# Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1111Show full title

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1111 of 7 July 2015 on the compliance of the joint proposal submitted by the Member            States concerned for the extension of the North Sea-Baltic rail freight corridor with Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 913/2010            of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning a European rail network for competitive freight (notified under document            C(2015) 4507) (Only the Czech, Dutch, French, German, Lithuanian and Polish texts are authentic)         

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U.K.

# Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1111                     

# of 7 July 2015

# on the compliance of the joint proposal submitted by the Member States concerned for the extension of the North Sea-Baltic                        rail freight corridor with Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning                        a European rail network for competitive freight                     

# *(notified under document C(2015) 4507)*

# (Only the Czech, Dutch, French, German, Lithuanian and Polish texts are authentic)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2010 concerning                           a European rail network for competitive freight(1), and in particular Article 5(6) thereof,                        

Whereas:

(1)In accordance with Article 5(5) of Regulation (EU) No 913/2010, the ministries responsible for rail transport in Belgium,                              the Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Poland sent the Commission a letter of intent dated 27 April 2014                              including a proposal on extensions of the North Sea-Baltic rail freight corridor to the Czech Republic and to the Polish-Ukrainian                              border.

(2)The Commission examined this proposal pursuant to Article 5(6) of Regulation (EU) No 913/2010, and considers it to be compliant                              with Article 5 of that Regulation. In particular, the results of the transport market study on the North Sea-Baltic rail freight                              corridor carried out by the management board of the corridor show there to be significant potential for a further increase                              in traffic between major North Sea ports and both the Czech Republic and southern Poland, especially from combined transport.                              Moreover, the proposed extensions offer the advantage of creating a ‘one-stop shop’ (as described in Article 13 of Regulation                              (EU) No 913/2010) for managing infrastructure capacity along the freight corridors between North Sea ports and, respectively,                              the Czech Republic and southern Poland. Furthermore, the proposed extensions are consistent with the design proposed for Corridor                              F in the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) European deployment plan, as set out in Commission Decision 2012/88/EU(2). The proposed extensions also improve the overall interconnectedness of the rail freight corridors set up to form a European                              rail network for competitive freight, in particular by providing a direct connection between the North Sea-Baltic rail freight                              corridor and the Rhine-Danube corridor in the Czech Republic. Finally, the proposed extensions may potentially improve rail                              traffic across the EU eastern border and on the Europe-Asia land bridge.

(3)The extension of the North Sea-Baltic rail freight corridor should not impede the development of the Orient/East-Med rail                              freight corridor, as provided for in the Annex to Regulation (EU) No 913/2010, which also includes a connection between the                              North Sea ports and the Czech Republic.

(4)The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established pursuant to Article                              21 of Regulation (EU) No 913/2010,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

# Article 1U.K.

The letter of intent of 27 April 2014 concerning extensions of the North Sea-Baltic rail freight corridor to the Czech Republic                     and to the Polish-Ukrainian border, sent to the Commission by the ministries responsible for rail transport in Belgium, the                     Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Poland, and proposing the route Wilhelmshaven/Bremerhaven/Hamburg/Amsterdam/Rotterdam/Antwerpen-Aachen-Hannover/Berlin-Warsaw-Terespol                     (Poland-Belarus border)/Kaunas-Riga-Tallinn/Falkenberg-Prague/Wroclaw-Katowice-Medyka (Poland-Ukraine border) as the principal                     route for the North Sea-Baltic rail freight corridor is compliant with Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 913/2010.                  

# Article 2U.K.

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of                     Lithuania, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Poland.                  

Done at Brussels, 7 July 2015.

*For the Commission*                            

Violeta Bulc                            

*Member of the Commission*                            

1

OJ L 276, 20.10.2010, p. 22.                           

2

Commission Decision 2012/88/EU of 25 January 2012 on the technical specification for interoperability relating to the control-command                              and signalling subsystems of the trans-European rail system (OJ L 51, 23.2.2012, p. 1).