Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the European Union Agency for Railways and repealing Regulation (EC) No 881/2004
Date: 2013-01-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Union Agency for Railways, harmonisation of standards, intra-EU transport, operation of the Institutions, rail transport, technical standard, trans-European network, transport safety

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 30.1.2013  
COM(2013) 27 final 

2013/0014 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the European Union Agency for Railways  

and repealing Regulation (EC) No 881/2004 

(Text with EEA relevance)  

{SWD(2013) 8 final} 
{SWD(2013) 9 final} 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

1.1. 

Recent EU policy developments in the railway field 

In its White Paper ‘Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive 
and resource efficient transport system’, adopted on 28 March 2011 (‘the 2011 White Paper’), 
the Commission set out its vision of a Single European Railway Area, i.e. an internal railway 
market in which European railway undertakings could provide services without unnecessary 
technical and administrative barriers. 

The European Council conclusions of January 2012 also highlight the importance of releasing 
the  growth-creating  potential  of  a  fully  integrated  Single  Market,  for  network  industries  as 
well  as  others1.  Furthermore,  the  Commission  Communication  on  Action  for  Stability, 
Growth  and  Jobs  adopted  on  30  May  20122  stresses  the  importance  of  reducing  further  the 
regulatory  burden  and  barriers  to  entry  in  the  rail  sector,  making  country-specific 
recommendations  for  this  purpose.  And  on  6  June  2012,  the  Commission  adopted  the 
Communication on strengthening the governance of the single market, which likewise stresses 
the importance of the transport sector3. 

In the last decade, the EU railway market has seen massive changes, gradually introduced by 
three  legislative  ‘railway  packages’  (and  some  accompanying  acts)  intended  to  open  up  the 
national  markets  and  make  railways  more  competitive  and  interoperable  at  EU  level,  while 
maintaining  a  high  level  of  safety.  However,  despite  the  considerable  development  of  EU 
laws  and  other  measures  (the  ‘EU  acquis’)  establishing  an  internal  market  for  rail  transport 
services, the railways’ share of intra-EU transport has remained modest. The Commission has 
therefore come forward with a Fourth Railway Package to enhance the quality and efficiency 
of rail services by removing the remaining market obstacles. 

The  present  Regulation  is  a  component  of  the  Fourth  Railway  Package  focusing  on  the 
removal  of  remaining  administrative  and  technical  barriers,  in  particular  by  establishing  a 
common  approach  to  safety  and  interoperability  rules  to  increase  economies  of  scale  for 
railway  undertakings  active  across  the  EU,  decreasing  administrative  costs  and  accelerating 
administrative procedures, as well as avoiding disguised discrimination, through a European 
Union  Agency  for  Railways.  It  is  intended  to  replace  the  original  founding  Regulation,  and 
add new important tasks to the Agency making it a truly European Railway Authority in the 
field of interoperability and safety. 

1.2.  Why to replace existing Regulation 881/2004 (as amended) with a new act? 

Since  2004,  when  the  original  founding  Regulation  was  drafted,  a  number  of  developments 
have  taken  place  in  relation  to  the  European  railways  and  the  Agency.  There  has  been 
mounting evidence on the functioning of the EU railway internal market, also in relation to its 
interoperability and safety aspects. New legislation emerged which resulted in amending the 
Agency Regulation (2008) or which developed the existing tasks of ERA without changing its 
Regulation (e.g. Decision 2011/155/EU). 

1 
2 
3 

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/127599.pdf. 
COM(2012) 299 final. 
COM(2012) 259 final. 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
                                                 
The  impact  assessment  report  accompanying  this  proposal  has  identified  a  number  of 
measures which would give new powers to the Agency and streamline existing processes.  

Moreover,  a  number  of  changes  have  to  be  introduced  to  improve  the  functioning  of  the 
Agency  in  result  of  the  evaluation  of  ERA  founding  Regulation  and  of  the  Agency  (2009-
2010)  as  well  as  the  recommendations  of  the  Joint  Statement  of  the  Commission,  the 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  decentralised  agencies  (2012),  and  the  Position 
paper  of  the  Administrative  Board  on  the  future  of  the  Agency  (2012).  This  concerns 
particularly  improvements  to  internal  structure,  governance  and  decision-making  of  the 
Agency, and its relations with stakeholders. 

A new Regulation will also help to clarify the structure of the legal act (e.g. by removing and 
renumbering  the  Articles)  and  make  it  more  logical  (e.g.  by  moving  some  Articles  to  more 
relevant  Chapters,  creating  new  Chapters  and  deleting  the  obsolete  ones).  Finally,  the 
Interoperability and Safety Directives are also being amended within this legislative package 
and they are closely related to the tasks of ERA, therefore this Regulation has to properly take 
this into account. 

On the basis above, and taking into account the advice of the Legal Service, the Commission 
intends to propose a new ERA Regulation replacing original Regulation 881/2004. There is a 
number  of  changes  in  relation  to  Regulation  881/2004,  which  can  be  grouped  in  three 
different categories: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

New provisions: new tasks of the Agency (issuing vehicle authorisations for placing 
on  the  market,  authorisations  for  placing  in  service  of  trackside  control-command 
and  signalling  sub-systems  and  safety  certificates),  reinforced  control  over  national 
authorities,  more  powers  in  relation  to  national  rules,  new  source  of  ERA’s  budget 
(fees  and  charges),  the  Board  of  Appeal;  some  new  provisions  –  especially  in  the 
internal organisation part – result from the Common Approach on the EU agencies. 

Clarification/simplification  of  existing  provisions:  especially  in  relation  to  working 
methods, the ERTMS, railway staff, registers, other tasks. 

Updates  due  to  the  evolution  of  the  legislative  and  political  framework:  provisions 
concerning  internal  structure  and  operation,  as  well  as  references  to  comitology 
procedures and delegated acts. 

Editorial changes in relation to the original Regulation. 

1.3. 

Links between this Regulation and the Interoperability and Safety Directives 

Directive  2008/57/EC  (Railway  Interoperability  Directive)  and  Directive  2004/49/EC 
(Railway  Safety  Directive)  are  closely  linked  with  original  Regulation  881/2004.  In  the  4th 
railway  package,  these  Directives  are  proposed  to  be  recast;  they  will,  nevertheless,  remain 
closely  linked  with  the  present  Regulation.  This  predominantly  stems  from  the  fact  that  the 
Agency  acts  in  the  fields  of  railway  interoperability  and  safety  for  which  those  directives 
provide the legal basis. 

In the present Regulation, the links concern in particular: 

– 

technical  specifications  for  interoperability  (TSIs;  Interoperability  Directive), 
common  safety  targets  (CSTs;  Safety  Directive)  and  common  safety  methods 
(CSMs;  Safety  Directive): 
for  drawing  up 
recommendations  for  them  to  be  adopted  by  the  Commission,  and  for  issuing 
opinions to the Commission regarding non-application of TSIs; 

the  Agency 

responsible 

is 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

safety  certificates:  the  Agency  is  responsible  for  issuing  them,  while  the  full 
procedure is provided in the Safety Directive; 

registers: the Agency is responsible for issuing recommendations to the Commission 
regarding specification for registers (referred to in the Interoperability Directive) and 
their revision, and ensuring there are accessible to the public; 

authorisations  for  placing  on  the  market  for  railway  vehicles  and  types  of  vehicles 
and authorisation for placing in service of trackside control-command and signalling 
sub-systems: the Agency is responsible for issuing them, while the full procedure for 
applying for them is provided in the Interoperability Directive; 

telematics  applications  and  European  Rail  Traffic  Management  System  (ERTMS): 
these are specific areas governed by relevant TSIs adopted under the Interoperability 
Directive where the Agency has an important role to play being a system authority; 

notified conformity assessment bodies: the Agency is responsible for supporting and 
monitoring  their  activities  while  they  are  created  and  given  tasks  by  the 
Interoperability Directive; 

national safety authorities: the Agency is responsible for supporting and monitoring 
their activities while they are created and given tasks by the Safety Directive; 

national railway rules: the Agency is responsible for their examination with a view to 
their reduction while the procedure for their notification is provided for in the Safety 
and Interoperability Directives.  

2. 

RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND 
IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

The Commission services have discussed the developments of the Single European Railway 
Area with sector representatives on an on-going basis. In 2010-2011 it conducted an ex post 
evaluation  of  Regulation  881/2004  and  the  functioning  of  the  European  Union  Agency  for 
Railways4. This evaluation, together with the general evaluation of the EU Agencies in 2009, 
showed  the  added  value  provided  by  the  Agency  and  in  general  a  positive  opinion  of 
stakeholders in relation to ERA and its outputs. The results of the evaluation have been used 
as an important input and preparatory work to the subsequent process  of  impact assessment 
linked with the revision of the Regulation. 

The  European  Commission  carried  out  a  thorough  impact  assessment  to  support  legislative 
proposals  on  improving  the  efficiency  and  competitiveness  of  the  Single  European  Railway 
Area in the field of interoperability and safety. An Impact Assessment Steering Group (IASG) 
was created in June 2011 to which all DGs were invited by DG MOVE to participate. 

An external consultant drafted an impact assessment support study and conducted a targeted 
consultation of stakeholders. The targeted consultation started on 18 November 2011 with an 
internet  survey  that  finished  on  30  December  2011.  It  was  followed  by  interviews  with  the 
most significant stakeholders and a stakeholder workshop at the end of February 2012. 

Since then, DG MOVE has engaged in bilateral meetings with the sector to gauge their views 
on what should be done in the Fourth Package in the area of interoperability and safety. 

4 

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/evaluations/doc/2011_era-evaluation-881-2004.pdf. 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Given the technical nature of the initiative, no public consultation was carried out. However, 
the  Commission  took  care  that  all  interested  parties  were  consulted  in  due  time  and 
discussions covered all the key elements of the initiative. 

Impact Assessment Board: 

On  5  September  2012  the  Impact  Assessment  Board  met  and  subsequently  gave  a  positive 
opinion.  The  Board’s  main  recommendations  were  incorporated  in  the  impact  assessment 
report: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

more statistics and information on stakeholders’ consultation were added; 

expected synergies with other elements of the Fourth Railway Package were added 
and indirect impacts clarified; 

the core measures common to options 2-5 were described in more detail and clarified 
regarding their differentiation; 

the methods used to assess impact were clarified and better explained; the logic was 
brought out by better cross-referencing; 

administrative  costs  for  economic  actors  (railway  operators)  and  the  cost  to  public 
administrations (national authorities, ERA and the Commission) were distinguished 
more clearly. 

Options identified: 

Based  on  the  screening  of  individual  measures,  the  Commission  has  identified  five  policy 
options  (options  2-6),  besides  the  baseline  scenario.  By  construction,  options  2-5  concern 
primarily the level of interaction between the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA or 
the  Agency)  and  national  authorities  and  are  all  capable  of  tackling  the  three  operational 
objectives.  Option  6  is  a  set  of  horizontal  measures  which  are  mostly  independent  of  the 
interactions  between  ERA  and  national  authorities  and  can  be  applied  on  top  of  any  of  the 
option 2-5, with expected reinforcement of the overall final impact. 

Option 1: Baseline scenario (do nothing) — continuing on the path that is currently set out for 
the sector 

Option  2:  Greater  coordination  role  for  the  Agency  in  ensuring  a  consistent  approach  to 
certification of railway undertakings and vehicle authorisation 

Option 3: ERA as a one-stop-shop, where the final decision on certification and authorisation 
remains  with  the  NSAs  but  ERA  performs  entry  and  exit  checks  of  applications  and  of  the 
decisions 

Option 4: ERA and NSAs share competencies, where the final decision on certification and 
authorisation is taken by the Agency 

Option  5:  ERA  takes  over  activities  of  NSAs  in  relation  to  certification  of  railway 
undertakings and vehicle authorisation 

Option 6: Horizontal measures, includes other legislative and soft measures (beyond sharing 
the  responsibilities  between  national  authorities  and  ERA)  that  could  be  implemented  to 
the 
improve the competitiveness of the rail sector, like  enhancing 
dissemination of railway-related information and training or migrating from national technical 
and safety rules to a system of EU rules (through the  identification of  unnecessary  rules  by 
ERA  and  NSAs  and  then  the  requirement  for  national  authorities  to  remove  those  rules,  as 
well as limiting the possibility of adopting new rules). 

the  role  of  ERA 

in 

EN 

5 

   EN 

 
Impacts of the options: The environmental impact of all the options was assessed as positive, 
though low. The social impact of all the options was assessed as low/marginal. 

The  table  below  presents  the  economic  benefits  (efficiency)  and  number  of  objectives  met 
(effectiveness) for combined options: 

Option 

Efficiency (Total Net 
Benefit € m) 

Effectiveness 
(number of 
operational 
objectives met) 

Option 2+6: Further ERA ‘Coordination’ + horizontal 
measures 

Option 3+6: ERA as One-Stop-Shop+ horizontal measures 

Option 4+6: ERA and NSAs share competencies + horizontal 
measures 

Option 5+6: ERA takes over activities of NSAs regarding 
authorisation & certification+ horizontal measures 

411 

461 

497 

476 

1 

2 

3 

3 

It  was  concluded  that  Option  4  (combined  with  option  6)  was  the  preferred  option  as  it 
provides the best balance of outcomes in relation to: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

the  industry,  in  terms  of  reduced  costs  and  timescales  for  safety  certification  and 
vehicle and other sub-system authorisation; 

cost implications for the EU budget; 

the cost impacts on national institutions; 

accordance with the subsidiarity and proportionality principles; 

addressing the problems identified, and 

meeting the objectives. 

More information on the impact assessment and the results of the stakeholder consultation is 
provided  in  the  Commission  staff  working  document  accompanying  legislative  proposals  to 
eliminate  remaining  administrative  and  technical  barriers  in  the  field  of  interoperability  and 
safety  on  the  EU  railway  market.  It  will  be  published  on  the  website  of  the  Secretariat-
General of the Commission following the adoption of this legal act. 

3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

This  section  comments  on  and  explains  the  main  provisions  of  the  new  ERA  Regulation, 
when necessary in relation to amendments to the original text of Regulation 881/2004.  

CHAPTER 1 PRINCIPLES: 

Article 1: the objectives have been revised to reflect new tasks of the Agency and moved to 
the recitals; instead, a "subject matter and scope" is given, for clarity. 

Article 2: legal status moved here as more appropriate (previously original Article 22). 

Article 3: amended to properly reflect new types of acts of the Agency. 

EN 

6 

   EN 

 
 
CHAPTER 2 WORKING METHODS: 

New chapter added to cover issues which were originally in other chapters but which in fact 
relate to the methods by which ERA attains its objectives. 

Article  4:  "working  parties"  article  rewritten  for  legal  clarity,  in  particular:  the  reference  to 
AEIF is obsolete now and can be deleted; original Article 24(4) was moved here instead of 
the article on ERA staff; rules of procedure to be adopted by the Board. 

Article  7:  "impact  assessment";  the  original  text  limited  cost-benefit  analysis  to  safety  only 
(Article 6(4)); this task should not be part of any particular Agency activity, hence the need to 
move  the  paragraphs  into  a  general  section,  make  it  generally  applicable  and  provide  clear 
tasks; this is in accordance with the Position paper of the Board on the future of ERA and the 
principles of activity-based budgeting and management. 

Article  8:  "studies";  previously  Article  20  —  moved  as  studies  are  means  of  achieving  the 
objectives and not tasks as such. 

Article  9:  "opinions";  formerly  Article  10  on  Technical  Opinions;  the  word  ‘technical’  is 
deleted,  in  line  with  the  directives;  paragraph  2a(b)  removed  as  obsolete;  paragraph  3 
(original  paragraph  2b)  amended  to  broaden  its  scope  (previously  limited  to  TSIs  only, 
without a clear rationale). 

Article 10: "visits to Member States"; previously Article 33 — moved to this section as the 
visits are means of achieving the Agency’s objectives. 

CHAPTER 3 TASKS RELATING TO RAILWAY SAFETY: 

Article 11: "technical support – safety"; minor changes clarifying the Agency’s tasks. 

Article 12: "safety certificates"; new role of ERA (issuing of safety certificates), as proposed 
in the IA report, in line with the revised Safety Directive. 

Article  13:  "maintenance  of  vehicles";  new  article  —  left  over  from  original  Chapter  3a, 
simplified and moved to the safety part as being the most relevant. 

Article  14:  "transport  of  dangerous  goods  by  rail";  new  article,  formalising  what  ERA  is 
actually doing already in the field of transport of dangerous goods by rail. 

CHAPTER 4 TASKS RELATING TO INTEROPERABILITY: 

Article 15: "technical support – interoperability"; amended  slightly to reflect  changes in  the 
Interoperability Directive (points b and c) and to clarify the existing tasks of ERA. 

