Activites

• 2007/12/03 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Directive 2007/58
  • OJ L 315 03.12.2007, p. 0044
• 2007/10/23 Final act signed
• 2007/10/23 End of procedure in Parliament
• #2819
• 2007/09/26 Council Meeting
• 2007/09/25 Decision by Parliament, 3rd reading
  • T6-0401/2007 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee regarding the proposal amending Council Directive 91/440/EEC on the development of the Community's railways and Directive 2001/14/EC on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity and the levying of charges for the use of railway infrastructure. It approved the joint text by 541 votes in favour to 66 against with 20 abstentions.The key points of the agreement reached can be summarised as follows:Comitology: measures necessary to adapt the annexes of Directive 91/440/EEC and Directive 2001/14/EC will be adopted in accordance with the 'regulatory with scrutiny' procedure; Levy: in line with the EP second reading position, provisions governing the levy on international rail passenger services to finance public rail passenger services include the stipulation that 'the total levies imposed shall not endanger the economic viability of the rail passenger service on which they are imposed'; and that the compensation paid shall not exceed the total cost incurred in discharging the relevant public service obligations. Reporting obligations: the Parliament achieved its goal of ensuring that, when the Commission reports in 2012 on the implementation of the Directive, it will also be obliged to assess the development of the market including the state of preparation for a further opening-up of the rail market and, if appropriate, propose additional measures to bring about further liberalisation of rail market access.

• 2007/09/24 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2007/09/11 Report tabled for plenary, 3rd reading
  • A6-0314/2007
• 2007/07/31 Final decision by Conciliation Committee
  • 03635/2007
• 2007/06/05 Formal meeting of Conciliation Committee
• #2802
• 2007/05/24 Council Meeting
• 2007/01/18 Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading
  • T6-0003/2007 summary

    The European Parliament voted on the "third rail package" - three separate reports on opening up rail networks to competition (COD/2004/0047), minimum rights for passengers (COD/2004/0049) and a European licence for train drivers (COD/2004/0048.). Wide differences remain between Parliament and the Council, and this legislation is now expected to go to conciliation. In this report on the development of the railways by Georg Jarzembowski (EPP-ED, DE), it should be noted that the Transport Committee had called for domestic railways to be opened up to competition by 2017. (Please see the summary dated 19/12/2006.) However, this position did not receive sufficient support in the vote in plenary and therefore no liberalisation can be expected on this front in the foreseeable future. Regarding competition in international railways, Parliament voted to accept the date of 2010 contained in the Council's common position. Other main amendments were as follows: -Parliament was opposed to the Council's further limitation on the opening-up of networks, under which new, open-access international services with intermediate stops could not be used to pick up and set down passengers in the same Member State. Parliament therefore rejected the provisions in the common position specifying that the right of access would be granted only to those international services whose principal purpose is to carry passengers between stations located in different Member States;- Member States may authorise an authority responsible for rail transport to impose a levy on railway undertakings providing an international passenger service for the operation of routes which fall within the jurisdiction of that authority and which are operated between two stations in that Member State. In that case, railway undertakings providing a domestic transport service shall be subject to the same levy on the operation of those routes. The levy is intended to compensate the authority for discharging public service obligations in the context of a public service contract. The total levies imposed shall not endanger the economic viability of the international passenger service on which they are imposed;-the proposed levy that Member States could raise on passenger services in their territory, to help finance public service obligations, should be imposed in accordance with the principles of  "fairness, transparency, non-discrimination and proportionality";-in order to create specialised infrastructure, such as high-speed railway lines, railway undertakings require planning and legal certainty commensurate with the substantial long-term investment involved. It should therefore be possible for such undertakings normally to conclude framework agreements with a term of up to 15 years. Directive 2001/14/EC should be amended accordingly;-the application of the directive should be evaluated on the basis of two reports, to be submitted by 31 December 2012 and 1 January 2018 respectively, rather than just one as originally proposed. In the first report, the Commission should specifically analyse the state of preparation for the opening of the market for national passenger services and, possibly, proposing flanking measures to facilitate this step.

