COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 19 June 1995

on the development of rail transport and combined transport

(95/C 169/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Considering that the market share of the railway mode in transport operations is decreasing, whilst the need for travel and for freight trade within the Community and with the Associated States and third countries is increasing, although the Member States' financial contributions in supporting railways are at a high level;

Considering that modern, high-performance technology can nowadays be applied to railways; whereas railways have undeniable advantages from the point of view of environmental protection, safety and energy-saving; whereas they are particularly well suited to medium-distance intercity travel and medium and long-distance freight transport, corresponding to the whole territory of the Community;

AGREES that the Community's railway policy cannot be dissociated from its overall transport policy; that the latter should be dealt with on an intermodal basis, taking into account the overall costs of each mode of transport and ensuring that the European transport system develops under fair conditions of competition;

AGREES that this common railway policy rests on the following four essential, complementary pillars:

- organization of the market in rail transport,

- the infrastructure of the trans-European transport network,

- the interoperability of the trans-European railway network, in particular the high-speed network, through technical harmonization; without prejudice to cases of unconnected networks,

- the industrial market, through the opening up of public contracts in the transport sector;

CONSIDERS IT NECESSARY to progress with the common railway policy laid down in Council Directive 91/440/EEC of 29 July 1991 on the development of the Community's railways (1), through an evaluation of the concrete results of its implementation in the light of the report on the application of that Directive, which the Commission is to submit pursuant to Article 14 thereof, and proposals which it will put forward at the same time, in particular with regard to access to infrastructure, which could be given more effective form within, from and to the various parts of the Community, taking into account the geographical positions of the Member States;

ASSERTS its will, while respecting the principle of freedom of choice for users, to:

- make rail transport and combined transport efficient and competitive with the other modes of transport and therefore to adopt the measures necessary for operators to be able to show fresh dynamism,

- establish suitable conditions to make it possible to develop the place of rail transport and combined transport in the Community's transport system,

- ensure that rail, together with navigable waterways and shipping services, especially short-distance services, participate as fully as possible in the development of combined transport, in cooperation with the road transport partners;

AGREES to foster the development of railways in slots where they are most pertinent, namely:

- medium and long-distance freight transport,

- travel within the major population areas and inter-regional and intra-regional travel,

- intercity travel,

- high-speed trains for travel between the major European conglomerations;

CALLS UPON, the Member States to:

- foster cooperation between the various operators involved in combined transport with a view to defining ethical rules for all protagonists, facilitating studies, standardization and innovation and making possible prior discussion on the programming of the corresponding investment in the Member States,

CALLS UPON the Member States and the Commission:

- in the framework of the interoperability of the trans-European railway network, by means of the gradual introduction of technical harmonization, to encourage in particular conditions for rapid experimentation with the European control and command system;

CALLS UPON the Commission to examine, notably in the context of its report provided for in Article 14 of Directive 91/440/EEC, and, if appropriate, put forward proposals on:

- the application of common principles on charging for the use of railway infrastructure set out in Directive 91/440/EEC and in the Directive, which is in the course of adoption, on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity and the charging of infrastructure fees, in order to clarify operators' choices and avoid possible distortions of competition,

- developments, in particular with regard to the provisions of the Treaty on competition and to the rules governing access to the network laid down in the said Directives of prior agreements with operators aimend at facilitating the financing of the key links of the trans-European network, which require heavy investment,

- in compliance with the provisions of the Treaty on competition and with Regulation (EEC) No 1017/68 of the Council of 19 July 1968 applying rules of competition to transport by rail, road and inland waterway (1) to establish the international groupings provided for in Directive 91/440/EEC in order to promote the integration of the trans-European railway network.

(1) OJ No L 237, 24. 8. 1991, p. 25.

(1) OJ No L 175, 23. 7. 1968, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by the 1979 Act of Accession.