EN Official Journal of the European Union L 51/1

COUNCIL DECISION

of 16 June 2011

on the signing and conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail on the Accession of the European Union to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) of 9 May 1980, as amended by the Vilnius Protocol of 3 June 1999

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2013/103/EU)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 91, in conjunction with Articles 218(5) and 218(6)(a)(v) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament,

Whereas:

(1) The development of rail interoperability, both within the Union and between the Union and neighbouring countries, is a key component of the common transport policy, targeted in particular at establishing a better balance between the various modes of transport.

(2) The Union has exclusive competence or shared competence with its Member States in the areas covered by the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) of 9 May 1980, as amended by the Vilnius Protocol of 3 June 1999 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Convention’).

(3) The Union’s accession to the Convention for the purpose of exercising its competence is permitted by virtue of Article 38 of the Convention.

(4) On behalf of the Union, the Commission has negotiated an Agreement (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Agreement’) with the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (hereinafter referred to as ‘OTIF’) on the Accession of the Union to the Convention.

(5) The Agreement should be approved,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The Agreement between the European Union and the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail on the Accession of the European Union to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) of 9 May 1980, as amended by the Vilnius Protocol of 3 June 1999 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Agreement’) is hereby approved on behalf of the Union.

The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision.

Article 2

When signing the Agreement a declaration, as set out in Annex I to this Decision, shall be made by the Union concerning the exercise of its competence and a declaration, as set out in Annex II to this Decision, shall be made by the Union in respect of Article 2 of the Agreement.

Article 3

The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the person(s) empowered to sign the Agreement in order to bind the Union and to make the declarations referred to in Article 2.

Article 4

The Commission shall represent the Union at OTIF meetings.

Article 5

The internal arrangements for the preparation for OTIF meetings and for the representation and voting at such meetings are set out in Annex III to this Decision.

Article 6

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Done at Luxembourg, 16 June 2011. For the Council The President VÖLNER P.

ANNEX II DECLARATION BY THE EUROPEAN UNION IN RESPECT OF ARTICLE 2 OF THE AGREEMENT The term ‘governing the particular subject concerned’ is to be understood as applying to the specific case which is governed by a provision of the Convention, including its appendices, and is not governed by European Union legislation.

ANNEX III INTERNAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE COUNCIL, THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION IN PROCEEDINGS UNDER OTIF Bearing in mind the requirement of unity of the international representation of the Union and its Member States in accordance with the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union also at the stage of implementation of international obligations, the Council, the Member States and the Commission will apply the following internal arrangements: 1. Scope These internal arrangements will apply to any meeting of any of the bodies set up under OTIF. Any reference to a ‘meeting’ in these arrangements is understood to include mutatis mutandis a reference also to other proceedings, such as a written procedure. 2. Coordination procedure 2.1. To prepare for any OTIF meeting, including but not limited to the meetings of the General Assembly, the Administrative Committee and other Committees, coordination meetings will be held: — in Brussels, within the competent Council Working Party (usually the Land Transport Working Party), as early as possible and as many times as necessary ahead of the OTIF meeting and, in addition, — on the spot, particularly at the beginning and, if necessary, during and at the end of an OTIF meeting. 2.2. The coordination meetings will agree on positions on behalf of the Union only or, where relevant, on behalf of the Union and its Member States. Positions of the Member States relating to their exclusive competence may be subject to coordination at these meetings if so agreed by the Member States. 2.3. The coordination meetings will decide on the exercise of responsibilities with respect to statements and voting in relation to each item of the OTIF meeting agenda, on which a statement may be made or a vote is expected. 2.4. To prepare the coordination meetings referred to in point 2.1, including draft statements and position papers, preliminary discussions will, if necessary, be held in the appropriate Committee created by the relevant Union rail legislation, namely: — the Committee on the transport of dangerous goods for items covered by Appendix C to the Convention; if these items affect rail interoperability, or the common safety approach developed under Directive 2004/49/EC, the Committee on rail interoperability and safety is also to be involved, — the Committee on the development of the Union’s railways for items covered by Appendices A, B, D or E to the Convention and for other systems of uniform law elaborated by the OTIF, — the Committee on rail interoperability and safety for items covered by Appendices F or G to the Convention. 2.5. Before any OTIF meeting the Commission will give an indication of which agenda items are subject to Union coordination and will prepare draft statements and position papers to be discussed at coordination meetings. 2.6. If the Commission and the Member States in coordination meetings cannot agree a common position, including for reasons of disagreement on the repartition of competence, the matter will be referred to the Committee of Permanent Representatives and/or the Council. 3. Statements and voting in the OTIF meetings 3.1. Where an agenda item deals with matters of exclusive Union competence, the Commission will speak and vote for the Union. After due coordination, the Member States can also speak in order to support and/or develop the Union position. 3.2. Where an agenda item deals with matters of exclusive national competence, Member States will speak and vote. 3.3. Where an agenda item deals with matters containing elements of both national and Union competence, the Presidency and the Commission will express the common position. After due coordination, Members States can speak to support and/or develop the common position. The Member States or the Commission, as appropriate, will vote on behalf of the Union and its Member States in accordance with the common position. The decision on who will be voting is made in the light of where the preponderance of the competence lies (e.g. mainly national or mainly Union competence). 3.4. Where an agenda item deals with matters containing elements both of national and of Union competence and the Commission and the Member States have not been able to agree a common position as referred to in point 2.6, Member States and the Commission can speak and vote on matters falling clearly within their respective competence. 3.5. On matters for which there is no agreement between the Commission and the Member States on division of competence, or where it has not been possible to obtain the majority needed for a Union position, a maximum effort will be made to clarify the situation or achieve a Union position. Pending this, and after due coordination, the Member States and/or the Commission, as appropriate, would be entitled to speak on condition that the position expressed will not prejudge a future Union position, will be coherent with Union policies and previous Union positions, and will be in conformity with Union law. 3.6. The representatives of the Member States and of the Commission may participate in OTIF working groups preparing the technical committees of OTIF namely the Committee of Experts for the Carriage of Dangerous Goods (RID) and the Committee of Technical Experts (TEC). During participation in these working groups the representatives of the Member States and the Commission may present technical contributions and fully participate in the technical discussions on the basis of their technical knowledge. These discussions will not bind the Union. The representatives of the Member States and the Commission will make serious efforts to reach a common position and to defend this position during the discussions in the OTIF working groups. 4. Review of these arrangements At the request of a Member State or the Commission, these arrangements will be reviewed, taking account of experience gained from their operation.