Article  16:  "vehicle  authorisations";  new  article  —  covering  ERA’s  new  role  in  issuing 
vehicle authorisations for placing on the market, as proposed in the IA report, in line with the 
amended Interoperability Directive. 

Article 17: "authorisations for type of vehicles"; new article — covering ERA’s new role in 
issuing  authorisations  for  placing  on  the  market  for  types  of  vehicles,  in  line  with  the 
amended Interoperability Directive. 

Article 18: "authorisation for placing in service of trackside control-command and signalling 
sub-systems"; new article — covering ERA’s new role regarding authorisation of track-side 
control-command and signalling equipment; linked with ERA’s role as the system authority 
and the consequences of the new task of issuing of vehicle authorisations for placing on the 
market for the ERTMS (in order to ensure that the authorisations for placing on the market 
issued for vehicles with ERTMS equipment on board are consistent with track-side systems). 

EN 

7 

   EN 

 
Article  19:  "telematics  applications";  new  article  added  to  formalise  the  existing  role  ERA 
plays already, according to TAP/TAF TSI, and in line with the IA report.  

Article 20: "support for  the notified conformity  assessment  bodies";  amended  —  provisions 
on  Commission  monitoring  of  notified  bodies  have  been  moved  to  the  new  section  on 
monitoring;  the  remainder  is  support  for  notified  bodies  (the  Commission  assigned  tasks 
relating to the Technical Secretariat of the NB Rail to the Agency as of 20 April 2011 and this 
activity is already on-going; this needs to be properly reflected in the legislation). 

CHAPTER  5  TASKS  RELATING  TO  NATIONAL  RULES  (moved  after  the  chapter  on 
interoperability): 

Articles  21,  22  and  23:  "national  rules";  new  articles  which  incorporate  original  Articles  9a 
and 9b, amended to align procedures with the Interoperability and Safety Directives and take 
into account the extended powers of ERA in relation to national rules resulting from the IA 
report  and  draft  report  of  the  Task  Force  on  National  Safety  Rules;  management  of  the  IT 
database  given  clearly  to  ERA,  in  order  to  clarify  previous  mixed  responsibilities 
(Commission  and  ERA)  and  to  overcome  current  technical,  coordination  and  ownership 
problems. 

CHAPTER 6 TASKS RELATING TO ERTMS: the ERTMS section deserves a separate new 
chapter. 

Articles 24-28: "ERTMS tasks" these incorporate the original Article 21a, amended to clarify 
the  responsibilities  of  the  Agency  and  other  actors  in  relation  to  the  ERTMS,  to  improve 
ERTMS deployment, and to reflect what ERA is already currently doing in this field; Article 
13e  amended  in  line  with  preliminary  Commission  evaluation  of  four  years  of  technical 
follow-up. 

CHAPTER  7  TASKS  RELATING  TO  MONITORING  SINGLE  EUROPEAN  RAILWAY 
AREA: new chapter — various tasks related to monitoring are now combined together in one 
chapter for better visibility and clarity. 

Article 29: "monitoring of national safety authorities"; new article — new ERA task: control 
over NSAs, as proposed in the IA report (and in the evaluation of the ERA Regulation). 

Article  30:  "monitoring  of  notified  bodies";  new  article  —  new  ERA  task:  control  over 
notified bodies, as proposed in the IA report. 

Article  31:  "monitoring  progress  of  interoperability  and  safety";  partly  based  on  original 
Article  9  (new  paragraphs  1  and  2,  with  ERA’s  tasks  in  relation  to  safety  monitoring  now 
clarified),  on  original  Article  14  (new  paragraphs  3  and  4,  with  two  separate  reports  on 
interoperability and safety now merged into one); paragraph 5 — based on Article 21b (2a), in 
accordance with the IA report and the evaluation of the ERA Regulation. 

CHAPTER  8  OTHER  TASKS  –  new  chapter  combining  previous  chapters  on  registers, 
railway staff and other tasks: 

Article 32: "railway staff"; combines original Articles 16b, 16c and 17 to simplify: some tasks 
are obsolete, others are described in Directive 2007/59; amended to avoid legal ambiguity and 
repetition. 

Article 33: "registers"; this article combines original Articles 18 and 19, updated and aligned 
with legislation. 

Article  34:  "networks  of  national  safety  authorities,  investigating  bodies  and  representative 
bodies"; previously partly in original Article 6(5) and Article 9; the network of representative 
bodies has been added (paragraph 2) to improve and structure coordination of stakeholders at 

EN 

8 

   EN 

 
Agency  level;  paragraph  3  has  been  added  to  improve  and  structure  consultation  of  all 
stakeholders, and ultimately to obtain higher quality outputs from the Agency (in line with the 
evaluation of ERA Regulation and Position paper on the future of ERA). 

Article  35:  "communication  and  dissemination";  new  article,  formalising  partly  the  existing 
activities of ERA and stemming from IA report, the evaluation of the ERA Regulation and the 
Position paper on the future of the Agency. 

Article  36:  "research  and  promotion  of  innovation";  original  article  with  research  added, 
formalising what ERA is already doing to a large extent; in line with the Position paper of the 
Board on the Future of ERA. 

Article 37: "assistance to the Commission"; amended slightly. 

Article 38: "assistance with the assessment of rail projects"; originally Article 15, scope was 
extended to cover safety. 

Article 39: "assistance to MS and stakeholders"; new article, following the IA report (measure 
from Option 6) and the results of the evaluation of the ERA Regulation. 

Article 40: "international relations"; new article formalising what ERA is already doing to a 
large extent; in line with the IA report and the Position paper of the Board on the Future of 
ERA. 

Article 41: "spare parts"; new article — new task in line with the IA report. 

CHAPTER  9  ORGANISATION  OF  THE  AGENCY:  drafted  largely  to  follow  the  Joint 
Statement  of  the  Commission,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  decentralised 
agencies  and  the  Common  Approach  (2012),  in  particular  in  relation  to:  extended 
competences  of  the  Management  Board  (previously  Administrative);  creation  of  Executive 
Board; multi-annual work programme; other standard provisions regarding HR and budgetary 
issues.  

Other important changes: 

Article  48:  "annual  and  multi-annual  work  programmes";  new,  separate  article  on  work 
programmes  deemed  useful  for  clarity;  in  accordance  with  the  Joint  Statement  and 
recommendations  of  the  CoA,  EP,  the  evaluation  of  the  ERA  Regulation  and  the  Position 
paper  of  the  ERA  Board  on  the  Future  of  the  Agency  (multi-annual  perspective,  ABB  and 
ABM, relations with stakeholders). 

Articles  51-57:  "Board  of  Appeal";  new  articles  —  Board  of  Appeal  necessary  following 
extension  of  ERA  competences  (issuing  of  vehicle  authorisations  for  placing  on  the  market 
and  safety  certificates);  IA  report  provides  for  the  creation  of  an  independent  Appeal  Body 
outside the Agency, however, it seems that the solution already in place at the EASA is more 
appropriate; based on the relevant provisions of the EASA Regulation. 

CHAPTER 10 FINANCIAL PROVISIONS: 

Article 58(2): new point (c) — new sources of ERA income added (external fees and charges 
for  issuing  vehicle  authorisations  for  placing  on  the  market  and  safety  certificates  (new 
tasks)); new point (e) — to bring it into line with the EASA regulation 

CHAPTER 11 STAFF: new chapter, following largely standard provisions resulting from the 
Common Approach on agencies (Articles 62 and 63). 

Article 61: "staff – general provisions"; originally Article 24, amended in accordance with the 
Joint Statement on agencies, the evaluation of the ERA Regulation and the Position paper of 

EN 

9 

   EN 

 
the  ERA  Board  on  the  Future  of  the  Agency;  previous  limitations  of  maximum  contract 
deleted. 

CHAPTER 12 GENERAL PROVISIONS:  

Articles  64,  66-68,  70-72:  moved  from  other  parts  of  the  original  Regulation,  amended  if 
necessary following Joint Statement on agencies. 

Article  65:  "headquarters  agreement  and  operating  conditions";  new  article,  following  the 
Joint Statement on decentralised agencies (2012). 

Article  69:  "cooperation  with  national  authorities  and  bodies";  new  articles  resulting  from 
new powers of ERA to issue certificates and authorisations; cooperation with national bodies 
and  authorities  in  some  cases  deemed  necessary  due  to  their  expertise;  possibility  of 
(sub)contract part of ERA's tasks. 

CHAPTER 13 FINAL PROVISIONS: new chapter 

Article  73  and  74:  "delegated  acts";  new  articles  —  following  ERA’s  new  powers  (to  issue 
safety certificates and vehicle authorisations for placing on the market, own resources) there 
is a need to adopt delegated measures; this is similar to the case of EASA. 

Article  75:  "committee  procedure";  new  article,  made  in  order  not  to  refer  to  other  acts 
(Interoperability Directive). 

Article  76:  "evaluation  and  review";  original  article  amended  in  accordance  with  the  Joint 
Statement on agencies. 

ARTICLES WHICH STAYED THE SAME AS  IN REGULATION 881/2004: 5, 6, 58, 59, 
60. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION 

This  new  Regulation  provides  a  legislative  basis  for  budgetary  and  staff  commitments  in 
relation to the European Union Agency for Railways. The detailed calculations are provided 
in the Annex, in the Legislative Financial Statement. 

It  is  important  to  point  out  that,  as  far  as  ERA  staffing  is  concerned,  the  present  act 
incorporates: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

resources  calculations  from  two  previous  Financial  Legislative  Statements  attached 
to  the  original  Regulation  881/2004  and  the  2008  amendment  to  it  (Regulation 
1335/2008), which provided for 104 temporary staff for ERA; 

budgetary procedures for 2005-2013 by which the Budgetary Authority granted ERA 
an extra 39 posts to cover additional tasks not reflected in the founding Regulation, 
resulting in total 143 temporary staff posts in 2013; 

the estimated resources implications of the new tasks and enhanced powers of ERA 
envisaged in the current new Regulation, set at 43 persons. 

Regarding point 2, note that the number of posts has gradually increased since ERA was set 
up in 2005. This change has been subject to detailed annual scrutiny and has been adopted by 
the budgetary authority every year in accordance with  the number of  posts  proposed by  the 
Commission. The main explanation for the difference between point 1 and 2 is that a number 
of  functions  and  activities  such  as  legal  affairs,  Data  Protection  Officer,  Secretariat  for  the 
Administrative  Board,  internal  audit,  quality  and  business  planning,  economic  evaluation 
(impact assessment), procurement, facilities management, and a Head of Administration were 
not  provided  for  in  the  founding  Regulation  —  or  at  least  not  planned  to  be  carried  out  by 

EN 

10 

   EN 

 
dedicated  staff.  For  some  areas  of  activity,  including  HR,  IT  and  Finance,  resource  needs 
were considerably underestimated. 

Concerning economic evaluation, this activity follows from the fact that ERA was set up to 
contribute  to  an  integrated  and  competitive  railway  area.  It  has  been  an  integral  part  of  the 
Agency’s activities from the beginning — even if no dedicated staff were provided for in the 
financial statement. The need for this activity is unquestionable and has recently grown in line 
with the Activity-Based Budgeting approach; this is reflected in the fact that a new Article is 
proposed for inclusion in the new Agency Regulation. 

In addition to these developments, various Commission acts have given the Agency additional 
tasks with resource implications, without being properly reflected in the financial statement. 
For example, Commission Decision 2011/155/EU on the publication and management of the 
reference document referred to in Article 27(4) of Directive 2008/57/EC put additional tasks 
on the Agency in relation to making transparent and simplifying the processes and rules used 
for  authorising  railway  vehicles  and  subsystems.  More  specifically,  ERA’s  role  concerns 
documentation of authorisation processes in Member States, documentation of national rules 
applied to the authorisation of railway vehicles and checking of data consistencies, support to 
National Safety Authorities and management and maintenance of data. 

Regarding  point  3,  the  budgetary  and  staff  implications  of  new  and  extended  tasks  stem 
principally from the impact assessment calculations, implementation of the recommendations 
in  the  Joint  Statement  by  the  Commission,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on 
decentralised  agencies,  Court  of  Auditors  and  Internal  Audit  Service  recommendations,  and 
the  evaluation  of  the  ERA  Regulation.  All  the  changes  in  legislation  are  substantially 
explained in part 3 of this Memorandum. The total of 70 persons is estimated to be needed to 
deal with these new and extended tasks, with 43 additional staff in relation to the current level 
of staffing of the Agency. These 43 new persons will be dealing with issuing authorisations 
and certificates and will be covered by external fees and charges while the remaining needs of 
27  persons  will  be  covered  by  internal  redeployment  of  existing  staff  of  the  Agency. 
Therefore,  there  will  be  no  additional  impact  on  the  EU  budget  (except  for  years  2015  and 
2016, when external fees and charges will not be available yet). 

The planned additional personnel of 43 would cover the following categories: 

• 

• 

Technical experts (41 persons), to deal with issuing of authorisations for placing on 
the market of vehicles and vehicles types (30), authorisations for placing in service 
of trackside control-command and signalling sub-systems (6) and safety certificates 
(5); 

Linked administrative staff (2), including an accountant to deal with management of 
a  planned  system  of  external  fees  and  charges,  including  cooperation  with  national 
authorities. 

The external fees and charges would also cover linked overhead costs, mainly: 

• 

• 

Translation of decisions issued by ERA into national languages; 

IT system needed for accountancy purposes (external fees and charges). 

The  remaining  27  persons,  to  be  covered  by  internal  redeployment  of  existing  staff  of  the 
Agency, would deal with: 

• 

• 

EN 

Monitoring of national safety authorities and notified bodies, and implementation of 
national safety and interoperability legislation ; 

Reduction of number of national rules ; 

11 

   EN 

 
• 

Advice  and  support  to  Member  States  and  stakeholders,  dissemination  of  railway-
related  information  and  training  and  coordination  of  potential  spare  parts  to  be 
standardised . 

The overall budgetary implication of ERA for the EU budget in 2015-2020 is estimated at € 
157.113  M.  The  cost  to  the  EU  budget  of  new  tasks  amounts  to  €  0.4113  M  as  from  2017 
onwards they will be covered by fees and charges paid by the industry. 

There is also impact on Commission resources (in the DG MOVE). With regard to this, the 
present Regulation incorporates: 

1. 

2. 

resources  calculations  from  two  previous  Legislative  Financial  Statements  attached 
to  the  original  Regulation  881/2004  and  the  2008  amendment  to  it  (Regulation 
1335/2008), which provided for two officials/temporary staff for the Commission; 

changes for 2005-2013, with three extra Commission staff dealing with ERA-related 
issues, to cover additional tasks not reflected in the founding Regulation; 

The overall total for the Commission linked to the current initiative will be 5 persons, with no 
new staff requested. 

EN 

12 

   EN 

 
2013/0014 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the European Union Agency for Railways  

and repealing Regulation (EC) No 881/2004 

(Text with EEA relevance)  

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 91(1) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national Parliaments, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee1, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions2, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

The  progressive  establishment  of  a  European  railway  area  without  frontiers  requires 
Union action in the field of the technical regulations applicable to railways with regard 
to  the  technical  aspects  (interoperability)  and  the  safety  aspects,  the  two  being 
inextricably  linked  and  both  requiring  higher  level  of  harmonisation  at  the  Union 
level. Relevant railway legislation, in particular three railway packages, was adopted 
in the last two decades, with Directive 2004/49/EC of the European Parliament and of 
the  Council  of  29 April  2004  on  safety  on  the  Community’s  railways  and  Directive 
2008/57/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  17  June  2008  on  the 
interoperability of the rail system within the Community being the most relevant.  

Simultaneous  pursuit  of  the  goals  of  railway  safety  and  interoperability  requires 
substantial technical work which must be led by a specialised body. That is why it was 
necessary, as part of the Second Railway Package in 2004, to create within the existing 
institutional  framework,  and  with  respect  for  the  balance  of  power  in  the  Union,  a 
European  agency  responsible  for  railway  safety  and  interoperability  (hereinafter 
referred to as the Agency).  

(3) 

The  European  Railway  Agency  was  originally  established  by  Regulation  (EC) 
881/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 20043 , in order 
to promote the establishment of a European railway area without borders and to help 

1 
2 
3 

OJ C … p …. 
OJ C … p …. 
OJ L 164, 30.4.2004, p. 1. 

EN 

13 

   EN 

 
                                                 
(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

revitalise  the  railway  sector  while  reinforcing  its  essential  advantages  in  terms  of 
safety. Regulation 881/2004 has to be replaced by a new act due to substantial amount 
of changes to the tasks of the Agency and its internal organisation.  

