Brussels, 27/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday the Transport Council scrutinised a number of current dossiers, as well as the decisions adopted on the Galileo system, aircraft noise and airline insurance (see EUROPE yesterday page 7-10). European Commissioner, Loyola de Palacio, stated that, "The debates will give us hope that progress will be made in the majority of dossiers at the next Council, particularly on the Single Sky and railways". An outline of the debates follows:
Port services: Several divergences were apparent during the Ministerial exchange of views focusing on the proposal to revise the Directive on the opening up of port services to Competition, presented by the Commission last February and which had taken into account Parliament's amendments (see EUROPE 23 March page 13). France and Belgium supported Parliament's amendment that excludes pilot and mooring services from the proposal. France believes that the possibility of companies using their own crews for port work is part of the subsidiarity principle. The United Kingdom believes that industrial diversity in ports must be taken into account. Britain, whose ports are already privatised, is opposed to the basis of the legislation, which rests on a number of concessions.
Marco Polo Programme: Ministers gave a warm welcome to the 2003/2007 programme promoting intermodal transport and called on Permanent Representatives to continue the good work.
Trans-European Transport Networks: Ministers called on Permanent Representatives to continue work on revising the priorities defined at Essen and stressed the need to reach a final decision this year. The Netherlands called on river and maritime transport to be given greater priority. Spain considers that the Trans-Pyrenees Railway link project supported by the Commission is not a priority.
Overbooking: The Council exchanged views on the Draft Regulation that will increase the levels of compensation for passengers who are stopped from boarding, to EUR 750 for journeys of less than 3,500 KM and EUR 1,500 for longer journeys. The proposal also allows for companies to ask passengers to voluntarily give up their places in cases of overbooking (a system that is already used in the USA) and strengthen information rules on flight delays ad other incidents. Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands believe that the Commission proposal does not sufficiently respect the balance of interests between companies and consumers. German Minister, Kurt Bodewig, stressed that 15% of passengers who reserve tickets are not allowed to board. He would like to see, together with the Spanish Minister, this flexibility maintained. According to the Danish Minister, Flemming Hansen, the amount of compensation is too high. Dutch Minister, Tineke Netelenbos, considered that the EU should base itself on the US system. Commissioner de Palacio asserted that the amount of compensation could be subject to change: "Multiplying the amount of compensation by five would be too excessive. The Commission could be flexible if there is an overall agreement, including Parliament, on the proposal".
Air Slots: Permanent Representatives will continue working on the Draft Regulation that will modify the granting of hourly slots, whilst awaiting a more thorough revision on the slot concession system. The United Kingdom has called on the Commission to immediately present a complete proposal based on the mechanisms of the market. Commissioner de Palacio pointed out that this proposal was still in its first stage. The Commission will make proposals, "as soon as the study on the economic repercussions" on the slots is ready.
Public Transport: Council bodies must continue work on the sensitive dossier involving the opening up to the market of the rail, road and inland waterways and "public service obligations". The Commission had put forward an amended proposal on the basis of Parliamentary modifications (see EUROPE 23 March page 12). French Minister, Jean-Claude Gayssot, pointed out that France wanted the railways excluded from the proposal. He emphasised that in France, the public transport system is based on the local authorities and function according to the principle of subsidiarity. Belgian Minister, Isabelle Durant, supported the amendments of Parliament that will allow local authorities to be directly in charge of public transport. British Minister, John Spellar, said that excluding a sector from the proposal "did not have any sense".
Social rules for Lorry Drivers: Work must continue on the amendment of Regulation 3820 on breaks for drivers.
Transport White Paper: On the basis of a lunch-time debate, the Presidency hoped that the Council in June would adopt the conclusion on the Commission's White Paper: "The policy EU transport in the run up to 2010". Council President Francisco Alvarez-Cascos gave his assurance that there was "unanimous agreement" on the timeliness of the White Paper, although opinions on the proposals envisaged were mitigated. Member States were generally in favour of reviewing pricing principles for infrastructures, a review that is to be presented by June by the Commission, but peripheral countries such as Greece, Finland, Portugal and Ireland insist they should not be at a disadvantage. The very clear majority of States does not want the Community to be represented as such in international transport organisations. Ministers are not necessarily hostile to cross-financing of rail infrastructure by road tolls.
Rail liberalisation: The ministerial policy debate on the "second rail package" which provides for the creation of new rules for interoperability and security, as well as the opening up to competition of national freight transport, has highlighted convergence over and beyond what could be expected after the Barcelona Summit, said the Council President. The Commission was invited to intensify its work to allow the Council to make headway by June, he added. The ministers hailed the proposals concerning security and interoperability, and a majority is in favour of creating a European Rail Agency. On the other hand, liberalisation of national freight transport clearly poses problems, and France and Belgium in particular hope to keep to the opening up of international freight between 2003 and 2007, as agreed in the context of the first rail package.
External relations in air sector: Commissioner de Palacio took stock of negotiations with Russia on the ban imposed on Chapter II aircraft after 1 April (see following article). She invited the Member States to prepare for negotiating an "Open Sky" agreement with the United States, in the light of the ruling that the Court of Justice is soon to give on the cases of bilateral Open Sky agreements that the Commission took before the Court. She invited Ireland, the main opponent of the EU/US draft agreement, to deal with the problem of Shannon Airport as a question of European interest and not purely national interest. The Commissioner also presented her recent proposal of regulation to fight against unfair competition from subsidised third country companies.
Driving licence: Belgium raised the problem of drivers with dimmed vision (amblyopia). Directive 91/439 on driving licences fixes the medical requirements that do not allow one to keep a driver's licence and which prevents drivers suffering from amblyopia to renew their driving licences. Recalling that it had at the time urged in favour of keeping any rights acquired, the Commission pointed out that it will be revising the provision in force.
Rear-view mirrors: The Netherlands, supported by several delegations, called on the Commission to present a proposal so that the new rules for type-approval of rear-view mirrors that cut out the blind angles may also apply to vehicles already on the road. The Commission plans to study this question.