• 2007/01/17 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2006/12/21 Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading
  • A6-0475/2006
• 2006/12/19 Vote in committee, 2nd reading
• 2006/09/28 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 2nd reading
• #2747
• 2006/07/24 Council Meeting
  • 05895/2/2006 summary

    The Council has included eight amendments made by the European Parliament, either literally or in principle, in its common position. A central issue of the Council's discussions on the market opening proposal was its relation with the revised proposal on public passenger transport services by rail and by road. Consequently, at a Council meeting of 5 December 2005, a Political Agreement on the Rail Market Access proposal could only be reached by addressing the relation between both proposals and giving guidance to several elements of the Public passenger transport services proposal in a Statement to the minutes made by the Council and the Commission.The Council, by qualified majority (abstention by Hungary), made some changes to the proposal:- opening the market for international rail passenger services: by agreeing to grant, by 1 January 2010, the right of access to the infrastructure of all Member States to railway undertakings for the purpose of operating international passenger services, the Council follows the compromise reached with Parliament at the time of the conciliation procedure on the Second Railway Package. However, the Council wants to leave Member States more time to prepare for market opening, by allowing them to grant the right of access by 1 January 2012 at the latest. Consequently, the Council does not agree with Parliament's view to open international rail passenger services by 2008, and all other forms of rail passenger services by 2012. The Council, however, took over the Parliament’s proposal of a reciprocity clause that Member States could apply which would open their market before 2010;- right to pick up and set down passengers in the same Member State: the Council wants to avoid a situation where a right of access for international rail passenger services, which include cabotage, leads to the opening of the market for domestic rail passenger services. Therefore, the Common Position allows granting the right of access only to those international services, which have as a "principal purpose" the carriage of passengers between stations located in different Member States. In the Common Position, a procedure is foreseen for determining the purpose of international service for which access is requested;- safeguarding public transport services: the Council has added three elements to the Commission proposal: a procedure for determining whether opening the market for international rail passenger services compromises a public transport service; a clarification on the modalities for granting the right of access; and a provision which allows Member States to charge a levy on international rail passenger services. With regard to the procedure, an important element is an objective economic analysis undertaken by the regulatory body of the impact of the international rail passenger service on public transport services. The Council has taken this idea from a Parliamentary amendment; - framework agreements: like Parliament, the Council feels it necessary to complement the opening of the market for international rail passenger services with arrangements for a more stable and predictable climate for investments in the infrastructure for these services, and in particular for services using specialised infrastructure. Consequently, the Council modifies the provisions with regard to framework agreements in Directive 2001/14/EC. Where the Parliament proposes to allow for services using specialised infrastructure, which require substantial and long-term investment framework agreements with a duration of 10 years, the Council is of the opinion that a 15 years' duration is more appropriate;- transit: the Common Position clarifies that the transport services of goods and passengers, which begin and end in third countries and which transit Community territory, are not included within the scope of the proposal. Lithuania made a Statement in the minutes on the issue of transit;- concession based system: the Council is in favour of allowing Member States, for a transitory period, not to provide full open access to international rail passenger services in cases where the right to use certain rail routes has already involved a sufficient test of market value through the principle of competition for the rails.- exemption from implementation for Malta/Cyprus: taking into account the fact that Malta and Cyprus do not have a railway system, and that the prospects of them having one are very limited, the Council exempts these two Member States from the obligation to implement the Rail Market Access Directive.

• #2695
• 2005/12/01 Council Meeting
• #2680
• 2005/10/06 Council Meeting
  • 2680 summary

    The Commission informed the Council of the current state of play in its informal contacts with the United States Administration, following which a number of delegations intervened.The President summarised the results of the exchange of views as follows: "The Council welcomed the progress reported by the Commission in its informal talks with the United States. Whilst recognising that there could be no guarantee of success, Ministers were unanimous in their support for a prompt resumption of formal negotiations, judging that conditions were now in place for making progress towards an agreement with the US at substantial mutual benefit. Such an agreement could be staged, provided there was a commitment to completion, and would need to deliver real benefits for both sides. The Commission had the Council's full support and the Presidency would work closely and urgently with the Commission to achieve a result."

• 2005/09/28 Results of vote in Parliament
  • Results of vote in Parliament
  • T6-0354/2005 summary