The Fourth Railway Package proposes important changes to improve the functioning 
of  the  Single  European  railway  area  through  amendments  by  way  of  recast  to 
Directive  2004/49/EC and Directive  2008/57/EC, both  directly  linked  to the tasks of 
the Agency. Those Directives, together with this Regulation, provide in particular for 
performing tasks related to issuing vehicle authorisations and safety certificates at the 
Union level. It implies a greater role of the Agency.  

The  Agency  should  contribute  to  the  creation  and  effective  functioning  of  a  Single 
European railway area without frontiers and guaranteeing a high level of safety while 
improving the competitive position  of  the railway sector. That should be attained  by 
contributing,  on  technical  matters,  to  the  implementation  of  European  Union 
legislation  by  enhancing  the  level  of  interoperability  of  railway  systems  and  to 
developing  a  common  approach  to  safety  on  the  European  railway  system.  The 
Agency  should  also  perform  the  role  of  European  authority  responsible  for  issuing 
authorisations for placing on the market for railway vehicles and for types of vehicles, 
safety certificates for railway undertakings and authorisations for placing in service of 
trackside  control-command  and  signalling  sub-systems.  Moreover,  it  should  monitor 
national railway rules and the performance of national authorities acting in the railway 
interoperability and safety fields. 

In  pursuing  its  objectives,  the  Agency  should  take  full  account  of  the  process  of 
enlargement of the Union and of the specific constraints relating to rail links with third 
countries.  The  Agency  should  have  sole  responsibility  for  the  functions  and  powers 
assigned to it. 

The  Agency,  while  performing  its  tasks,  and  particularly  in  relation  to  drafting 
recommendations,  should  take  upmost  account  of  external  railway  expertise.  This 
expertise  should  predominantly  consist  of  professionals  from  the  railway  sector  and 
the  relevant  national  authorities.  They  should  form  competent  and  representative 
working parties of the Agency. 

In  order  to  provide  insight  into  the  economic  effects  on  the  railway  sector  and  its 
impact  on  society,  to  allow  others  to  make  informed  decisions,  and  to  manage  the 
work  priorities  and  resource  allocation  more  effectively  within  the  Agency,  the 
Agency should further develop its engagement in the impact assessment activity. 

independent  and  objective 

The  Agency  should  provide 
technical  support, 
predominantly  to  the  Commission.  Directive  ….  [Railway  Interoperability]  provides 
the basis for drafting and revising Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs) 
while  Directive  …  [Railway  Safety]  provides  the  basis  for  drafting  and  revising 
Common  Safety  Methods  (CSMs)  and  Common  Safety  Targets  (CSTs).  The 
continuity  of the work and the development of the TSIs,  CSMs and CSTs  over time 
require a permanent technical framework and a dedicated staff of a specialised body. 
To  this  end,  the  Agency  should  be  responsible  for  providing  the  Commission  with 
recommendations in relation to drafting and revising the TSIs, CSMs and CSTs. The 
national safety organisations and regulatory bodies should be equally able to request 
an independent technical opinion from the Agency. 

(10)  Railway  undertakings  have  been  faced  with  various  problems  when  applying  for 
safety  certificates  to  competent  national  authorities,  ranging  from  protracting 

EN 

14 

   EN 

 
procedures  and  excessive  costs  to  unfair  treatment,  especially  of  new  entrants.  The 
certificates  issued  in  one  Member  State  have  not  been  unconditionally  recognised  in 
other  Member  States,  with  a  detriment  to  the  Single  European  rail  area.  In  order  to 
make  the  procedures  for  issuing  safety  certificates  to  railway  undertakings  more 
efficient and impartial, it is essential to migrate towards a single safety certificate valid 
throughout  the  Union  and  issued  by  the  Agency.  The  revised  Directive  …  [Railway 
Safety Directive] provides a basis for this.  

(11)  Currently Directive 2008/57/EC provides, in the case of rail vehicles, an authorisation 
of placing in service in each Member State, except in specific cases. The Task Force 
on  vehicle  authorisation  set  up  by  the  Commission  in  2011  discussed  several  cases 
where manufacturers and railway undertakings have suffered from excessive duration 
and  cost  of  the  authorisation  process  and  proposed  a  number  of  improvements.  As 
some problems are due to the complexity of the current vehicle authorisation process, 
it should be simplified. Each rail vehicle should only receive one authorisation and this 
authorisation for placing on the market for vehicles and for types of vehicles should be 
issued  by  the  Agency.  This  would  bring  tangible  benefits  for  the  sector  by  reducing 
the  costs  and  time  of  the  procedure,  and  would  diminish  the  risk  of  potential 
discrimination,  especially  of  new  companies  wishing  to  enter  a  railway  market.  The 
revised Directive … [Railway Interoperability] provides a basis for this.  

(12) 

In order to further pursue the development of Single European rail area, in particular 
with relation to providing appropriate information to freight customers and passengers, 
and taking into account current involvement of the Agency, it is necessary to give it a 
strengthened  role  in  the  field  of  telematics  applications.  This  would  ensure  their 
consistent development and swift deployment. 

(13)  Given the importance of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) for 
the smooth development of the Single European railway area and its safety, and taking 
into  account  its  fragmented  development  to  date,  it  is  necessary  to  strengthen  its  s 
overall coordination at the Union level. Therefore the Agency, as the most competent 
Union body, should be given a more prominent role in this field to ensure consistent 
development  of  the  ERTMS,  to  contribute  to  ensuring  that  ERTMS  equipment 
complies with the specifications in force and to ensure that ERTMS-related European 
research  programmes  are  coordinated  with  the  development  of  ERTMS  technical 
specifications.  Moreover,  in  order  to  make  the  procedures  for  issuing  authorisations 
for placing in service of trackside control-command and signalling sub-systems more 
efficient and impartial, it is essential to migrate towards a single authorisation valid in 
the  Union  and  issued  by  the  Agency.  The  revised  Directive  …  [Railway 
Interoperability Directive] provides a basis for this. 

(14)  Competent  national  authorities  have  been  normally  charging  for  issuing  vehicle 
authorisations and safety certificates. With the transfer competence to the Union level, 
the Agency should be entitled to charge the applicants for issuing the certificates and 
authorisations mentioned in the preceding recitals. The level of those charges should 
be equal to or lower than the current average in the Union and should be determined in 
a delegated act to be adopted by the Commission.  

(15) 

It is a general objective that the transfer of functions and tasks from the Member States 
to  the  Agency  should  be  done  efficiently,  without  any  reduction  in  the  current  high 
levels of safety. The Agency should have sufficient resources for its new tasks, and the 
timing of the allocation of these resources should be based on clearly defined needs. 
Taking  into  account  the  know-how  of  national  authorities,  in  particular  the  National 

EN 

15 

   EN 

 
Safety  Authorities,  the  Agency  should  be  allowed  to  make  appropriate  use  of  that 
expertise  when  granting  the  relevant  authorisations  and  certificates.  To  this  end, 
secondment of national experts to the Agency should be encouraged.  

(16)  Directive … [Railway Safety] and Directive … [Railway Interoperability] provide for 
examination of national measures from the point of view of safety and interoperability, 
and compatibility with competition rules. They also limit the possibility for Member 
States  to  adopt  new  national  rules.  The  current  system  in  which  a  large  number  of 
national rules continue to exist leads to possible conflicts with Union rules and creates 
a  risk  of  insufficient  transparency  and  disguised  discrimination  of  foreign  operators, 
especially  the  smaller  and  new  ones.  In  order  to  migrate  towards  a  system  of  truly, 
transparent  and  impartial  railway  rules  at  Union  level,  gradual  reduction  of  national 
rules needs to be reinforced. An opinion based on independent and neutral expertise is 
essential at Union level. To this end, the role of the Agency needs to be strengthened.  

(17)  Performance,  organisation  and  decision-making  procedures  in  the  field  of  railway 
interoperability and safety vary substantially among the national safety authorities and 
notified conformity assessment bodies, with a detrimental effect to smooth operation 
of the Single European rail area. In particular, small and medium companies wishing 
to  enter  the  railway  market  in  another  Member  State  can  be  negatively  affected. 
Therefore,  a  strengthened  coordination  with  a  view  to  greater  harmonisation  at  the 
Union  level  is  essential.  To  this  end,  the  Agency  should  monitor  the  national  safety 
authorities and notified conformity assessment bodies through audits and inspections.  

(18) 

(19) 

In the field of safety, it is important to ensure the greatest possible transparency and an 
effective  flow  of  information.  An  analysis  of  performance,  based  on  common 
indicators and linking all parties in the sector, is important and should be carried out. 
As regards statistics, close collaboration with Eurostat is necessary. 

In order to monitor progress with the railway interoperability and safety, the Agency 
should  be  responsible  for  publishing  a  relevant  report  every  two  years.  Given  its 
technical  expertise  and  impartiality,  the  Agency  should  also  assist  the  Commission 
with  monitoring  the  implementation  of  Union  railway  safety  and  interoperability 
legislation.  

(20)  The interoperability of the Trans-European network should be enhanced and the new 
investment  projects  chosen  for  support  by  the  Union  should  be  in  line  with  the 
objective of  interoperability  set  in  Decision  No  1692/96/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament  and of  the  Council  of  23 July  1996  on  Community  guidelines  for  the 
development  of  the  Trans-European  transport  network4.  The  Agency  is  the  right 
institution to contribute to these objectives.  

(21)  Rolling stock maintenance is an important part of the safety system. There has been no 
genuine European market for the maintenance of rail equipment owing to the lack of a 
system for certification of maintenance workshops. This situation has been adding to 
the costs for the sector and results in journeys without loads. A European certification 
system  for  maintenance  workshops  should  therefore  gradually  be  developed  and 
updated,  with  the  Agency  being  the  most  appropriate  body  to  propose  adequate 
solutions to the Commission. 

(22)  The vocational qualifications required for train drivers are a major factor in both safety 
and interoperability in the Union. They are also a precondition for the free movement 

4 

OJ L 228, 9.9.1996, p. 1.  

EN 

16 

   EN 

 
                                                 
of workers in the railway industry. This question should be tackled with respect to the 
existing  framework  for  social  dialogue.  The  Agency  should  provide  the  technical 
support necessary in order to take account of this aspect at Union level. 

(23)  The  Agency  should  organise  and  facilitate  cooperation  between  the  national  safety 
authorities,  the  national  investigating  bodies  and  representative  bodies  from  the 
railway  sector  acting  on  at  European  level,  in  order  to  promote  good  practices, 
exchange  of  relevant  information,  collection  of  railway-related  data  and  monitor  the 
overall safety performance of the railway system.  

(24) 

In order to ensure the greatest possible transparency and equal access for all parties to 
relevant  information,  the  documents  envisaged  for  the  railway  interoperability  and 
safety  processes  should  be  accessible  to  the  public.  The  same  applies  to  licences, 
safety certificates and other relevant railway documents. The Agency should provide 
an efficient means of exchanging and publishing this information. 

(25)  Promotion of innovation and research in the railway field is an important task which 
the  Agency  should  encourage,  given  its  reputation  and  position.  Any  financial 
assistance  provided  within  the  framework  of  the  Agency’s  activities  in  this  respect 
should not lead to any distortion in the relevant market. 

(26) 

In  order  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  Union  financial  support,  its  quality  and 
compatibility with relevant technical regulations, the Agency, as the only Union body 
with  reputable  competence  in  the  railway  field,  should  play  an  active  role  in  the 
assessment of rail projects. 

(27)  Railway 

safety 

interoperability  and 

implementation  guides  or 
recommendations  of  the  Agency  may  sometimes  pose  interpretation  and  other 
problems  to  the  stakeholders.  Proper  and  uniform  understanding  of  those  acts  is  a 
precondition for effective implementation of the railway acquis and the functioning of 
the  railway  market.  Therefore,  the  Agency  should  actively  engage  in  training  and 
explanatory activities in that regard. 

legislation, 

(28) 

(29) 

(30) 

In order to perform its tasks properly, the Agency should have legal personality and an 
autonomous  budget  funded  mainly  through  a  contribution  by  the  Union  and  through 
fees  and  charges  paid  by  applicants.  In  order  to  ensure  independence  in  its  daily 
management and in the opinions, recommendations and decisions which it issues, the 
Agency’s organisation should be transparent, the Executive Director should have full 
responsibility.  The  Agency’s  staff  should  be  independent  and  should  represent  an 
appropriate  balance  of  short-term  and  long-term  contracts,  in  order  to  maintain  its 
organisational  knowledge  and  business  continuity  while  keeping  necessary  and  on-
going exchange of expertise with the railway sector. 

In order to ensure effectively the accomplishment of the functions of the Agency, the 
Member  States  and  the  Commission  should  be  represented  on  a  Management  Board 
vested  with  the  necessary  powers,  including  to  establish  the  budget  and  approve  the 
annual and multi-annual work programmes. 

In  order  to  guarantee  the  transparency  of  the  Management  Board’s  decisions, 
representatives  of  the  sectors  concerned  should  attend  its  meetings,  but  without  the 
right to vote, that right being reserved for the representatives of public authorities who 
are accountable to the democratic control authorities. The representatives of the sector 
should  be  appointed  by  the  Commission  on  the  basis  of  their  representativeness  at 
Union  level  of  railway  undertakings,  infrastructure  managers,  railway  industry, 
workers unions, passengers and freight customers. 

EN 

17 

   EN 

 
(31) 

(32) 

In order to properly prepare the meetings of the Management Board and to advice it in 
relation to the decisions to be taken, an advisory Executive Board should be created. 

It is necessary to ensure that parties affected by decisions made by the Agency enjoy 
the necessary remedies in an independent and impartial manner. An appropriate appeal 
mechanism should be set up so that decisions of the Executive Director can be subject 
to appeal to a specialised Board of Appeal, whose decisions are, in turn, open to action 
before the Court of Justice.  

(33)  A broader strategic perspective in relation to the activities of the Agency would help to 
plan and manage its resources more effectively and would contribute to higher quality 
of  its  outputs.  Therefore,  a  multi-annual  work  programme  should  be  adopted  and 
updated regularly by the Management Board, after proper consultation of the relevant 
stakeholders. 

(34)  The  Agency’s  work  should  be  transparent.  Effective  control  by  the  European 
Parliament  should  be  ensured  and,  to  this  end,  the  European  Parliament  should  have 
the possibility of hearing the Executive Director of the Agency and being consulted on 
the multi-annual work programme. The Agency should also apply the relevant Union 
legislation concerning public access to documents. 

(35)  Over the past years, as more decentralised agencies have been created, the budgetary 
authority has looked to improve transparency and control over the management of the 
Union  funding  allocated  to  them,  in  particular  concerning  the  budgetisation  of  fees, 
financial  control,  power  of  discharge,  pension  scheme  contributions  and  the  internal 
budgetary  procedure  (code  of  conduct).  In  a  similar  way,  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 concerning 
investigations  conducted  by  the  European  Anti-Fraud  Office  (OLAF)5  should  apply 
without  restriction  to  the  Agency,  which  should  accede  to  the  Inter-institutional 
Agreement  of  25 May  1999  between  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  of  the 
European  Union  and  the  Commission  of  the  European  Communities  concerning 
internal investigations by the European Anti-Fraud Office6. 

(36)  Since the objectives of the action proposed, namely to establish a specialised body to 
formulate  common 
safety  and 
solutions  on  matters  concerning 
interoperability, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States by reason of the 
joint  nature  of  the  work  to  be  done,  and  can  therefore  be  better  achieved  at  Union 
level, the Union may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity 
as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality 
as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order 
to achieve those objectives, 

railway 

(37) 

In  order  to  properly  determine  the  level  of  fees  and  charges  which  the  Agency  is 
entitled to levy, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty 
on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in 
respect  of  articles  dealing  with  issuing  and  renewal  of  authorisations  for  placing  in 
service  of  trackside  control-command  and  signalling  subsystems,  authorisations  for 
placing on the market for vehicles and for types of vehicles, and safety certificates. It 
is  of  particular  importance  that  the  Commission  carry  out  appropriate  consultations 
during its preparatory work, including at expert level. 

5 
6 

OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 1. 
OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 15. 

EN 

18 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
(38) 

(39) 

(40) 

The  Commission,  when  preparing  and  drawing-up  delegated  acts,  should  ensure  a 
simultaneous,  timely  and  appropriate  transmission  of  relevant  documents  to  the 
European Parliament and Council. 

In  order  to  ensure  the  implementation  of  Articles  21  and  22  of  this  Regulation 
concerning  examination  of  draft  national  rules  and  rules  in  force,  implementing 
powers should be conferred on the Commission. 

In  order  to  ensure  uniform  conditions  for  the  implementation  of  Articles  29,  30,  31, 
and  51  of  this  Regulation,  implementing  powers  should  be  conferred  on  the 
Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) 
No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the rules and 
general  principles  concerning  mechanisms  for  control  by  the  Member  States  of  the 
Commission's exercise of implementing powers. 

