BETA


2020/0161(COD) Application of railway safety and interoperability rules within the Channel Fixed Link

Progress: Awaiting signature of act

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead TRAN
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 163, TFEU 091

Events

2020/10/21
   CSL - Draft final act
Documents
2020/10/09
   EP/CSL - Act adopted by Council after Parliament's 1st reading
2020/10/09
   CSL - Council Meeting
2020/10/08
   EP - Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 687 votes to 4, with 4 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive (EU) 2016/798, as regards the application of railway safety and interoperability rules within the Channel Fixed Link.

The European Parliament adopted its position at first reading in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure on the proposal which aims to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the Channel fixed link after the end of the transitional period provided for in the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

The Intergovernmental Commission is the national safety authority within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/798, responsible for the Channel fixed link. After the end of the transitional period, the Intergovernmental Commission shall become a body established by an international agreement between a Member State, namely France, and a third country, namely the United Kingdom. Unless otherwise provided for in an international agreement binding the United Kingdom, it shall no longer be a national security authority under Union law, which shall no longer apply to the part of the Channel fixed link under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom.

The proposal to amend Directive (EU) 2016/798 aims to:

- retain the Intergovernmental Commission as the single competent safety authority for the whole of that infrastructure. To this end, a proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council shall empower France, under certain conditions, to negotiate and conclude an international agreement supplementing the Treaty of Canterbury, which shall maintain the Intergovernmental Commission as the single national safety authority for the Channel fixed link;

- establish specific rules regarding the specific safety authorities and the duties of the Member State concerned to take all the necessary measures to ensure that Union law is applied at all times by the specific safety authority or, failing that, by its national safety authority;

- give the Court of Justice of the European Union jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings at the request of an arbitral tribunal set up by an international agreement where a dispute submitted to arbitration raises a question of interpretation of Union law. Where the arbitral tribunal does not comply with a judgment of the Court of Justice, the Member State concerned shall make use without delay of the right granted by the international agreement, according to which the national security authority is entitled to exercise exclusive jurisdiction over the part of the civil engineering works located in that Member State.

Documents
2020/09/14
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
2020/09/02
   EP - Decision by committee, without report
2020/07/27
   EC - Legislative proposal published
Details

PURPOSE: to amend Directive (EU) 2016/798, as regards the application of railway safety in order to deal specifically with the situation of the Channel Fixed Link after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: the Treaty between France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning the construction and operation by private concessionaires of a Channel Fixed Link, signed at Canterbury on 12 February 1986 established an Intergovernmental Commission to supervise all matters concerning the concerning the construction and operation of the Channel Fixed Link.

After the end of the transitional period set out in the agreement on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, the Intergovernmental Commission shall constitute a body established by a Member State and a third country and shall therefore cease to be the national safety authority within the meaning of the EU Railway Safety Directive 2016/798 for the Channel Fixed Link. From the same date, EU law shall no longer be applicable to the part of the Channel Fixed Link under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom.

To ensure the safe and efficient operation of the Channel Fixed Link, it would be beneficial to retain the Intergovernmental Commission as the single safety authority responsible for the whole of this infrastructure.

To this end, it is necessary to adapt Directive (EU) 2016/798.

In a parallel and related initiative, the Commission also proposes the adoption of a decision of the European Parliament and Council empowering France to negotiate and conclude under certain conditions an international agreement that would maintain the Intergovernmental Commission as the single national safety authority for the Channel Fixed Link.

CONTENT: this proposal aims to amend Article 3(7) of Directive (EU) 2016/798 , which defines the concept of ‘national safety authority’ for the purposes of both railway safety under that Directive and railway interoperability under Directive (EU) 2016/797 .

Specifically, the proposal shall:

- allow a body entrusted by a Member State and a third country with the tasks regarding railway safety and interoperability on the basis of an international agreement concluded or authorised by the EU to be considered as a national safety authority under Union law;

- provide that, where necessary for reasons of railway safety, the Member State concerned should make use without delay of the right afforded by the agreement with the third country concerned, whereby the national safety authority is entitled to assume sole competence over the part of the rail infrastructure situated in that Member State;

- provide that the European Court of Justice would have jurisdiction to give a ruling at the request of an arbitration tribunal set up by an international agreement such as the one that France should be empowered to negotiate and conclude with the United Kingdom.

