OPINION OF THE COMMISSION pursuant to Article 251 (2) (c) of the EC Treaty, on the European Parliament's amendments to the Council's common position regarding the proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directive 95/18/EC on the licensing of railway undertakings AMENDING THE PROPOSAL OF THE COMMISSION pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty

1. Historical background of the proposal

On 22nd July 1998 the Commission adopted a proposal [1] for a Council directive amending Directive 95/18/EC on the licensing of railway undertakings [2].

[1] COM(1998) 480 final, 22.07.1998.

[2] OJ L 143, 27.6.1995, p. 70.

The purpose of the proposal was to enlarge the scope of the Directive in order to create a level playing field for European railway undertakings.

The European Parliament approved the Commission's proposal at its plenary session on 15th September 1999.

The Economic and Social Committee adopted its opinion on 26th May 1999 [3].

[3] OJ C 209, 22.7.1999, p. 22.

On 25th November 1999 [4] the Commission adopted an amended proposal following the first reading of the European Parliament.

[4] COM(1999) 616 final 25.11.1999.

At its session on 9th and 10th December 1999 the Council reached a political agreement on the proposal in view of the adoption of a Common Position.

At its session on 28th March 2000 the Council adopted the Common Position [5], which was presented to the European Parliament during its plenary session on 13 April 2000.

[5] OJ C 178, 27.6.2000, p. 23.

At its plenary session on 5th July 2000 the Parliament approved the common position subject to one amendment.

2. Background of the Commission's proposals

Note: The proposal dealt with in this Communication forms part of the so-called "infrastructure package" consisting of a proposal [6] for a Council directive amending Directive 91/440/EEC on the development of the Community's railways [7], a Council Directive amending Directive 95/18/EC on the licensing of railway undertakings [8] and the proposal for a Council Directive on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity and the levying of charges for the use of railway infrastructure and safety certification.

[6] COM(1998) 480 final 22.07.1998.

[7] Council Directive 91/440/EEC of 29 July 1991, O.J. L237, 24.08.1991, p.25.

[8] OJ L 143, 27.6.1995, p. 70.

The Commission is of the opinion that because of the fact that some Member States have extended access rights going beyond the requirements of Article 10 of Directive 91/440/EEC, it is necessary to ensure fair, transparent and non-discriminatory treatment of all railway undertakings that may operate in this market by extending the licensing principles to all railway undertakings. Such a step is also necessary in order to achieve a "level playing field".

The modified Directive will therefore apply to all railway undertakings as long as they are not, either by the design of the network they are using or by their economic intentions, confined to transport operations that are of a purely local nature.

Regarding the sole amendment 24 (Article 1 (7) referring to article 12), the Commission would like to state that it can accept it, given that it is in line with the overall purpose of article 12, which is to recall that there are several (national) rules applicable and, because of the amendment proposed, that there is always the possibility to inform the Commission and its services about a specific given situation in a Member State. It will than be up to the Commission whether the appropriate follow-up to such an information leads to an infringement procedure or another measure.

3. Conclusion

The Commission can accept the amendment to the Common Position adopted by the European Parliament at its plenary session on 5th July 2000.

Under the terms of Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty, the Commission amends its proposal according to the above.