It is necessary to implement certain principles regarding the governance of the Agency 
in  order  to  comply  with  the  Joint  Statement  and  Common  Approach  agreed  by  the 
Inter-Institutional  Working  Group  on  EU  decentralised  agencies  in  July  2012,  the 
purpose  of  which  is  to  streamline  the  activities  of  agencies  and  increase  their 
performance. 

(41)  This Regulation respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised 

in particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

CHAPTER 1 

PRINCIPLES 

Article 1 

Subject matter and scope 

1. 

2. 

This Regulation establishes a European Union Agency for Railways (the “Agency”). 

This Regulation provides for: 

(a) 

(b) 

the establishment and tasks of the Agency; 

the tasks of the Member States. 

3. 

This Regulation shall apply to: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

interoperability within the Union rail system provided for in Directive ../../.EU 
[Interoperability Directive]; 

safety  of  the  rail  system  within  the  Union  provided  for  in  Directive  ../../.EU 
[Railway safety Directive]; 

certification  of  train  drivers  provided  for  in  Directive  2007/59/EC  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  23  October  2007  on  the 
certification  of  train  drivers  operating  locomotives  and  trains  on  the  railway 
system in the Community [Train Drivers Directive]. 

EN 

19 

   EN 

 
Article 2 

Legal status 

1. 

2. 

The Agency shall be a body of the Union with legal personality. 

In  each  of  the  Member  States,  the  Agency  shall  enjoy  the  most  extensive 
legal capacity  accorded  to  legal  persons  under  their  laws.  It  may  in  particular, 
acquire or  dispose  of  movable  and  immovable  property  and  may  be  a  party  to 
legal proceedings. 

3. 

The Agency shall be represented by its Director. 

Article 3 

Types of acts of the Agency 

The Agency may: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

address  recommendations  to  the  Commission  concerning  the  application  of 
Articles 11, 13, 14, 15, 23, 24, 26, 30, 32, 31, 33 and 41; 

address  recommendations  to  Member  States  concerning  the  application  of  Articles 
21, 22 and 30;  

issue  opinions  to  the  Commission  pursuant  to  Articles 9,  21,  22  and 38,  and  to  the 
authorities concerned in the Member States pursuant to Article 9; 

issue decisions pursuant to Article 12, 16, 17, 18; 

issue opinions constituting acceptable means of compliance pursuant to Article 15;  

issue technical documents pursuant to Article 15; 

issue audit reports pursuant to Articles 29 and 30; 

issue guidelines and other non-binding documents facilitating application of railway 
interoperability and safety legislation pursuant to Articles 11, 15 and 24. 

CHAPTER 2 

WORKING METHODS 

Article 4 

Creation and composition of the working parties 

1. 

The  Agency  shall  set  up  a  limited  number  of  working  parties  for  drawing  up 
recommendations, in particular related to technical specifications for interoperability 
(TSIs), common safety targets (CSTs) and common safety methods (CSMs).  

The Agency may set up working parties in other duly justified cases at the request of 
the Commission or on its own initiative, after having consulted the Commission.  

2. 

The Agency shall appoint experts to the working parties. 

The  Agency  shall  appoint  to  the  working  parties  representatives  nominated  by  the 
competent  national  authorities  for  the  working  parties  in  which  they  wish  to 
participate. 

EN 

20 

   EN 

 
The  Agency  shall  appoint  to  the  working  parties  professionals  from  the  railway 
sector from the list referred to in paragraph 3. It shall ensure adequate representation 
of  those  sectors  of  the  industry  and  of  those  users  which  could  be  affected  by 
measures  the  Commission  may  propose  on  the  basis  of  the  recommendations 
addressed to it by the Agency. 

The  Agency  may,  if  necessary,  appoint  to  the  working  parties  independent  experts 
and  representatives  of  international  organisations  recognised  as  competent  in  the 
field concerned. Staff of the Agency may not be appointed to the working parties. 

Each representative body referred to in Article 34 shall forward to the Agency a list 
of the most qualified experts mandated to represent them in each working party.  

Whenever  the  work  of  such  working  parties  has  a  direct  impact  on  the  working 
conditions,  health  and  safety  of  workers  in  the  industry,  representatives  from  the 
workers’  organisations  shall  participate  in  the  relevant  working  parties  as  full 
members. 

Travel  and  subsistence  expenses  of  the  members  of  the  working  parties,  based  on 
rules and scales adopted by the Management Board, shall be met by the Agency.  

The working parties shall be chaired by a representative of the Agency. 

The work of the working parties shall be transparent. The Management Board shall 
lay down rules of procedure of the working parties.  

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

Article 5 

Consultation of the social partners 

Whenever  the  work  provided  for  in  Articles  11,  12,  15,  and  32  has  a  direct  impact  on  the 
social environment or working conditions of workers in the industry, the Agency shall consult 
the social partners within the framework of the sectoral dialogue committee set up pursuant to 
Decision 98/500/EC7. 

These  consultations  shall  be  held  before  the  Agency  submits  its  recommendations  to  the 
Commission. The Agency shall take due account of these consultations, and shall, at all times, 
be  available  to  expound  on  its  recommendations.  The  opinions  expressed  by  the  sectoral 
dialogue  committee  shall  be  forwarded  by  the  Agency  to  the  Commission  and  by  the 
Commission to the committee referred to in Article 75. 

Article 6 

Consultation of rail freight customers and passengers 

Whenever  the  work  provided  for  in  Articles 11  and 15  has  a  direct  impact  on  rail  freight 
customers and passengers, the Agency shall consult the organisations representing them. The 
list of organisations to be consulted shall be drawn up by the Commission with the assistance 
of the committee referred to in Article 75. 

These consultations shall be held before the Agency submits its proposals to the Commission. 
The Agency shall take due account of these consultations, and shall, at all times, be available 

7 

Commission  Decision  98/500/EC  of  20 May  1998  on  the  establishment  of  Sectoral  Dialogue 
Committees  promoting  the  dialogue  between  the  social  partners  at  European  level  (OJ  L 225, 
12.8.1998, p. 27). 

EN 

21 

   EN 

 
                                                 
to expound on its proposals. The opinions expressed by the organisations concerned shall be 
forwarded  by  the  Agency  to  the  Commission  and  by  the  Commission  to  the  committee 
referred to in Article 75. 

Article 7 

Impact assessment 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

The  Agency  shall  conduct  an  impact  assessment  of  its  recommendations  and 
opinions. The Management Board shall adopt impact assessment methodology based 
on  the  methodology  of  the  Commission.  The  Agency  shall  liaise  with  the 
Commission  to  ensure  that  relevant  work  at  the  Commission  is  duly  taken  into 
account. 

Before  launching  an  activity  included  in  the  work  programme,  the  Agency  shall 
conduct an early impact assessment in relation to it which shall state: 

(a) 

(b) 

the issue to be solved and likely solutions; 

the extent to which a specific action, including issuing a recommendation or an 
opinion of the Agency, would be required; 

(c) 

the expected Agency contribution to the solution of the problem. 

Moreover,  each  activity  and  project  in  the  work  programme  shall  be  subject  to  an 
efficiency analysis individually and in conjunction with each other, to make best use 
of the budget and resources of the Agency.  

The Agency may conduct an ex post assessment of the legislation resulting from its 
recommendations.  

Member  States  shall  provide  the  Agency  with  the  data  necessary  for  the  impact 
assessment.  

Article 8 

Studies 

Where required for the implementation of its tasks, the Agency shall order studies and finance 
them from its budget. 

Article 9 

Opinions 

1. 

2. 

3. 

The Agency shall issue opinions at request of the national regulatory bodies referred 
to in Article 55 of Directive 2012/34/EU [Directive establishing a Single European 
Rail  Area  (recast)]  concerning  safety-related  and  interoperability-related  aspects  of 
matters drawn to their attention. 

The Agency shall issue opinions at request of the Commission on amendments to any 
act adopted on the basis of Directive … [Interoperability Directive] or … [Railway 
Safety Directives], especially where any alleged deficiency is signalled. 

With  regard  to  opinions  referred  to  in  previous  paragraphs  and  in  other  articles  of 
this  Regulation,  the  Agency  shall  give  its  opinions  within  two  months,  unless 
otherwise  agreed.  The  opinions  shall  be  made  public  by  the  Agency  within  two 

EN 

22 

   EN 

 
months  in  a  version  from  which  all  commercially  confidential  material  has  been 
removed. 

Article 10 

Visits to Member States 

The Agency may carry out visits to the Member States in order to perform its tasks, 
in particular those referred to in Articles 12, 21, 22, 16, 17, 27, 29, 30, 31 and 38, in 
accordance with the policy defined by the Management Board.  

The Agency shall inform the Member State concerned of the planned visit, the names 
of  the  delegated  Agency  officials,  and  the  date  on  which  the  visit  is  to  start.  The 
Agency  officials  delegated  to  carry  out  such  visits  shall  do  so  on  presentation  of  a 
decision by the Executive Director specifying the purpose and the aims of their visit. 

The  national  authorities  of  the  Member  States  shall  facilitate  the  work  of  the 
Agency’s staff. 

The Agency shall draw up a report on each visit and send it to the Commission and 
to the Member State concerned. 

The preceding paragraphs are without prejudice to inspections referred to in Articles 
29 (6) and 30 (6) which shall be pursued in accordance with the procedure described 
therein. 

CHAPTER 3 

TASKS RELATING TO RAILWAY SAFETY 

Article 11 

Technical support - recommendations on railway safety 

The Agency shall issue recommendations to the Commission on the Common Safety 
Methods (CSMs) and the Common Safety Targets (CSTs) provided for in Articles 6 
and  7  of  Directive  …  [the  Railway  Safety  Directive].  The  Agency  shall  also  issue 
recommendations on periodic revision of CSMs and CSTs to the Commission. 

The  Agency  shall  issue  recommendations  to  the  Commission,  at  the  request  of  the 
Commission or on its own initiative, on other measures in the field of safety 

The Agency may issue guidelines and other non-binding documents to facilitate the 
implementation of railway safety legislation. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Article 12 

Safety certificates 

The  Agency  shall  issue  single  safety  certificates  in  accordance  with  Articles  10  and  11  of 
Directive … [the Safety Directive]. 

Article 13 

Maintenance of vehicles 

EN 

23 

   EN 

 
1. 

2. 

3. 

The Agency shall assist the Commission with regard to the system of certification of 
the entities in charge of maintenance in accordance with Article 14 (6) of Directive 
… [Railway Safety Directive]. 

The Agency shall issue recommendation to the Commission with a view of Article 
14 (7) of Directive … [Railway Safety Directive]. 

The  Agency  shall  analyse  any  alternative  measures  decided  in  accordance  with 
Article 15  of  Directive…  [Railway  Safety  Directive]  in  the  report  referred  to  in 
Article 30 (2) of this Regulation. 

Article 14 

Transport of dangerous goods by rail 

The  Agency  shall  follow  developments  in  the  legislation  dealing  with  the  transport  of 
dangerous  goods  by  rail  within  the  meaning  of  Directive  2008/68/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council8  and  compare  them  with  the  legislation  dealing  with  rail 
interoperability  and  safety,  in  particular  the  essential  requirements.  To  this  end  the  Agency 
shall assist the Commission and may issue recommendations at the Commission’s request or 
on its own initiative. 

CHAPTER 4 

TASKS RELATING TO INTEROPERABILITY 

Technical support in the field of railway interoperability 

Article 15 

1. 

The Agency shall:  

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

issue recommendations to the Commission on the TSIs, and their revision, in 
accordance with Article 5 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive];  

issue  recommendations  to  the  Commission  on  the  templates  for  the  'EU' 
declaration  of  verification  and  for  documents  of  the  technical  file  that  has  to 
accompany  it,  in  accordance  with  Article  15  of  Directive  …  [Interoperability 
Directive]; 

issue recommendations to the Commission on specifications for registers, and 
their  revision,  in  accordance  with  Articles  43,  44  and  45  of  Directive  … 
[Interoperability Directive]; 

issue  opinions  which  constitute  acceptable  means  of  compliance  concerning 
TSI  deficiencies,  in  accordance  with  Article  6(2)  of  Directive  …  [ 
Interoperability Directive], and provide it to the Commission; 

issue  opinions  to  the  Commission  regarding  requests  for  non-application  of 
TSIs  by  Member  States,  in  accordance  with  Article  7  of  Directive  … 
[Interoperability Directive]; 

(f) 

issue  technical  documents  in  accordance  with  Article  4(9)  of  Directive  … 
[Interoperability Directive]; 

8 

OJ L 260, 30.9.2008, p. 13 

EN 

24 

   EN 

 
                                                 
(g) 

issue  recommendations  to  the  Commission  relating  to  the  working  conditions 
of all staff carrying out safety-critical tasks. 

2. 

For  drafting  recommendations  referred  to  in  paragraph  1,  points  (a)  and  (b),  the 
Agency shall: 

(a) 

(b) 

ensure that the TSIs and the specifications for registers are adapted to technical 
progress and market trends and to social requirements; 

ensure that the development and updating of the TSIs on the one hand and the 
development  of  any  European  standards  which  prove  necessary  for 
interoperability on the other, are coordinated and maintain the relevant contacts 
with European standardisation bodies. 

3. 

The Agency may issue guidelines and other non-binding documents to facilitate the 
implementation of railway interoperability legislation. 

Article 16 

Authorisations for placing on the market for vehicles  

The  Agency  shall  issue  authorisations  for  placing  on  the  market  for  railway  vehicles  in 
accordance with Article 20 of Directive … [the Interoperability Directive].  

Article 17 

Authorisations for placing on the market for types of vehicles 

The  Agency  shall  issue  authorisations  for  placing  on  the  market  for  types  of  vehicles  in 
accordance with Article 22 of Directive … [the Interoperability Directive]. 

Article 18 

Authorisations for placing in service of trackside control-command and signalling sub-
systems 

The Agency shall issue authorisations for placing in service of the trackside control-command 
and signalling subsystems located or operated in the entire Union in accordance with Article 
18 of Directive … [the Interoperability Directive].  

Article 19 

Telematics applications  

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

The Agency shall act as the system authority, being responsible for maintaining the 
technical  specifications  for  the  telematics  applications,  in  accordance  with  relevant 
TSIs. 

The Agency shall define, publish and apply the procedure for managing requests for 
changes to those specifications. To this end, the Agency shall set up and maintain a 
register  of  requests  for  changes  to  telematics  applications  specifications  and  their 
status. 

The Agency shall develop and maintain the technical tools for managing the different 
versions of the telematics applications' specifications. 

The  Agency  shall  assist  the  Commission  in  the  monitoring  of  deployment  of 
telematics applications in accordance with relevant TSIs.  

EN 

25 

   EN 

 
1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Article 20 

Support for the notified conformity assessment bodies 

The  Agency  shall  support  the  activities  of  notified  conformity  assessment  bodies 
referred  to  in  Article  27  of  Directive  …  [Interoperability  Directive].  That  support 
shall  in  particular  include  drafting  guidelines  for  assessing  the  conformity  or 
suitability  for  use  of  an  interoperability  constituent  referred  to  in  Article  9  of 
Directive  …  [Interoperability  Directive]  and  guidelines  for  the  EC  verification 
procedure referred to in Article 10 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive].  

The Agency shall facilitate cooperation of notified conformity assessment bodies, in 
particular act as the technical secretariat for their coordination group.  

CHAPTER 5 

TASKS RELATING TO NATIONAL RULES 

Article 21 

Examination of draft national rules  

The Agency shall, within two months of their reception, examine the draft national 
rules submitted to it in accordance with: 

(a)  Article 8(2) of Directive … [Railway Safety Directive], 

(b)  Article 14 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive]. 

Where  after  the  examination  referred  to  paragraph  1  the  Agency  considers  that 
national  rules  enable  the  essential  requirements  for  interoperability  to  be  fulfilled, 
CSMs to be respected and the CSTs to be achieved, and that they would not result in 
arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on rail transport operation between 
Member  States,  the  Agency  shall  inform  the  Commission  and  the  Member  State 
concerned  about  its  positive  assessment.  The  Commission  may  validate  the  rule  in 
the IT system referred to in Article 23.  

Where the examination referred to in paragraph 1 leads to a negative assessment, the 
Agency shall: 

(a) 

issue a recommendation addressed to the Member State concerned stating the 
reasons why the rule in question should not entry into force and/or be applied;  

(b) 

inform the Commission about its negative assessment. 