Documents

Votes

Demande d'application de la procédure d'urgence: Application des règles de sécurité et d’interopérabilité ferroviaires sur la liaison fixe transmanche - C9-0212/2020 - 2020/0161(COD) #

2020/10/05 Outcome: +: 685, 0: 3, -: 1
DE FR IT ES PL RO NL SE CZ HU BE PT EL AT BG FI DK SK IE HR LT LV SI EE CY MT LU
Total
90
78
75
57
51
30
29
21
21
21
20
20
21
19
17
14
14
14
13
12
11
8
8
7
6
6
6
icon: PPE PPE
186

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Latvia PPE

2

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1
2

Malta PPE

2

Luxembourg PPE

2
icon: S&D S&D
140

Greece S&D

2

Lithuania S&D

2

Latvia S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

2

Estonia S&D

2

Cyprus S&D

2

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1
icon: Renew Renew
97

Italy Renew

For (1)

1

Hungary Renew

2

Austria Renew

For (1)

1

Finland Renew

3

Slovakia Renew

2

Ireland Renew

2

Croatia Renew

For (1)

1

Lithuania Renew

2

Latvia Renew

For (1)

1

Slovenia Renew

2

Estonia Renew

3

Luxembourg Renew

2
icon: ID ID
74

Netherlands ID

Against (1)

1

Czechia ID

2
3

Finland ID

2

Denmark ID

For (1)

1

Estonia ID

For (1)

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
66

Spain Verts/ALE

3

Poland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

3

Sweden Verts/ALE

3

Czechia Verts/ALE

3

Belgium Verts/ALE

2

Portugal Verts/ALE

1

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Finland Verts/ALE

3

Denmark Verts/ALE

2

Ireland Verts/ALE

2

Lithuania Verts/ALE

2

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1
icon: ECR ECR
60

Germany ECR

For (1)

1

Greece ECR

1

Bulgaria ECR

2

Croatia ECR

For (1)

1

Lithuania ECR

1

Latvia ECR

2
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
37

Netherlands GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Sweden GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Czechia GUE/NGL

1

Belgium GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Portugal GUE/NGL

3

Finland GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

1

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2
icon: NI NI
29

Germany NI

2

Netherlands NI

1

Hungary NI

1

Slovakia NI

Abstain (1)

