Brussels, 05/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 3 March, the EU Council of Ministers adopted without debate, in the package relating to the interoperability of Community railways, two common positions on legislative proposals (proposal for a directive on the safety of Community railways and the proposal for a regulation establishing the European Railway Agency). The Council maintained the provisions approved in the general guidelines adopted in October (see EUROPE 9515) but opposed several points in the European Parliament's position (vote in first reading on 29 November last), especially with regard to maintenance responsibility for railway rolling stock.
On 13 December 2006, the European Commission presented three legislative proposals aimed at facilitating the circulation of trains in the EU: a draft directive amending Directive 2004/49 concerning railway safety, a draft directive on the interoperability of the railway system and a proposal for a regulation amending Regulation 881/2004, which establishes a European Railway Agency. At the end of 2007, the Parliament gave its opinion at first reading on all of these texts (see EUROPE 9560). On the subject of the safety of Community railways (a derogation has been granted to Malta and to Cyprus which do not have a rail system), the Council confirmed its resolve to group within a single act all the provisions relating to authorisation procedures for the placing into service of rolling stock, and to clarify rules for vehicle maintenance. This includes separating vehicle ownership from the responsibility of maintenance (see EUROPE 9512). According to the member states, and unlike the EP which attributed maintenance responsibility to the owner of the vehicles, the maintenance entity should be the only one to have full responsibility for maintaining trains and placing them in service in full security and safety. Also, before being placed in service or used on the network, each vehicle would have such an entity responsible for maintenance assigned to it. In principle, moreover, each maintenance entity should be included in a national register (in exceptional cases only national security authorities could exempt vehicle owners from the obligation of having a maintenance entity ascribed to it and each exemption should appear in the annual report published by the authority in question). The Commission would be compelled to adopt, at the latest one year after the proposal enters into force, a measure establishing certification of the maintenance entities (the Commission's proposal only provided for a certification system for owners in relation to maintenance). Certificates would be mutually recognisable and participation in this system of certification would not be compulsory (contrary to the Parliament's wishes). The Council also rejected a series of other Parliament amendments for technical reasons. Member states were opposed, among other things, to the proposal for a directive legislating on the safety and health of workers (as the Parliament had advocated) as, they say, this goes beyond the scope of the directive.
As far as the European Railway Agency is concerned, the Council has not challenged the provisions which entrusts the agency with establishing a reference document allowing for national technical and safety rules to be compared. It did, however, entrust the agency with preparing a report, at the latest six months after entry into force of the directive on rail interoperability, including where necessary recommendations on the implementation of the voluntary maintenance certification scheme. The Council accepted the EP's proposal providing for the possibility of extending the contracts of those working at the agency and stipulates that representatives called upon to take part in the agency's working groups may, according to the subject being addressed, be designated by other national relevant authorities other than national security agencies. As of 2015, in line with the EP's proposal, the agency will be tasked with issuing authorisations for the placing into service of railway vehicles that comply with technical interoperability specifications. The Commission would be responsible for drawing up a report on this. The Council, however, rejected the proposal that gave private individuals the possibility of addressing the agency directly for a technical opinion. It is likely that informal dialogue will be held between the two institutions, before the Parliament tackles this subject at second reading. (A.By.)