Where no action was taken by the Member State within 2 months after receiving the 
recommendation  of  the  Agency  referred  to  in  point  (a)  of  paragraph  3,  the 
Commission, after receiving information referred to in point (b) of paragraph 3 and 
after having heard the reasons of the Member State concerned, may adopt a decision 
addressed  to  the  Member  State  concerned  requesting  it  to  modify  the  draft  rule  in 
question, suspend its adoption, entry into force or implementation. 

EN 

26 

   EN 

 
1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Article 22 

Examination of national rules in force  

The  Agency  shall,  within  two  months  of  their  reception,  examine  national  rules 
submitted  to  it  in  accordance  with  Article 14(3)  of  Directive  …  [Interoperability 
Directive]. 

Where  after  examination  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  the  Agency  considers  that 
national  rules  enable  the  essential  requirements  for  interoperability  to  be  fulfilled, 
CSMs to be respected and the CSTs to be achieved, and that they would not result in 
arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on rail transport operation between 
Member  States,  the  Agency  shall  inform  the  Commission  and  the  Member  State 
concerned  about  its  positive  assessment.  The  Commission  may  validate  the  rule  in 
the IT system referred to in Article 23.  

Where the examination referred to in paragraph 1 leads to a negative assessment, the 
Agency shall: 

(a) 

issue a recommendation addressed to the Member State concerned stating the 
reasons why the rule in question should be modified or repealed;  

(b) 

inform the Commission about its negative assessment. 

Where no action was taken by the Member State within 2 months after receiving the 
recommendation  of  the  Agency  referred  to  in  point  (a)  of  paragraph  3,  the 
Commission, after receiving information referred to in point (b) of paragraph 3 and 
after having heard the reasons of the Member State concerned, may adopt a decision 
addressed to the Member State concerned requesting it to modify or repeal the rule in 
question. 

The  procedure  described  in  paragraphs  2  and  3  shall  apply,  mutatis  mutandis,  in 
cases where the Agency becomes aware of any national rule, notified or not, being 
redundant or in conflict with the CSMs, CSTs, TSIs or any other Union legislation in 
the railway field. 

IT system to be used for notification purposes and classification of national rules 

Article 23 

The Agency shall set up and manage a dedicated IT system containing national rules 
referred to in Articles 21(1) and 22(1) and make it accessible to stakeholders and the 
public. 

Member  States  shall  notify  national  rules  referred  to  in  Articles  21(1)  and  22(1)  to 
the Agency and to the Commission through the IT system referred to in paragraph 1. 
The  Agency  shall  publish  the  rules  in  this  system  and  use  it  for  informing  the 
Commission in accordance with Articles 21 and 22. 

The Agency shall classify notified national rules in accordance with Article 14(8) of 
Directive …. [Interoperability Directive]. To this end, it shall use the system referred 
to in the first paragraph of this Article. 

The Agency shall classify national rules notified in accordance with Article 8(2) of 
Directive  …  [Railway  Safety  Directive],  taking  into  account  development  of  EU 
legislation.  To  this  end,  the  Agency  shall  develop  a  Rule  Management  Tool  to  be 
used by Member States for simplifying their systems of national rules. The Agency 

EN 

27 

   EN 

 
shall  use  the  system  referred  to  in  the  first  paragraph  of  this  Article  to  publish  the 
Rule Management Tool. 

CHAPTER 6 

TASKS RELATING TO EUROPEAN RAIL TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 
(ERTMS) 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

1. 

Article 24 

System authority for the ERTMS 

The Agency shall act as the system authority, being responsible for maintaining the 
technical specifications for the ERTMS. 

The Agency shall define, publish and apply the procedure for managing requests for 
changes to those specifications. To this end, the Agency shall set up and maintain a 
register of requests for changes to ERTMS specifications and their status. 

The  Agency  shall  recommend  the  adoption  of  a  new  version  of  ERTMS  Technical 
specifications.  However,  it  shall  only  do  so  when  the  previous  version  has  been 
deployed  at  a  sufficient  rate.  The  development  of  new  versions  shall  not  be 
detrimental  to  the  rate  of  deployment  of  the  ERTMS,  the  stability  of  the 
specifications which is needed to optimise the production of ERTMS equipment, the 
return  on  investment  for  railway  undertakings  and  efficient  planning  of  the 
deployment of the ERTMS. 

The Agency shall develop and maintain the technical tools for managing the different 
versions  of  the  ERTMS  with  a  view  to  ensuring  technical  and  operational 
compatibility  between  networks  and  vehicles  fitted  with  different  versions  and  to 
providing incentives for the swift implementation of the versions in force. 

In  accordance  with  Article 5(10)  of  Directive  …  [Railway  Interoperability 
Directive],  the  Agency  shall  ensure  that  successive  versions  of  ERTMS  equipment 
are technically compatible with earlier versions. 

The  Agency  shall  prepare  and  disseminate  relevant  application  guidelines  for 
stakeholders  and  explanatory  documentation  related  to  the  technical  specifications 
for the ERTMS. 

Article 25 

ERTMS Ad hoc working group of notified conformity assessment bodies 

The  Agency  shall  set  up  and  chair  an  ERTMS  ad  hoc  working  group  of  notified 
in  Article  27  of  Directive  … 
conformity  assessment  bodies  referred 
[Interoperability Directive].  

to 

The  working  group  shall  check  the  consistency  of  application  of  the  procedure  for 
assessing  the  conformity  or  suitability  for  use  of  an  interoperability  constituent 
referred  to  in  Article  9  of  Directive  …  [Interoperability  Directive]  and  of  the  'EC' 
procedures for verification referred to in Article 10 of Directive … [Interoperability 
Directive] and carried out by notified conformity assessment bodies. 

EN 

28 

   EN 

 
2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

The Agency shall report every two years to the Commission on the activities of the 
working  group  referred  to  in  paragraph  1,  including  statistics  on  attendance  of 
notified conformity assessment bodies’ representatives in the working group. 

The  Agency  shall  evaluate  the  application  of  the  procedure  for  conformity 
assessment of interoperability constituents and of the 'EC' verification procedure for 
ERTMS  equipment  and  every  two  years  shall  submit  a  report  proposing  to  the 
Commission, where appropriate, improvements to be made. 

Supporting technical and operational compatibility between ERTMS on-board and 
trackside subsystems 

Article 26 

The  Agency  may  assist  the  railway  undertakings,  at  their  request,  in  checking  the 
technical  and  operational  compatibility  between  ERTMS  on-board  and  trackside 
subsystems before placing a vehicle in service.  

Where  the  Agency  finds  that  there  is  a  risk  of  a  lack  of  technical  and  operational 
compatibility  between  networks  and  vehicles  fitted  with  ERTMS  equipment  in  the 
context  of  specific  ERTMS  projects,  it  may  request  the  appropriate  actors,  in 
railway 
particular  manufacturers,  notified  conformity  assessment  bodies, 
undertakings, infrastructure managers and national safety authorities, to provide any 
information  relevant  to  the  procedures  applied  for  'EC'  verification  and  placing  in 
service,  and  to  operational  conditions.  The  Agency  shall  inform  the  Commission 
about  such  a  risk  and,  if  necessary,  recommend  appropriate  measures  to  the 
Commission. 

Article 27 

Supporting ERTMS deployment and ERTMS projects 

The  Agency  shall  monitor  the  deployment  of  the  ERTMS  in  accordance  with  the 
deployment plan set out in Decision 2012/88/EU9 and shall monitor coordination of 
ERTMS installation along the Trans-European Transport Corridors and Rail Freight 
Corridors as provided for in Regulation (EU) No 913/201010. 

The  Agency  shall  ensure  technical  follow  up  of  Union-funded  projects  for  the 
deployment  of  the  ERTMS,  including,  where  applicable,  analysis  of  tendering 
documents  at  the  time  of  the  call  for  tenders.  The  Agency  shall  also  assist,  if 
necessary, the beneficiaries of the Union funds to ensure that the technical solutions 
implemented  within  projects  are  fully  compliant  with  the  TSIs  relating  to  control-
command and signalling and are therefore fully interoperable. 

9 
10 

OJ L 51, 23.2.2012, p. 1 
OJ L 276, 20.10.2010, p. 22 

EN 

29 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Article 28 

Accreditation of laboratories 

The  Agency  shall  support,  in  particular  by  giving  appropriate  guidelines  to  the 
accreditation bodies, harmonised accreditation of ERTMS laboratories in accordance 
with Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council11. 

The  Agency  may  participate  as  an  observer  in  the  peer  reviews  required  by 
Regulation (EC) No 765/2008. 

CHAPTER 7 

TASKS RELATING TO MONITORING THE SINGLE EUROPEAN 
RAILWAY AREA 

Article 29 

Monitoring of national safety authorities 

The  Agency  shall  monitor  the  performance  and  decision-making  of  national  safety 
authorities through audit and inspections. 

The Agency shall be entitled to audit: 

(a) 

(b) 

the  capacity  of  national  safety  authorities  to  execute  tasks  related  to  railway 
safety and interoperability; 

the  effectiveness  of  national  safety  authorities'  monitoring  of  safety 
management  systems  of  actors  as  referred  to  in  Article  16  in  Directive  […] 
[Railway Safety Directive].  

The procedure for performing the audits shall be adopted by the Management Board. 

The Agency shall issue audit reports and send them to the national safety authority 
concerned and to the Commission. Each audit report shall include, in particular, a list 
of  any  deficiencies  identified  by  the  Agency  as  well  as  recommendations  for 
improvement.  

If the Agency considers that the deficiencies referred to in paragraph 3 prevent the 
national safety authority concerned from effectively performing its tasks in relation 
to  railway  safety  and  interoperability,  the  Agency  shall  recommend  to  the  national 
safety authority to take appropriate steps within a time limit to be defined taking into 
account the importance of the deficiency. 

Where  a  national  safety  authority  disagrees  with  the  Agency's  recommendation 
referred to in paragraph 4, or where no action is taken by a national safety authority 
as a result of the Agency's recommendation within 3 months from its reception, the 
Commission may take a decision within six months in accordance with the advisory 
procedure referred to in Article 75. 

The Agency shall be also entitled to conduct announced or unannounced inspections 
in national safety authorities, to verify specific areas of their activities and operation, 
in particular review documents, processes and records related to their tasks referred 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

11 

OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 30. 

EN 

30 

   EN 

 
                                                 
to in Article 16 of Directive … [Railway Safety Directive]. The inspections may be 
conducted on an ad-hoc basis or in accordance with a plan developed by the Agency. 
The duration of an inspection shall not exceed two days. The national authorities of 
the Member States shall facilitate the work of the Agency’s staff. The Agency shall 
provide the Commission with a report on each inspection.  

Article 30 

Monitoring of notified conformity assessment bodies 

The  Agency  shall  monitor  the  notified  conformity  assessment  bodies  through 
assistance  to  accreditation  bodies,  audit  and  inspections,  as  provided  for  in 
paragraphs 2-5. 

The  Agency  shall  support  harmonised  accreditation  of  notified  conformity 
assessment bodies, in particular by giving appropriate guidance on evaluation criteria 
and procedures to assess whether notified bodies meet the requirements referred to in 
Art. 27 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive] to the accreditation bodies, via the 
European Accreditation infrastructure recognised by Art. 14 of Regulation (EC) No. 
765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council setting out the requirements 
for  accreditation  and  market  surveillance  relating  to  the  marketing  of  products  and 
repealing Regulation (EEC) No. 339/93 

In case of notified conformity assessment bodies which are not accredited according 
to Article 24 of Directive… [Interoperability Directive], the Agency may audit their 
capacities  to  meet  the  requirements  referred  to  in  Article  27  of  that  Directive.  The 
procedure for performing audits shall be adopted by the Management Board. 

The Agency shall issue audit reports covering the activities referred to in paragraph 3 
and  send  them  to  the  notified  conformity  assessment  body  concerned  and  to  the 
Commission. Each audit report shall include, in particular, any deficiencies identified 
by the Agency and recommendations for improvement. If the Agency considers that 
these  deficiencies  prevent  the  notified  body  concerned  from  effectively  performing 
its  tasks  in  relation to railway safety and  interoperability, the  Agency shall  adopt a 
recommendation  requesting  the  Member  State  in  which  that  notified  body  is 
established to take appropriate steps within a time limit. 

Where a Member State disagrees with the recommendation referred to in paragraph 
4,  or  where  no  action  is  taken  by  a  notified  body  as  a  result  of  the  Agency's 
recommendation within 3 months from its reception, the Commission may adopt an 
opinion within a period of six months in accordance with advisory procedure referred 
to in Article 75. 

The  Agency  may,  including  in  cooperation  with  the  relevant  national  accreditation 
bodies,  conduct  announced  or  unannounced  inspections  of  notified  conformity 
assessment  bodies  to  verify  specific  areas  of  their  activities  and  operation,  in 
particular review documents, certificates and records related to their tasks referred to 
in  Article  27  of  Directive  […]  [Interoperability  Directive].  The  inspections  may  be 
conducted on an ad-hoc basis or in accordance with a plan developed by the Agency. 
The  duration  of  an  inspection  shall  not  exceed  two  days.  The  notified  conformity 
assessment bodies shall facilitate the work of the Agency’s staff. The Agency shall 
provide the Commission with a report on each inspection.  

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

EN 

31 

   EN 

 
Article 31 

Monitoring progress of interoperability and safety 

The Agency, together with the network of national investigation bodies, shall collect 
relevant data on accidents and incidents and monitor the contribution of the national 
investigation bodies to the safety of the railway system as a whole. 

The Agency shall monitor the overall safety performance of the railway system. The 
Agency  may  in  particular  seek  the  assistance  of  the  networks  referred  to  in  Article 
34, including collection of data. The Agency shall also draw on the data collected by 
Eurostat and shall cooperate with Eurostat to prevent any duplication of work and to 
ensure  methodological  consistency  between  the  common  safety  indicators  and  the 
indicators used in other modes of transport. 

At  the  Commission’s  request,  the  Agency  shall  issue  recommendations  on  how  to 
improve  the  interoperability  of  the  railway  systems,  in  particular  by  facilitating 
coordination between railway undertakings and infrastructure managers, or between 
infrastructure managers. 

The Agency shall monitor progress on the interoperability and safety of the railway 
systems. Every two years it shall present to the Commission and publish a report on 
progress on interoperability and safety in the Single European Railway Area. 

The  Agency  shall,  at  the  Commission’s  request,  provide  reports  on  the  state  of 
implementation  and  application  of 
legislation  on  safety  and 
interoperability in a given Member State. 

the  Union 

CHAPTER 8 

OTHER TASKS 

Article 32 

Railway staff 

The  Agency  shall  perform  the  appropriate  tasks  relating  to  railway  staff  set  out  in 
Articles  4,  20,  22,  23,  25,  28,  33,  34,  35  and  37  of Directive  2007/59/EC  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council12 . 

The Agency may be requested by the Commission to perform other tasks relating to 
railway staff in accordance with Directive 2007/59/EC. 

The  Agency  shall  consult  the  authorities  competent  on  railway  staff  issues  on  the 
tasks  referred  to  in  paragraphs  1  and  2.  The  Agency  may  promote  cooperation 
between  those  authorities,  including  by  organising  appropriate  meetings  with  their 
representatives. 

Article 33 

Registers and their accessibility 

The Agency shall set up and keep European registers provided for in Article 43, 44 
and  45  of  Directive  …  [Interoperability  Directive].  The  Agency  shall  act  as  the 

OJ L 315, 3.12.2007, p. 51. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

12 

EN 

32 

   EN 

 
                                                 
system  authority  for  all  registers  and  databases  referred  to  in  the  Safety, 
Interoperability and Train Drivers Directives. This shall include, in particular: 

(a)  developing and maintaining specifications of the registers; 

(b) 

coordinating of developments in the Member States in relation to the registers; 

(c)  providing guidance on the registers to relevant stakeholders; 

(d)  making  recommendations  to  the  Commission  regarding  improvements  to  the 

specification of existing registers and any need to set up new ones. 

2. 

The  Agency  shall  make  the  following  documents  and  registers  provided  for  by 
Directive … [Interoperability Directive] and Directive … [Railway Safety Directive] 
publicly available: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

(i) 

(j) 

(k) 

the EC declarations of verification of subsystems; 

the  EC  declarations  of  conformity  of  interoperability constituents and  EC 
declarations of suitability of use of interoperability constituents; 

the  licences  issued  in  accordance  with  Directive  …  [Directive  on  the 
establishment of the Single European Rail Area (recast)]; 

the  safety  certificates  issued  in  accordance  with  Article 10  of  Directive  … 
[Railway Safety Directive]; 

the  investigation  reports  sent  to  the  Agency  in  accordance  with  Article 24  of 
Directive … [Railway Safety Directive]; 

the  national  rules  notified  to  the  Commission  in  accordance  with  Article 8  of 
Directive  …  [Railway  Safety  Directive]  and  Articles 14  of  Directive  … 
[Interoperability Directive]; 

the vehicle registers, including via links to relevant national registers; 

the infrastructure registers, including via links to relevant national registers; 

the European register of authorised types of vehicles; 

the  register  of  requests  for  changes  and  planned  changes  to  the  ERTMS 
specifications; 

the  register  of  requests  for  changes  and  planned  changes  to  the  Telematics 
Applications  for  Passengers  (TAP)  TSI/Telematics  Applications  for  Freight 
(TAF) TSI specifications; 

(l) 

the register of vehicle keeper markings kept by the Agency in accordance with 
the TSI on operation and traffic management; 

(m)  quality  reports  issued  in  accordance  with  Article  28(2)  of  Regulation  (EC) 

No 1371/2007. 