    The European Parliament adopted the report by Georg JARZEMBOWSKI (EPP-ED, DE) amending the Commission’s proposal. (Please see the summary of 19/04/2005.) Parliament called for the complete opening of rail services to competition from 2012, rejected the European Commission's proposal on the quality of rail freight services, and significantly extended the scope of the proposal on passengers' rights. These are the most notable provisions in reports on the third European rail package. (The package consists of four legislative proposals. Please see COD20040048, and COD20040049.)Parliament decided not to block the decision-making process, having secured guarantees from the British Presidency that the EU Council of Ministers will consider the package as a whole. Parliament had considered not adopting a resolution, since it was concerned at the package was being broken up by the Council as a means of burying the Directive on the liberalisation of passenger services.This resolution provides for the liberalisation of international passenger transport from January 1, 2008 at the latest, and the liberalisation of domestic passenger services from January 1, 2012. This is more ambitious than the Commission’s proposal which called for the opening of international passenger transport to competition by 2010. In addition: -Member States should remain free to anticipate the grant of access rights to railway undertakings and international groupings for national and international passenger transport services. The use of such rights may temporarily be confined to railway undertakings, and their directly and indirectly controlled subsidiaries, that hold a licence in the Member States where analogous conditions for access to the railway infrastructure apply. This reciprocal clause would prevent rail enterprises that continue to operate as monopolies in their own country from benefiting from open markets in other member states.-In order to create specialised infrastructure, such as high-speed railway lines, railway undertakings require planning and legal certainty commensurate with the substantial long-term investment involved. It should therefore be possible for such undertakings normally to conclude framework agreements with a term of 10 years. Directive 2001/14/EC must be amended accordingly. Framework agreements will in principle be of aduration of five years and shall be renewable for periods equal to their original duration. The infrastructure manager may agree to a shorter or longer period in specific cases. Periods longer than five years must be justified by reference to the existence of commercial contracts, specialised investments or risks. For services using specialised infrastructure and which require substantial and long-term investment, framework agreements may be of 10 years' duration. Any period longer than 10 years shall be permissible only in exceptional cases, in particular where there is large-scale, long-term investment, and particularly where such investment is covered by contractual commitments including a multi-annual amortisation plan-The application of the Directive will be evaluated on the basis of two reports to be presented by the Commission two years after the dates of opening up the market in international and national passenger services, respectively. These reports will include first evaluations by the Commission of the impact of the first and second railway packages on public service quality standards, social standards of employees and environmental performance. Furthermore the Commission must present an impact assessment on the opening of the networks for national passenger services by 31 December 2005.  

• 2005/09/27 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2005/05/30 Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
  • A6-0143/2005
• 2005/05/12 Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
• 2005/04/19 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
• 2004/09/15 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• #2589
• 2004/06/10 Council Meeting
  • 2589
• #2568
• 2004/03/08 Council Meeting
  • 2568
• 2004/03/03 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2004)0139 summary

    PURPOSE: continuation of the reform of the rail sector by opening the international transport of passengers within the European Union to competition (Third Railway Package). PROPOSED ACT: European Parliament and Council Directive. CONTENT: As announced in the White Paper 'European transport policy for 2010: time to decide', the Commission is presenting a proposal with a view to opening up international rail passenger services to competition. This is one of several measures being proposed to complement the First Rail Package (2001) and the Second Rail Package, which is to be formally adopted in the near future (directive on rail safety, the Rail Agency and the opening of the freight market). Along with this current proposal on the opening of the market, the Commission is also proposing to improve the rights of passengers using international services (COD/2004/0049), establish a certification system for locomotive drivers (COD/2004/0048) and step up the quality of freight services (COD/2004/0050). This particular proposal provides that as from 1 January 2010, railway undertakings, which have a licence and the required safety certificates, should be able to operate international services in the Community. In order to create realistic economic conditions to develop the services, it is proposed that operators be permitted to pick up and set down passengers at any station on an international route, including stations located in the same Member State. This has been organised in such a way as to safeguard the economic equilibrium of public service contracts which could be affected by this, while at the same time not placing exaggerated constraints on the operating conditions of new international operators. In view of differing needs of the various market segments (regional cross-border, international long distance, high-speed, etc.) and on the profitability or otherwise of the service in question, it was proposed that the general principle should be one of opening up the market on the basis of free access, while allowing Member States the option of limiting such access if they conclude a public service contract for a specific service or if the economic equilibrium of the public service is at risk.�

  • DG Energy and Transport, BARROT Jacques

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2004)0139
• Debate in Council: 2568
• Debate in Council: 2589
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A6-0143/2005
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T6-0354/2005
• Debate in Council: 2680
• Council position published: 05895/2/2006
• Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading: A6-0475/2006
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading: T6-0003/2007
• Joint text approved by Conciliation Committee co-chairs: 03635/2007
• Report tabled for plenary, 3rd reading: A6-0314/2007
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 3rd reading: T6-0401/2007
• : Directive 2007/58
• : OJ L 315 03.12.2007, p. 0044

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)