Brussels, 04/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - The fate of the directive on road infrastructure safety management is still in doubt. Following the European Parliament transport committee's rejection (by one vote) of the text on 5 June, representatives of the EP political groups will meet on 9 July, the eve of the plenary vote, to decide whether to send it back to the committee. In an open letter on 27 June, the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) urged MEPs to approve the draft directive and to vote against the recommendations of the transport committee, whose rapporteur Helmuth Markov (GUE/NGL, Germany) called for the draft directive to be rejected.
On 5 October 2006, the Commission presented the draft directive (see EUROPE 9280) extending, throughout Europe, measures such as road safety audits and safety inspections which, hitherto, have been applied to different extents across member states. These measures, which would be binding under the terms of the directive, would, the Commission says, reduce the risk of accidents and save some 600 lives annually. The proposal also makes recommendations on road design (for new roads and also for upgrading old roads) but without infringing on the subsidiarity principle by imposing common technical standards. The EP committee does not wish the directive to be binding. Its chairman Paolo Costa (ALDE, Italy) said the Commission's proposal would have to be further improved, for example by reducing the red tape to a minimum. Mr Costa has also argued for the proposal to be sent back to the committee.
In its open letter sent to all MEPs, the ETSC calls for a vote against the recommendation of the TRAN committee. The ETSC says that the exchange of best practice is not enough to ensure infrastructure safety and that, consequently, what is required is a binding framework ensuring a fair balance between the principle of subsidiarity and European legislation. The letter was signed by 110 representatives of the road sector in 23 member states. (aby)