3. 

4. 

The  practical  arrangements  for  sending  the  documents  referred  to  in  paragraph 2 
shall be discussed and agreed by the Commission and the Member States on the basis 
of a draft prepared by the Agency. 

When sending the documents referred to in paragraph 2, the bodies concerned may 
indicate  which  documents  are  not  to  be  disclosed  to  the  public  for  reasons  of 
security. 

EN 

33 

   EN 

 
5. 

6. 

The national authorities responsible for issuing the licences and certificates referred 
to in points (c) and (d) of paragraph 2 shall notify the Agency within one month of 
each  individual  decision  to  issue,  renew,  amend  or  revoke  those  licenses  and 
certificates. 

The  Agency may include any public document or link relevant to the objectives of 
this  Regulation  in  the  public  database,  taking  into  account  applicable  Union 
legislation on data protection. 

Networks of national safety authorities, investigating bodies and representative bodies 

Article 34 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

The Agency shall establish a network of the national safety authorities and a network 
of  the  investigating  bodies  referred  to  in  Article 21  of  Directive…/…  [Railway 
Safety Directive]. The Agency shall provide them with a secretariat. The tasks of the 
networks shall, in particular, be: 

(a) 

exchange of information related to railway safety and interoperability; 

(b)  promotion of good practices; 

(c)  provision of data on railway safety to the Agency, in particular data relating to 

common safety indicators. 

The Agency shall facilitate cooperation between those networks, in particular it may 
decide to hold joint meetings of both networks. 

The  Agency  shall  establish  a  network  of  representative  bodies  from  the  railway 
sector  acting  at  the  Union  level.  The  list  of  these  bodies  shall  be  defined  in  an 
implementing  act  adopted  by  the  Commission,  in  accordance  with  advisory 
procedure  referred  to  in  Article  75.  The  Agency  shall  provide  the  network  with  a 
secretariat. The tasks of the network shall, in particular, be: 

(a) 

exchange of information related to railway safety and interoperability; 

(b)  promotion of good practices; 

(c)  provision of data on railway safety and interoperability to the Agency.  

The networks referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 may issue non-binding opinions on 
draft recommendations referred to in Article 9(2).  

The  Agency  may  establish  other  networks  with  bodies  or  authorities  with 
responsibility for a part of the railway system. 

The Commission may participate in meetings of networks referred to in this Article. 

Article 35 

Communication and dissemination 

The  Agency  shall  communicate  and  disseminate  to  relevant  stakeholders  the  European 
framework  of  railway  legislation,  standards  and  guidance,  in  accordance  with  relevant 
communication  and  dissemination  plans  adopted  by  the  Management  Board.  Those  plans, 
based on an analysis of needs, shall be regularly updated by the Management Board.  

EN 

34 

   EN 

 
1. 

2. 

1. 

Article 36 

Research and promotion of innovation 

The  Agency  shall  contribute,  upon  request  of  the  Commission,  to  railway  research 
activities at Union level, including through support to relevant Commission services 
and  representative  bodies.  This  contribution  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  other 
research activities at the Union level. 

The  Commission  may  entrust  the  Agency  with  the  task  of  promoting  innovation 
aimed  at  improving  railway  interoperability  and  safety,  particularly  the  use  of  new 
information technologies and tracking and tracing systems. 

Article 37 

Assistance to the Commission 

The  Agency  shall,  at  the  Commission’s  request,  assist  the  Commission  with  the 
implementation of Union legislation aimed at enhancing the level of interoperability 
of railway systems and at developing a common approach to safety on the European 
railway system. 

2. 

This assistance may include: 

(a)  providing technical advice in matters requiring specific know-how; 

(b) 

collecting information through the networks referred to in Article 34. 

Article 38 

Assistance with the assessment of rail projects 

Without  prejudice  to  the  derogations  provided  for  by  Article 9  of  Directive  […]  [Railway 
Interoperability Directive], the Agency shall, at the Commission’s request, examine, from the 
point  of  view  of  interoperability  and  safety,  any  project  involving  the  design,  construction, 
renewal or upgrading of the subsystem for which an application for Union financial support 
has been submitted.  

Within a period to be agreed with the Commission according to the importance of the project 
and the resources available and which may not exceed two months, the Agency shall give an 
opinion on whether the project complies with the relevant railway interoperability and safety 
legislation. 

Article 39 

Assistance to Member States, candidate countries and stakeholders 

1. 

2. 

On its own initiative or at the request of the Commission, Member States, candidate 
countries  or  the  networks  referred  to  in  Article  34,  the  Agency  shall  engage  in 
training  and  other  appropriate  activities  concerning  the  application  and  explanation 
of railway interoperability and safety legislation and related Agency’s products such 
as registers, implementation guides or recommendations. 

The nature and extent of the activities referred to in paragraph 1 shall be decided by 
the Board and included in the work programme. 

EN 

35 

   EN 

 
Article 40 

International relations 

1. 

2. 

3. 

In  so  far  as  is  necessary  to  achieve  the  objectives  set  out  in  this  Regulation  and 
without prejudice to the respective competences of the Member States and the Union 
institutions,  including  the  European  External  Action  Service,  the  Agency  may 
develop  contacts  and  enter  into  administrative  arrangements  with  supervisory 
authorities,  international  organisations  and  the  administrations  of  third  countries 
competent in matters covered by Agency activities in order to keep up with scientific 
and technical developments and to ensure promotion of the European Union railways 
legislation and standards.  

Those arrangements shall not create legal obligations in respect of the Union and its 
Member States nor shall they prevent Member States and their competent authorities 
from  concluding  bilateral  or  multilateral  arrangements  with  those  supervisory 
authorities,  international  organisations  and  the  administrations  of  third  countries. 
Those  arrangements  and  cooperation  shall  be  subject  to  prior  discussion  with  the 
Commission and regular reporting to it. 

The  Management  Board  shall  adopt  a  strategy  for  relations  with  third  countries  or 
international  organisations  concerning  matters  for  which  the  Agency  is  competent. 
This  strategy  shall  be  included  in  the  annual  and  multi-annual  work  programme  of 
the Agency, with a specification of associated resources. 

Article 41 

Coordination regarding spare parts 

The Agency shall contribute to identifying potential railway spare parts to be standardised. To 
this end, the Agency may establish a working party in order to coordinate the stakeholders’ 
activities and may establish contacts  with the European standardisation bodies. The Agency 
shall present the Commission with appropriate recommendations. 

CHAPTER 9 

ORGANISATION OF THE AGENCY  

Article 42 

Administrative and management structure 

The Agency's administrative and management structure shall comprise: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

A Management Board, which shall exercise the functions set out in Article 47; 

An Executive Board which shall exercise the functions set out in Article 49; 

An Executive Director who shall exercise the responsibilities set out in Article 50; 

A Board of Appeal who shall exercise the responsibilities set out in Articles 54 to 56. 

EN 

36 

   EN 

 
Article 43 

Composition of the Management Board 

1. 

The Management Board shall be composed of one representative from each Member 
State and four representatives of the Commission, all with a right to vote.  

The  Management  Board  shall  also  include six  representatives,  without  the  right  to 
vote, representing at European level the following groups: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

railway undertakings; 

infrastructure managers; 

the railway industry; 

trade unions; 

(e)  passengers; 

(f) 

freight customers. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

For  each  of  these  groups,  the  Commission  shall  appoint  a  representative  and  an 
alternate  from  a  shortlist  of  four  names  submitted  by  their  respective  European 
organisations. 

Board members and their alternates shall be appointed in light of their knowledge of 
the  agency's  core  business,  taking  into  account  relevant  managerial,  administrative 
and  budgetary  skills.  All  parties  shall  make  efforts  to  limit  turnover  of  their 
representatives in  the Board,  in  order to ensure  continuity  of  the  Board's  work.  All 
parties  shall  aim  to  achieve  a  balanced  representation  between  men  and  women  on 
the Management Board. 

Member States and the Commission shall appoint their members of the Management 
Board and an alternate who will represent the member in his/her absence. 

The term of office of the members shall be four years and may be renewed. 

When  appropriate,  the  participation  of  representatives  of  third  countries  and  the 
conditions thereof shall be established in the arrangements referred to in Article 68. 

Article 44 

Chairperson of the Management Board 

The Management Board shall elect, by a two-thirds majority of its members entitled 
to  vote, a  Chairperson  from  among  the  representatives  of  the  Member  States and  a 
Deputy Chairperson from among its members.  

The  Deputy  Chairperson  shall  replace  the  Chairperson  in  the  event  of  the 
Chairperson being unable to attend to his/her duties. 

The  term  of  office  of  the  Chairperson  and  Deputy  Chairperson  shall  be  four  years 
and may be renewed. If, however, their membership of the Management Board ends 
at any time during their term of office, their term of office shall automatically expire 
on that date also. 

EN 

37 

   EN 

 
Article 45 

Meetings 

1. 

2. 

Meetings  of  the  Management  Board  shall  be  convened  by  its  Chairperson.  The 
Executive Director of the Agency shall participate in the meetings. 

The  Management Board  shall  meet  at  least  twice  a  year.  It  shall  also  meet  on  the 
initiative of the Chairperson, at the request of the Commission, at the request of the 
majority of its members or of one-third of the Member States’ representatives on the 
Board. 

Article 46 

Voting 

Unless stated otherwise in this Regulation, the Management Board shall take its decisions by 
an absolute majority of its members entitled to vote. Each member entitled to vote shall have 
one vote. 

Article 47 

Functions of the Management Board 

1. 

In order to ensure that the Agency carries out its tasks, the Management Board shall: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

(i) 

adopt the Annual Report on the Agency's activities for the previous year, send 
it, by 1 July, to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the 
Court of Auditors and make it public; 

adopt each year, by a two-thirds majority of its members entitled to vote, after 
having received the opinion of the Commission and in accordance with Article 
48,  the  annual  work  programme  of  the  Agency  for  the  coming  year  and  a 
strategic multi-annual work programme; 

adopt,  by  a  two-thirds  majority  of  its  members  entitled  to  vote,  the  annual 
budget of the Agency and exercise other functions in relation to the Agency’s 
budget, in accordance with Chapter 10; 

establish procedures for decision-making by the Executive Director; 

adopt a policy on visits pursuant to Article 10; 

establish its rules of procedure; 

adopt  and  update  the  communication  and  dissemination  plans  referred  to  in 
Article 35; 

adopt procedures for performing the audits referred to in Articles 29 and 30; 

in  accordance  with  paragraph  2,  exercise,  with  respect  to  the  staff  of  the 
Agency, the appointing authority powers conferred by the Staff Regulations on 
the  Appointing  Authority  and  by  the  Conditions  of  Employment  of  Other 
Servants  on  the  Authority  Empowered  to  Conclude  Contract  of  Employment 
("the appointing authority powers"); 

(j) 

adopt  appropriate  implementing  rules  to  the  Staff  Regulations  and  the 
Conditions of Employment of Other Servants in accordance with the procedure 
provided for in Article 110 of the Staff Regulations; 

EN 

38 

   EN 

 
(k) 

appoint  the  Executive  Director  and  may  extend  his  term  of  office  or  remove 
him from the office, by a two-thirds majority of its members entitled to vote, in 
accordance with Article 62; 

(l) 

adopt  an  anti-fraud  strategy,  which  is  proportionate  to  the  fraud  risks  having 
regard to cost-benefit of the measures to be implemented; 

(m)  ensure  adequate  follow-up  to  the  findings  and  recommendations  stemming 
from investigations of the European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) and the various 
internal or external audit reports and evaluations; 

(n) 

adopt  rules  for  the  prevention  and  management  of  conflicts  of  interest  in 
respect of members of the Management Board and of the Board of Appeal.  

The Management Board shall adopt, in accordance with the procedure provided for 
in Article 110 of the Staff Regulations, a decision based on Article 2(1) of the Staff 
Regulations  and  on  Article  6  of  the  Conditions  of  Employment  of  Other  Servants 
delegating  the  relevant  appointing  authority  powers  to  the  Executive  Director  and 
defining the conditions under which this delegation of powers can be suspended. The 
Executive Director is authorised to sub-delegate these powers. 

In  application  of  the  previous  subparagraph,  where  exceptional  circumstances  so 
require, the Management Board may, by way of a decision, suspend temporarily the 
delegation of appointing authority  powers  to the Executive Director and those sub-
delegated  by  the  latter  and  exercise  them  itself  or  delegate  them  to  one  of  its 
members or to a staff member other than the Executive Director. 

Article 48 

Annual and multi-annual work programmes 

The  Board  of  the  Agency  shall  adopt  the  work  programme  by  30 November  each 
year,  taking  into  account  the  opinion  of  the  Commission,  and  forward  it  to  the 
Member  States,  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  Commission  and  to  the 
networks referred to in Article 34. 

The  work  programme  shall  be  adopted  without  prejudice  to  the  Union’s  annual 
budgetary  procedure.  If,  within  15  days  of  the  date  of  adoption  of  the  work 
programme,  the  Commission  expresses  its  disagreement  with  the  programme,  the 
Management  Board  shall  re-examine  the  programme  and  adopt  it,  as  amended  if 
necessary,  within  a  period  of  two  months,  in  second  reading  either  by  a  two-thirds 
majority  of 
including  by  all  Commission 
representatives, or by unanimity of the representatives of the Member States. 

its  members  entitled 

to  vote, 

The  Agency’s  work  programme  shall  identify  the  objectives  of  each  activity.  As  a 
general  rule,  each  activity  and  project  shall  be  clearly  linked  with  the  resources 
required to carry it out, in accordance with the principles of activity-based budgeting 
and  management  and  the  early  impact  assessment  procedure  provided  for  in 
paragraph 2 of Article 7.  

The  Management  Board  shall,  if  necessary,  amend  the  adopted  work  programme 
when a new task is given to the Agency. Inclusion of such a new task shall be subject 
to an analysis of the human and budgetary resources implications and may be subject 
to a decision to postpone other tasks. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

EN 

39 

   EN 

 
5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

The  Management  Board  shall  also  adopt  and  update  a  strategic  multi-annual  work 
programme  by  30 November  each  year.  The  opinion  of  the  Commission  shall  be 
taken into account. The European Parliament and the networks referred to in Article 
34 shall be consulted on the draft. The adopted multi-annual work programme shall 
be  forwarded  to  the  Member  States,  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the 
Commission and to the networks referred to in Article 34.  

Article 49 

Executive Board  

The Management Board shall be assisted by an Executive Board. 

The  Executive  Board  shall  prepare  decisions  to  be  adopted  by  the  Management 
Board.  Where  necessary,  because  of  urgency,  it  shall  take  certain  provisional 
decisions  on  behalf  of  the  Management  Board,  in  particular  on  administrative  and 
budgetary matters. 

Together  with  the  Management  Board,  it  shall  ensure  adequate  follow-up  to  the 
findings  and  recommendations  stemming  from  investigations  of  OLAF  and  the 
various internal or external audit reports and evaluations. 

Without  prejudice  to  the  responsibilities  of  the  Executive  Director,  as  set  out  in 
Article 30, it shall assist and advise him/her in the implementation of the decisions of 
the Management Board, with a view to reinforcing supervision of administrative and 
budgetary management. 

The  Executive  Board  shall  be  composed  of  the  Chairperson  of  the  Management 
Board,  one  representative  of  the  Commission  and  [four]  other  members  of  the 
Management Board. The Management Board shall appoint members of the Executive 
Board and its chairperson.  

The term of office of members of the Executive Board shall be the same as that of 
members of the Management Board.  

The Executive Board shall meet at least once every three months. The chairperson of 
the Executive Board shall convene additional meetings at the request of its members.  

The  Management  Board  shall  lay  down  the  rules  of  procedures  of  the  Executive 
Board. 

Article 50 

Duties of the Executive Director 

The  Agency  shall  be  managed  by  its  Executive  Director,  who  shall  be  completely 
independent  in  the  performance  of  his/her  duties.  The  Executive  Director  shall  be 
accountable to the Management Board for his/her activities. 

