipment and for monitoring its application. The ministers are expected to invite the technical bodies to speed up work so that a "common position" may be adopted in June. The location of the seat of the future agency should be decided within six months after adoption of the regulation. Germany, with Cologne, and Austria are already officially candidates, while the Netherlands is unofficially in the running and Sweden and Finland may join the race. The question will be settled in the context of a general policy debate on the attribution of the different European agencies, including the European Food Authority.

Harmonisation in the field of civil aviation safety. The Council hopes to reach a "common position" on training and professional proficiency in safety as required of the cabin crew. The Council will also hold a policy debate on revision of Regulation 3922/91 relating to the harmonisation of technical rules and administrative procedures in the field of civil aviation. This revision covers the transposition of rules defined by the Joint Aviation Authorities (known as JAR OPSI).

Creation of a "European Single Sky". The European Commission will present the report by the High Level Group on air traffic control in Europe (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.8 and 9).

"Open Skies". The Council will again take stock of the situation of negotiations for an agreement with the United States, in progress for five years now. The discussions could possibly result

in "Presidency's Conclusions" inviting the Commission to pursue dialogue. Ireland is expected to restate its radical opposition to extending its negotiating brief from the Commission which would allow it to negotiate the liberalisation of traffic laws, in order to replace the bilateral open skies agreements concluded between the Member States and the United States with an EU/United States agreement. In 1998 and 1999, the Commission initiated court proceedings at the Court of Justice against eight Member States that concluded bilateral open skies agreements.

• MARITIME TRANSPORT:

The ministers will tackle the three "packages" from Ms de Palacio on maritime safety (see other article). They are also expected to define a "common guideline" on the proposal of directive concerning safety when loading and unloading from bulk carriers. Transposing rules adopted at the International Maritime Organisation, the directive defines provisions for cargo handling operations and establishes harmonised procedures for cooperation and communication between ships and dock terminals. The aim is to ensure the safety of ships at the time when handling operations are carried out, as these were at the origin of 131 sunken vessels and 731 deaths between 1990 and 1998, according to European Commission statistics.

• RAIL TRANSPORT: The Council is expected to formally adopt the three directives that were the subject of an agreement with the European Parliament on 22 November (see EUROPE of 24 November, p.8). The rail package organises the opening up to competition of rail goods transport on trans-European networks as of 2003 and over the whole of the European rail network in 2008, by 1) imposing separate accounting between the services and infrastructure management activities, 2) defining rules for the attribution of rail licenses, and 3) specifying rules for sharing and pricing of infrastructures.
• ROAD TRANSPORT: The Council will resume the debate begun in October on the working conditions in road transport, on the basis of the new "road social package" presented on 22 November by the European Commission (see EUROPE of 23 November, p.12). The proposals were presented together in the hope of reaching an agreement on the working hours of road hauliers, by balancing the interests of Member States. The ministers are expected to adopt a "common position" on the working time directive, and take stock of work concerning: 1) statements by drivers specifying the conditions of haulier employment, in order to avoid social dumping; 2) the harmonisation of bans on weekend and national holiday driving, with wide exemptions; 3) the training of drivers; and 4) the modification of Regulation 3820 defining rest periods and working periods for drivers.
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT: The Council will hold a first policy debate on the two proposals presented by the Commission preparing for "regulated liberalisation" of public transport (see EUROPE of 27 July, p.6). These are a regulation on the public service obligation for passenger transport by rail, road and inland waterways and a regulation on State aid to public transport. The first regulation will impose on Member States the conclusion of public service contracts limited to five years for the attribution of exclusive rights and financial compensation for public transport services. It does, however, leave a large part to the exemptions, mainly for rail and for "integrated urban networks", that is, those combining in one and the same structure metro, bus and tram, for example. The Presidency will put a series of questions to the ministers to better define the orientation of Member States: 1) Is it necessary to adopt a new project for liberalisation immediately after the rail package? 2) Are exceptions required for integrated operators and to what extent? 3) Should the local authorities which decide to manage their transport network themselves send out a call for tenders? 4) What are the guarantees given to workers in the event of network transfer? 5) Is the transitional period of 5 years enough?
• HORIZONTAL ISSUES:

Galileo: In principle the Council should reach conclusions marking its determination to move on to the operational phase of the European satellite positioning system, Galileo, on the basis of the Commission's report closing the definition phase of the project, presented on 22 November (see EUROPE of 22 November, p.14). The ministers will call on the Commission to present proposals in June. The tricky question is still that of financing, estimated at over three billion euros for the development phase (2001/2005) and deployment phase (2006/2007). Several Member States, with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to the fore, insist there should be a clear ceiling on public participation.

Summer time: The Council is expected to reach an agreement on its "common position" for the adoption of the directive fixing, for an indefinite period starting 2002, the starting date for summertime (daylight saving) as the last Sunday in March, and the transition to winter time as the last Sunday in October.