2

History

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

events/5
date
2020-10-19T00:00:00
type
End of procedure in Parliament
body
EP
events/6
date
2020-10-21T00:00:00
type
Final act signed
body
CSL
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting signature of act
New
Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
docs/0
date
2020-10-08T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2020-0261_EN.html title: T9-0261/2020
type
Text adopted by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
body
EP
events/3/summary
  • The European Parliament adopted by 687 votes to 4, with 4 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive (EU) 2016/798, as regards the application of railway safety and interoperability rules within the Channel Fixed Link.
  • The European Parliament adopted its position at first reading in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure on the proposal which aims to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the Channel fixed link after the end of the transitional period provided for in the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
  • The Intergovernmental Commission is the national safety authority within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/798, responsible for the Channel fixed link. After the end of the transitional period, the Intergovernmental Commission shall become a body established by an international agreement between a Member State, namely France, and a third country, namely the United Kingdom. Unless otherwise provided for in an international agreement binding the United Kingdom, it shall no longer be a national security authority under Union law, which shall no longer apply to the part of the Channel fixed link under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom.
  • The proposal to amend Directive (EU) 2016/798 aims to:
  • - retain the Intergovernmental Commission as the single competent safety authority for the whole of that infrastructure. To this end, a proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council shall empower France, under certain conditions, to negotiate and conclude an international agreement supplementing the Treaty of Canterbury, which shall maintain the Intergovernmental Commission as the single national safety authority for the Channel fixed link;
  • - establish specific rules regarding the specific safety authorities and the duties of the Member State concerned to take all the necessary measures to ensure that Union law is applied at all times by the specific safety authority or, failing that, by its national safety authority;
  • - give the Court of Justice of the European Union jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings at the request of an arbitral tribunal set up by an international agreement where a dispute submitted to arbitration raises a question of interpretation of Union law. Where the arbitral tribunal does not comply with a judgment of the Court of Justice, the Member State concerned shall make use without delay of the right granted by the international agreement, according to which the national security authority is entitled to exercise exclusive jurisdiction over the part of the civil engineering works located in that Member State.
docs/1
date
2020-10-21T00:00:00
docs
url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=[%n4]%2F20&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC title: 00032/2020/LEX
type
Draft final act
body
CSL
council
  • body: CSL type: Council Meeting council: Transport, Telecommunications and Energy meeting_id: PE-C url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=SMPL&ROWSPP=25&RESULTSET=1&NRROWS=500&DOC_LANCD=EN&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC&CONTENTS=PE-C*&MEET_DATE=09/10/2020 date: 2020-10-09T00:00:00
events/4
date
2020-10-09T00:00:00
type
Act adopted by Council after Parliament's 1st reading
body
EP/CSL
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting Council's 1st reading position
New
Awaiting signature of act
docs/0
date
2020-10-08T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2020-0261_EN.html title: T9-0261/2020
type
Text adopted by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
body
EP
docs/0
date
2020-07-27T00:00:00
docs
type
Legislative proposal
body
EC
events/3
date
2020-10-08T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
body
EP
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2020-0261_EN.html title: T9-0261/2020
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting Parliament's position in 1st reading
New
Awaiting Council's 1st reading position
events/1
date
2020-09-02T00:00:00
type
Decision by committee, without report
body
EP
forecasts
  • date: 2020-10-05T00:00:00 title: Vote in plenary scheduled
procedure/legal_basis/0
Rules of Procedure EP 163
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting committee decision
New
Awaiting Parliament's position in 1st reading
forecasts/0/title
Old
Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
New
Vote in plenary scheduled
events/1
date
2020-09-14T00:00:00
type
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
body
EP
forecasts/0/date
Old
2020-09-14T00:00:00
New
2020-10-05T00:00:00
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
  • TRAN/9/03677
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Preparatory phase in Parliament
New
Awaiting committee decision
forecasts/0/date
Old
2020-10-06T00:00:00
New
2020-09-14T00:00:00
otherinst
  • name: European Economic and Social Committee
  • name: European Committee of the Regions
procedure/other_consulted_institutions
European Economic and Social Committee European Committee of the Regions
forecasts
  • date: 2020-10-06T00:00:00 title: Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
events/0/summary
  • PURPOSE: to amend Directive (EU) 2016/798, as regards the application of railway safety in order to deal specifically with the situation of the Channel Fixed Link after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union.
  • PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
  • ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
  • BACKGROUND: the Treaty between France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning the construction and operation by private concessionaires of a Channel Fixed Link, signed at Canterbury on 12 February 1986 established an Intergovernmental Commission to supervise all matters concerning the concerning the construction and operation of the Channel Fixed Link.
  • After the end of the transitional period set out in the agreement on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, the Intergovernmental Commission shall constitute a body established by a Member State and a third country and shall therefore cease to be the national safety authority within the meaning of the EU Railway Safety Directive 2016/798 for the Channel Fixed Link. From the same date, EU law shall no longer be applicable to the part of the Channel Fixed Link under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom.
  • To ensure the safe and efficient operation of the Channel Fixed Link, it would be beneficial to retain the Intergovernmental Commission as the single safety authority responsible for the whole of this infrastructure.
  • To this end, it is necessary to adapt Directive (EU) 2016/798.
  • In a parallel and related initiative, the Commission also proposes the adoption of a decision of the European Parliament and Council empowering France to negotiate and conclude under certain conditions an international agreement that would maintain the Intergovernmental Commission as the single national safety authority for the Channel Fixed Link.
  • CONTENT: this proposal aims to amend Article 3(7) of Directive (EU) 2016/798 , which defines the concept of ‘national safety authority’ for the purposes of both railway safety under that Directive and railway interoperability under Directive (EU) 2016/797 .
  • Specifically, the proposal shall:
  • - allow a body entrusted by a Member State and a third country with the tasks regarding railway safety and interoperability on the basis of an international agreement concluded or authorised by the EU to be considered as a national safety authority under Union law;
  • - provide that, where necessary for reasons of railway safety, the Member State concerned should make use without delay of the right afforded by the agreement with the third country concerned, whereby the national safety authority is entitled to assume sole competence over the part of the rail infrastructure situated in that Member State;
  • - provide that the European Court of Justice would have jurisdiction to give a ruling at the request of an arbitration tribunal set up by an international agreement such as the one that France should be empowered to negotiate and conclude with the United Kingdom.