Without prejudice to the powers of the Commission, the Management Board, or the 
Executive Board, the Executive Director shall neither seek nor take instructions from 
any government or from any other body. 

The Executive Director shall report to the European Parliament on the performance 
of  his/her  duties  when  invited.  The  Council  may  invite  the  Executive  Director  to 
report on the performance of his/her duties. 

EN 

40 

   EN 

 
4. 

5. 

The Executive Director shall be the legal representative of the Agency. He/she shall 
adopt decisions, recommendations, opinions and other formal acts of the Agency. 

The  Executive  Director  shall  be  responsible  for  the  administrative  management  of 
the Agency and for the implementation of the tasks assigned to it by this Regulation. 
In particular, the Executive Director shall be responsible for: 

(a) 

(b) 

the day-to-day administration of the Agency; 

implementing the decisions adopted by the Management Board; 

(c)  preparing  the  annual  work  programme  and  strategic  multi-annual  work 
programme  and,  submit  them  to  the  Management  Board  after  consultation  of 
the Commission; 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

implementing the annual work programme and the strategic multi-annual work 
programme  and  as  far  as  possible,  responding  to  requests  for  assistance  from 
the Commission in relation to the tasks of the Agency in accordance with this 
Regulation; 

reporting  to  the  Management  Board  on  the  implementation  of  the  strategic 
multi-annual work programme; 

taking the necessary steps, in particular the adoption of internal administrative 
instructions and the publication of orders, to ensure that the Agency operates in 
accordance with this Regulation; 

establishing an effective monitoring system in order to compare the Agency's 
results  with  its  operational  objectives  and  establishing  a  regular  assessment 
system corresponding to recognised professional standards; 

(h)  preparing  each  year  a  draft  general  report  on  the  basis  of  the  monitoring  and 
assessment  systems  referred  to  in  point  (g),  and  submitting  it  to  the 
Management Board; 

(i) 

(j) 

preparing  the  Agency's  draft  statement  of  estimates  of  the  revenue  and 
expenditure of the Agency pursuant to Article 58 and implementing the budget 
pursuant to Article 59; 

preparing the annual report on the Agency's activities and presenting it to the 
Management Board for assessment; 

(k)  preparing  an  action  plan  following-up  on  the  conclusions  of  the  retrospective 

evaluations and reporting on progress bi-annually to the Commission; 

(l) 

protecting the financial interests of the Union by the application of preventive 
measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective 
checks  and,  if  irregularities  are  detected,  by  the  recovery  of  the  amounts 
wrongly  paid  and,  where  appropriate,  by  effective,  proportionate  and 
dissuasive administrative and financial penalties; 

(m)  preparing  an  anti-fraud  strategy  of  the  Agency  and  presenting  it  to  the 

Management Board for approval; 

(n)  preparing  the  Agency's  draft  financial  regulation  for  adoption  by  the 

Management Board under Article 60, and its implementing rules. 

EN 

41 

   EN 

 
1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

Article 51 

Creation and composition of the Boards of Appeal 

The Agency shall establish one or more Boards of Appeal. 

A  Board  of  Appeal  shall  be  composed  of  a  Chairperson  and  two  other  members. 
They shall have alternates to represent them in their absence. 

The Management Board shall appoint the Chairperson, the other members and their 
alternates from a list of qualified candidates established by the Commission. 

Where the Board of Appeal considers that the nature of the appeal so requires, it may 
request  the  Management  Board  to  appoint  two  additional  members  and  their 
alternates from the list referred to in paragraph 3. 

On the proposal of the Agency, the Commission shall establish the rules of procedure 
of  the  Board  of  Appeal,  after  having  consulted  the  Management  Board  and  in 
accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 75. 

Article 52 

Members of the Board of Appeal 

The term of office of the members and alternates of a Board of Appeal shall be four 
years and may be renewed. 

The members of a Board of Appeal shall be independent and may not perform any 
other duties within the Agency. In making their decisions they shall not be bound by 
any instructions. 

The members of a Board of Appeal may not be removed from office or from the list 
of qualified candidates during their  term of office, unless there  are serious  grounds 
for  such  removal  and  the  Commission,  after  obtaining  the  opinion  of  the 
Management Board takes a decision to that effect. 

Article 53 

Exclusion and objection 

The members of the Board of Appeal may not take part in any appeal proceedings if 
they  have  any  personal  interest  in  the  proceedings,  if  they  have  previously  been 
involved  as  representatives  of  one  of  the  parties  to  the  proceedings,  or  if  they 
participated in the decision under appeal. 

Members of the Board of Appeal who consider that they should not take part in any 
appeal proceeding, for one of the reasons referred to in paragraph 1 or for any other 
reason,  shall  inform  the  Board  of  Appeal  which  decides  on  the  exclusion 
accordingly. 

Article 54 

Decisions subject to appeal 

1. 

An appeal may be brought before the Board of Appeal against decisions taken by the 
Agency pursuant to Articles 12, 16, 17 and 18.  

EN 

42 

   EN 

 
2. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

An  appeal  lodged  pursuant  to  paragraph  1  shall  not  have  a  suspensory  effect.  The 
Agency may, however, suspend the application of the decision appealed against, if it 
considers that circumstances so permit. 

Article 55 

Persons entitled to appeal, time limit and form 

Any natural or legal person may appeal against a decision addressed to that person 
by the Agency pursuant to Articles 12, 16, 17 and 18.  

The appeal, together with the statement of grounds thereof, shall be filed in writing at 
the  Agency  within  two  months  of  the  notification  of  the  measure  to  the  person 
concerned, or, if the person is not notified of the measure, within two months of the 
day on which it came to their knowledge. 

Article 56 

Examination and decisions on appeals 

When examining the appeal, the Board of Appeal shall act expeditiously. It shall, as 
often  as  necessary,  invite  the  parties  to  the  appeal  proceedings  to  file,  within 
specified  time  limits,  observations  on  its  notifications  or  on  communications  from 
other  parties  to  the  appeal  proceedings.  Parties  to  the  appeal  proceedings  shall  be 
entitled to make oral presentations. 

The  Board  of  Appeal  may  exercise  appropriate  power  which  lies  within  the 
competence  of  the  Agency  or  may  remit  the  case  to  the  competent  body  of  the 
Agency. The latter shall be bound by the decision of the Board of Appeal. 

Article 57 

Actions before the Court of Justice 

Actions for the annulment of Agency decisions taken pursuant to Articles 12, 16, 17 
and 18 may be brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union only after 
all appeal procedures within the Agency have been exhausted. 

The  Agency  shall  take  all  necessary  measures  to  comply  with  the  judgment  of  the 
Court of Justice of the European Union. 

CHAPTER 10 

FINANCIAL PROVISIONS 

Article 58 

Budget 

1. 

Estimates  of  all  the  revenue  and  expenditure  of  the  Agency  shall  be  prepared  for 
each  financial  year,  corresponding  to  the  calendar  year,  and  shall  be  set  out  in  the 
budget of the Agency. Revenue and expenditure shall be in balance. 

2. 

The revenue of the Agency shall consist of: 

(a) 

a contribution from the Union, 

EN 

43 

   EN 

 
(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

any contribution from third countries participating in the work of the Agency, 
as provided for by Article 68, 

the  fees  paid  by  applicants  for,  and  holders  of,  certificates  and  authorisations 
issued by the Agency in accordance with Articles 12, 16, 17 and 18; 

charges  for  publications,  training  and  any  other  services  provided  by  the 
Agency; 

any  voluntary  financial  contribution  from  Member  States,  third  countries  or 
other  entities,  provided  such  a  contribution  does  not  compromise  the 
independence and impartiality of the Agency. 

The expenditure of the Agency shall include staff, administrative, infrastructure and 
operational expenses. 

Revenue and expenditure shall be in balance. 

Each year, the Management Board, on the basis of a draft drawn up by the Executive 
Director  on  the  basis  of  activity-based  budgeting,  shall  produce  a  statement  of 
estimates of revenue and expenditure for the Agency for the following financial year. 
This statement of estimates, which shall include a draft establishment plan, shall be 
forwarded by the Management Board to the Commission by 31 January at the latest. 

The  statement  of  estimates  shall  be  forwarded  by  the  Commission  to  the  European 
Parliament  and  the  Council  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  budgetary  authority) 
together with the preliminary draft general budget of the Union. 

On  the  basis  of  the  statement  of  estimates,  the  Commission  shall  enter  in  the 
preliminary draft general budget of the Union the estimates it considers necessary for 
the  establishment  plan  and  the  amount  of  the  subsidy  to  be  charged  to  the  general 
budget, which it shall place before the budgetary authority in accordance with Article 
314 of the Treaty, together with a description of and justification for any difference 
between  the  Agency's  statement  of  estimates  and  the  subsidy  to  be  charged  to  the 
general budget. 

The  budgetary  authority  shall  authorise  the  appropriations  for  the  subsidy  to  the 
Agency. The budgetary authority shall adopt the establishment plan for the Agency. 

The budget shall be adopted by the Management Board, by a two-thirds majority of 
its members entitled to vote. The Budget of the Agency shall become final following 
final  adoption  of  the  general  budget  of  the  Union.  Where  appropriate,  it  shall  be 
adjusted accordingly. 

The Management Board shall notify the budgetary authority as soon as possible of its 
intention to implement any project which may have significant financial implications 
for the funding of the budget, in particular any projects relating to property such as 
the rental or purchase of buildings. It shall inform the Commission thereof. Where a 
branch of the budgetary authority has notified its intention to deliver an opinion on 
the  project,  it  shall  forward  its  opinion  to the  Management Board  within  six  weeks 
after the date of notification of the project. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

Article 59 

Implementation and control of the budget 

1. 

The Executive Director shall implement the budget of the Agency. 

EN 

44 

   EN 

 
2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

By  1 March  at  the  latest  following  each  financial  year,  the  Agency’s  accounting 
officer shall communicate the provisional accounts to the Commission’s accounting 
officer  together  with  a  report  on  the  budgetary  and  financial  management  for  that 
financial  year.  The  Commission’s  accounting  officer  shall  consolidate 
the 
provisional accounts of the institutions and decentralised bodies in accordance with 
Article  147  of  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No 966/2012  (the  general  Financial 
Regulation). 

By  31 March  at  the  latest  following  each  financial  year,  the  Commission’s 
accounting  officer  shall  forward  the  Agency’s  provisional  accounts  to  the  Court  of 
Auditors, together with a report on the budgetary and financial management for that 
financial  year.  The  report  on  the  budgetary  and  financial  management  for  the 
financial year shall also be forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council. 

The Court of Auditors shall examine these accounts in accordance with Article 287 
of the Treaty. It shall publish a report on the Agency’s activities every year. 

On  receipt  of  the  Court  of  Auditors’  observations  on  the  Agency’s  provisional 
accounts,  under  Article  148  of  the  general  Financial  Regulation,  the  Executive 
Director shall draw up the Agency’s final accounts under his own responsibility and 
submit them to the Management Board for an opinion. 

The Management Board shall deliver an opinion on the Agency’s final accounts. 

The  Executive  Director  shall,  by  1 July  at  the  latest  following  each  financial  year, 
forward the final accounts to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission 
and the Court of Auditors, together with the Management Board’s opinion. 

The final accounts shall be published. 

The Executive Director shall send the Court of Auditors a reply to its observations by 
30 September at the latest following each financial year. He shall also send this reply 
to the Management Board. 

The  Executive  Director  shall  submit  to  the  European  Parliament,  at  the  latter’s 
request,  all  information  necessary  for  the  smooth  application  of  the  discharge 
procedure for the financial year in question, in accordance with Article 165(3) of the 
general Financial Regulation. 

10. 

The  European  Parliament,  on  a  recommendation  from  the  Council  acting  by  a 
qualified  majority,  shall,  before  30 April  of  year  N  + 2  give  a  discharge  to  the 
Executive Director in respect of the implementation of the budget for year N. 

Article 60 

Financial Regulation 

The financial rules applicable to the Agency shall be adopted by the Management Board after 
the Commission has been consulted. They may not depart from Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 
2343/200213  unless  such  a  departure  is  specifically  required  for  the  Agency’s  operation  and 
the Commission has given its prior consent. 

13 

Commission  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  2343/2002  of  23 December  2002  on  the  framework 
Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 
1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities 
(OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72). 

EN 

45 

   EN 

 
                                                 
CHAPTER 11 

STAFF 

Article 61 

General Provisions 

1. 

The Staff Regulations of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of 
Other Servants of the European Union and the rules adopted by agreement between 
the  institutions  of  the  European  Union  for  giving  effect  to  those  Staff  Regulations 
shall apply to the staff of the Agency. 

2. 

In the interest of the service, the Agency shall recruit: 

(a) 

(b) 

staff who are eligible for a contract of indefinite duration, and 

staff who are not eligible for a contract of indefinite duration. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Appropriate  implementing  rules  to  this  paragraph  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance 
with the procedure provided for in Article 110 of the Staff Regulations. 

The Agency shall take appropriate administrative measures to organise its services in 
order to avoid any conflict of interest. 

Article 62 

Executive Director  

The Executive Director shall be engaged as a temporary agent of the agency under 
Article 2(a) of the Conditions of Employment of Other servants. 

The Executive Director shall be appointed by the Management Board, from a list of 
candidates proposed by the Commission, following an open and transparent selection 
procedure.  

For  the  purpose  of  concluding  the  contract  of  the  Executive  Director,  the  Agency 
shall be represented by the Chair of the Management Board.  

Before  appointment,  the  candidate  selected  by  the  Management  Board  may  be 
invited  to  make  a  statement  before  the  competent  committee  of  the  European 
Parliament and to answer questions by its members. 

The term of office of the Executive Director shall be five years. By the end of this 
period, the Commission shall undertake an assessment which takes into account the 
evaluation  of  the  performance  of  the  Executive  Director  and  the  Agency's  future 
tasks and challenges. 

The Management Board, acting on a proposal from the Commission which takes into 
account the assessment referred to in paragraph 3, may extend the term of office of 
the Executive Director once, for no more than five years.  

The Management Board shall inform the European Parliament about its intention to 
extend  the  Executive  Director's  term  of  office.  Within  the  month  before  any  such 
extension,  the  Executive  Director  may  be  invited  to  make  a  statement  before  the 
competent committee of the Parliament and answer questions put by its members. 

EN 

46 

   EN 

 
6. 

7. 

An Executive Director whose term of office has been extended may not participate in 
another selection procedure for the same post at the end of the overall period. 

The Executive Director may be removed from the office only upon a decision of the 
Management Board acting on a proposal from the Commission. 

Article 63 

Seconded national experts and other staff 

The Agency may also make use of Seconded National Experts or other staff not employed by 
the Agency under the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants.  

The  Management  Board  shall  adopt  a  decision  laying  down  rules  on  the  secondment  to  the 
Agency of national experts.  

CHAPTER 12 

GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Article 64 

Privileges and immunities 

The  Protocol  on  the  Privileges  and  Immunities  of  the  European  Union  shall  apply  to  the 
agency and its staff. 

Article 65 

Headquarters agreement and operating conditions 

The  necessary  arrangements  concerning  the  accommodation  to  be  provided  for  the 
Agency  in  the  host  Member  State  and  the  facilities  to  be  made  available  by  that 
Member  State  together  with  the  specific  rules  applicable  in  the  Agency’s  host 
Member  State  to  the  Executive  Director,  members  of  the  Management  Board, 
Agency  staff  and  members  of  their  families  shall  be  laid  down  in  a  headquarters 
agreement  between  the  Agency  and  the  host  Member  State  concluded  once  the 
Management Board’s approval is obtained and no later than 2015. 

The  host  Member  State  shall  provide  the  best  possible  conditions  to  ensure  the 
proper  functioning  of  the  Agency,  including  multilingual,  European-oriented 
schooling and appropriate transport connections. 

Article 66 

Liability 

The contractual liability of the Agency shall be governed by the law applicable to the 
contract in question. 

The Court of Justice of the European Union shall have jurisdiction to give judgment 
pursuant to any arbitration clause contained in a contract concluded by the Agency. 

In  the  event  of  non-contractual  liability,  the  Agency  shall,  in  accordance  with  the 
general  principles  common  to  the  laws  of  the  Member  States,  make  good  any 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

EN 

47 

   EN 

 
4. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

damage caused by its departments or by its staff in the course of performance of their 
duties. 

The  Court  of  Justice  of  the  European  Union  shall  have  jurisdiction  in  disputes 
relating to compensation for damage as referred to in paragraph 3. 

Article 67 

Language arrangements 

The  provisions  laid  down  in  Regulation  No  1  of  15  April  1958  determining  the 
languages  to  be  used  in  the  European  Economic  Community14  shall  apply  to  the 
Agency. 

The translation services required for the functioning of the Agency shall be provided 
by the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union. 

Article 68 

Participation by third countries in the work of the Agency 

Without  prejudice  to  Article  40,  the  Agency  shall  be  open  to  participation  by  third 
countries, in particular by countries within the scope of the European Neighbourhood 
Policy, the Enlargement policy countries and EFTA countries which have concluded 
agreements  with  the  Union  under  which  the  countries  concerned  have  adopted  and 
are  applying  Union  legislation,  or  its  equivalent  national  measures,  in  the  field 
covered by this Regulation. 

In accordance with the relevant provisions of the agreements referred to in paragraph 
1, arrangements between the Agency and the third countries shall be made to set out 
detailed  rules  for  participation  by  these  countries  in  the  work  of  the  Agency,  in 
particular  the  nature  and  extent  of  such  participation.  These  arrangements  shall 
include  provisions  on  financial  contributions  and  staff.  They  may  provide  for 
representation, without the right to vote, on the Management Board. 

The  Agency  shall  sign  the  arrangements  after  having  received  an  agreement  of  the 
Commission and after consulting the Management Board.  

Article 69 

Cooperation with national authorities and bodies 

The  Agency  may  enter  into  agreements  with  relevant  national  authorities,  in 
particular the National Safety Authorities, and other competent bodies, in relation to 
the implementation of Articles 12, 16, 17 and 18.  

The agreements may include contracting of some of the tasks of the Agency to the 
national  authorities,  such  as  checking  and  preparing  files,  verifying  technical 
compatibility, performing visits and drafting technical studies. 

The Agency shall ensure that the agreements include at least specified description of 
tasks  and  conditions  for  deliverables,  the  time-limits  applying  to  their  delivery  and 
the level and schedule of payments. 

14 

OJ 17, 6.10.1958, p. 385 

EN 

48 

   EN 

 
                                                 
4. 

The  agreements  described  in  paragraphs  1,  2  and  3  are  without  prejudice  to  the 
overall  responsibility  of  the  Agency  for  performing  its  tasks  as  provided  for  in 
Articles 12, 16, 17 and 18. 

Article 70 

Transparency 
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council15 shall apply to 
documents held by the Agency. 

The Management Board shall adopt practical measures for the implementation of Regulation 
(EC) No 1049/2001 by […]. 

Decisions taken by the Agency pursuant to Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 may 
form the subject of a complaint to the Ombudsman or of an action before the Court of Justice 
of the European Union, under Articles 228 and 263 of the Treaty respectively. 

The processing of data of a personal nature by Agency shall be subject to the Regulation (EC) 
No 45/2001. 

Article 71 

Security rules for protecting classified information 

The Agency shall apply the security principles contained in the Commission’s security rules 
for  protecting  European  Union  Classified  Information  (EUCI)  and  sensitive  non-classified 
information, as set out in the Annex to Commission Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom 
of  29  November  2001  amending  its  internal  rules  of  procedure.  This  shall  cover,  inter  alia, 
provision for exchanging, processing and storing such information. 

Article 72 

Combating fraud 

In order to facilitate combating fraud, corruption and other unlawful activities under 
Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999, within six months from the day of entry into force of 
this  Regulation,  the  Agency  shall  accede  to  the  Inter-institutional  Agreement  of  25 
May  1999  concerning  internal  investigations  by  the  European  Anti-fraud  Office 
(OLAF) and adopt the appropriate provisions applicable to all the employees of the 
Agency using the template set out in the Annex to that Agreement. 

The  European  Court  of  Auditors  shall  have  the  power  of  audit,  on  the  basis  of 
documents  and  on 
the  spot,  over  all  grant  beneficiaries,  contractors  and 
subcontractors who have received Union funds from the Agency. 

OLAF may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  and  procedures  laid  down  in  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council 16and Council Regulation 
(Euratom,  EC)  No  2185/9617  with  a  view  to  establishing  whether  there  has  been 

OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43. 
OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 1 
OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2 

1. 

2. 

3. 

15 
16 
17 

EN 

49 

   EN 

 
                                                 
4. 

1. 

2. 

fraud,  corruption  or  any  other  illegal  activity  affecting  the  financial  interests  of  the 
Union in connection with a grant or a contract funded by the Agency. 

Without  prejudice  to  paragraphs  1,  2  and  3,  cooperation  agreements  with  third 
countries  and  international  organisations,  contracts,  grant  agreements  and  grant 
decisions of the Agency shall contain provisions expressly empowering the European 
Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such audits and investigations, according to 
their respective competences. 

CHAPTER 13 

FINAL PROVISIONS 

Article 73 

Delegated acts relating to Articles 12, 16, 17 and 18 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts  in  accordance  with 
Article 74 concerning fees and charges in application of Articles 12, 16, 17 and 18.  

The measures referred to in paragraph 1 shall determine in particular the matters for 
which fees and charges pursuant to Articles 12, 16, 17 and 18 are due, the amount of 
the fees and charges and the way in which they are to be paid. 

3. 

Fees and charges shall be levied for: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

 the  issuing  and  renewal  of  authorisations  for  placing  in  service  of  trackside 
control-command and signalling subsystems, authorisations for placing on the 
market for vehicles and for types of vehicles, including possible indication of 
compatibility with the networks or lines; 

the issuing and renewal of safety certificates;  

the  provision  of  services;  they  shall  reflect  the  actual  cost  of  each  individual 
provision; 

(d) 

 the processing of appeals. 

All fees and charges shall be expressed, and payable, in euro. 

4. 

The amount of the fees and charges shall be fixed at such a level as to ensure that the 
revenue in respect thereof is sufficient to cover the full cost of the services delivered. 
All expenditures of the Agency attributed to staff involved in activities referred to in 
paragraph  3,  including  the  employer's  pro-rata  contribution  to  the  pension  scheme, 
shall be in particular reflected in this cost. Should a significant imbalance resulting 
from the provision of the services covered by fees and charges become recurrent, the 
revision of the level of the fees and charges shall become mandatory.  

Article 74 

Exercise of the delegation 

1. 

The  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  is  conferred  on  the  Commission  subject  to  the 
conditions laid down in this Article.  

EN 

50 

   EN 

 
2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

The  delegation  of  power  referred  to  in  Article  73  shall  be  conferred  on  the 
Commission for an indeterminate period of time from the date of entry into force of 
this Regulation. 

The delegation of power referred to in Article 73 may be revoked at any time by the 
European Parliament or by the Council. A decision of revocation shall put an end to 
the  delegation  of  the  power  specified  in  that  decision.  It  shall  take  effect  the  day 
following  the  publication  of  the  decision  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European 
Union  or  at  a  later  date  specified  therein.  It  shall  not  affect  the  validity  of  any 
delegated acts already in force.  

As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to 
the European Parliament and to the Council.  

A  delegated  act  adopted  pursuant  to  Article  73  shall  enter  into  force  only  if  no 
objection  has  been  expressed  either  by  the  European  Parliament  or  the  Council 
within a period of [2 months] of notification of that act to the European Parliament 
and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and 
the  Council  have  both  informed  the  Commission  that  they  will  not  object.  That 
period shall be extended by [2 months] at the initiative of the European Parliament or 
the Council. 

Article 75 

Committee procedure 

The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  the  committee  established  by  Article  21  of  Directive 
96/48/EC. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 
182/2011.  

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  Article,  Article  4  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  182/2011  shall 
apply. 

Article 76 

Evaluation and review  

1. 

2. 

3. 

No later  than five years after the  entry into  force of this Regulation and every five 
years  thereafter,  the  Commission  shall  commission  an  evaluation  to  assess,  in 
particular,  the  impact,  effectiveness  and  efficiency  of  the  Agency  and  its  working 
practices. The evaluation shall address, in particular, any need to amend the mandate 
of the Agency, and the financial implications of any such amendment. 

The Commission shall forward the evaluation report together with its conclusions on 
the report to the European Parliament, the Council and the Management Board. The 
findings of the evaluation shall be made public. 

On the occasion of every second evaluation, there shall also be an assessment of the 
results achieved by the Agency having regard to its objectives, mandate and tasks. 

EN 

51 

   EN 

 
Article 77 

Transitional provisions 

1. 

2. 

The  Agency  replaces  and  succeeds  the  European  Railway  Agency  established  by 
Regulation  (EC)  No  881/2004  as  regards  all  ownership,  agreements,  legal 
obligations, employments contracts, financial commitments and liabilities. 

By  way  of  derogation  from  Article  43,  the  Members  of  the  Administrative  Board 
appointed under Regulation (EC) No 881/2004 before the date of entry into force of 
this Regulation, shall remain in office until the expiry date of their term as Members 
of the Management Board.  

By  way  of  derogation  from  Article  49,  the  Executive  Director  which  has  been 
appointed  in  accordance  with  Regulation  (EC)  No  881/2004  shall  remain  in  office 
until the expiry date of his term. 

3. 

By way of derogation from Article 61, all employment contracts in force on the date 
of entry into force of this Regulation, shall be honoured until their expiry date. 

Regulation (EC) No 881/2004 is repealed. 

Article 78 

Repeal 

Article 79 

Entry into force 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union.  

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

EN 

52 

   EN 

 
ANNEX 

LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

1. 

FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE 

1.1. 

Title of the proposal/initiative 

Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the 
European Union Agency for Railways and repealing Regulation (EC) No 881/2004  
Policy area(s) concerned in the ABM/ABB structure18 

1.2. 

06: Mobility and Transport 

0602: Inland, air and maritime transport policy 

060208: European Railway Agency 

06020801: European Railway Agency — Contribution to Titles 1 and 2 

06020802: European Railway Agency — Contribution to Title 3 

1.3. 

Nature of the proposal/initiative 

(cid:133) The proposal/initiative relates to a new action 

(cid:133)  The  proposal/initiative  relates  to  a  new  action  following  a  pilot  project/preparatory 
action19 

(cid:58) The proposal/initiative relates to the extension of an existing action 

(cid:133) The proposal/initiative relates to an action redirected towards a new action 

1.4. 

Objectives 

1.4.1.  The  Commission’s  multiannual 

strategic  objective(s) 

targeted  by 

the 

proposal/initiative 

Objectives/EU added value in line with Europe 2020: 

The  Agency  contributes  to  interoperable,  safe  and  sustainable  railway  transport  for 
the EU economy and for the EU citizens. This is fully in line with the three priorities 
of Europe 2020: 

–  Smart  growth:  developing  an  economy  based  on  knowledge  and  innovation.  The 
Agency contributes to the development of the highest possible technical standards for 
railway vehicles and infrastructure, thus promoting knowledge and innovation. 

–  Sustainable  growth:  promoting  a  more  resource  efficient,  greener  and  more 
competitive  economy.  The  Agency  contributes  to  making  the  EU  transport  sector 
more  sustainable  and  environmentally-friendly,  limiting  the  overall  level  of 
emissions  and  energy  consumption.  Rail  transport  will  contribute  to  the  ‘20/20/20’ 
climate/energy  targets  and  the  flagship  initiative  ‘Resource  efficient  Europe’.  The 
Agency will play its role in the sector implementation. 

–  Inclusive  growth:  fostering  a  high-employment  economy  delivering  social  and 
territorial cohesion. With regard to peripheral regions and their connection with the 

18 
19 

ABM: Activity-Based Management –—– ABB: Activity-Based Budgeting. 
As referred to in Article 49(6)(a) or (b) of the Financial Regulation. 

EN 

53 

   EN 

 
                                                 
core,  railway  transport  is  an  essential  element  for  ensuring  territorial  cohesion.  It 
provides  affordable  and  sustainable  means  of  transportation  for  large  parts  of 
population, thus contributing to increased social mobility and increased employment 
opportunities,  and  helps  to  close  the  gap  between  poorer  and  richer  regions  and 
countries in the EU. 

1.4.2. 

Specific objective(s) and ABM/ABB activity(ies) concerned 

Budget area: 06 02 

ABM/ABB activity concerned: 060208 European Railway Agency: 

- Budget heading 06 02 08 01 — European Railway Agency — Subsidy under Titles 
I and II (administrative expenditure) 

- Budget heading 06 02 08 02 — European Railway Agency — Subsidy under Title 
III (operational expenditure) 

Specific objectives: 

Specific  objective  1:  Increase  the  efficiency  of  railway  safety  certification  and 
authorisation  procedures  by  issuing  single  safety  certificates,  vehicle  authorisations 
for  placing  on  the  market  and  authorisations  for  placing  in  service  of  trackside 
control-command  and  signalling  subsystems  valid  throughout  the  EU,  and  ensure 
non-discrimination. 

Specific  objective  2:  Increase  the  coherence  of  the  EU  railway  framework  by 
monitoring national railway authorities and reducing the number of national railway 
rules. 

Specific  objective  3:  Improve  implementation  and  application  of  EU  railway 
legislation  through  increased  assistance  to  the  Commission,  Member  States  and 
stakeholders. 

Specific  objective  4:  Assist  the  Commission  with  creating  and  updating  secondary 
railway  interoperability  and  safety  legislation,  including  developing  a  common 
approach to safety. 

Specific  objective  5:  Ensure  coherent  development  of  the  ERTMS  in  the  EU  and 
promote the ERTMS outside the EU. 

Specific  objective  6:  Ensure  proper  certification  of  train  drivers  and  other  related 
tasks, in accordance with Directive 2007/59/EC. 

Specific objective 7: Maintain and update public registers and databases relating to 
railway safety and interoperability. 

EN 

54 

   EN 

 
1.4.3.  Expected result(s) and impact 

Specify the effects which the proposal/initiative should have on the beneficiaries/groups targeted. 

Results linked with the specific objectives: 

Result  of  specific  objective  1:  reduced  costs  for  applicants  and  shorter  duration  of 
issuing  of  safety  certificates,  vehicle  authorisations  for  placing  on  the  market  and 
authorisations  for  placing  in  service  of  trackside  control-command  and  signalling 
subsystems;  identical  conditions  for  all  applicants  in  the  EU;  ensured  non-
discrimination for operators. 

Result  of  specific  objective  2:  harmonisation  of  the  application  of  EU  railway 
legislation and practices of national authorities; increased clarity and transparency of 
legal requirements and operating conditions in the EU by reducing unnecessary rules, 
both limiting possibilities for discriminatory practices against operators. 

Result  of  specific  objective  3:  increased  understanding  of  railway  legislation  by 
stakeholders  and  Member  States  leading  to  smoother  operation  of  the  Single 
European  Railway  Area;  making  the  work  of  different  Commission  services  more 
effective and efficient. 

Result  of  specific  objective  4:  Single  European  Railway  Area  made  more 
interoperable  with  a  high  level  of  safety,  with  benefits  for  railway  undertakings, 
customers and passengers. 

Result  of  specific  objective  5:  the  ERTMS  is  implemented  consistently  in  the  EU 
with  its  equipment  compliant  with  specifications  in  force;  ERTMS  standards 
promoted outside the EU. 

Result of specific objective 6: train drivers are treated in a consistent manner in the 
EU. 

Result of specific objective 7: transparency for railway stakeholders, Member States 
and general public in relation to important railway interoperability and safety data. 

1.4.4. 

Indicators of results and impact 

Specify the indicators for monitoring implementation of the proposal/initiative. 

Indicators of specific objective 1: 

- number of safety certificates issued; 

- number of vehicle authorisations for placing on the market issued; 

- number of authorisations for placing in service of trackside control-command and 
signalling subsystems issued. 

Indicators of specific objective 2: 

- number of audit reports of national authorities issued; 

- number of national rules withdrawn; 

- number of national rules declared cross-accepted; 

- other outcomes relating to control and monitoring. 

Indicators of specific objective 3: 

- number of reports evaluating implementation of railway legislation; 

- number of railway projects evaluated; 

EN 

55 

   EN 

 
- number of information and training events (workshops, conferences) organised; 

- number of interpretative documents issued; 

- number of assistance visits performed 

- other outcomes relating to increased assistance. 

Indicators of specific objective 4: 

-  number  of  recommendations  for  new  Technical  Specifications  of  Interoperability 
(TSIs) sent to the Commission; 

-  number  of  recommendations  for  revision  of  Technical  Specifications  of 
Interoperability (TSIs) sent to the Commission; 

- number of recommendations for new Common Safety Methods (CSMs) sent to the 
Commission; 

- number of recommendations for revision of Common Safety Methods (CSMs) sent 
to the Commission; 

-  number  of  opinions  provided  to  the  Commission,  Member  States  and  other 
stakeholders; 

- number of impact assessments and cost-benefit analyses issued; 

- other outcomes relating to increasing interoperability and safety. 

Indicators of specific objective 5: 

- number of recommendations relating to changes and new versions of the ERTMS 
issued; 

-  number  of  reports  provided  to  the  Commission  evaluating  the  implementation  of 
the conformity assessment and the EC verification procedure of ERTMS equipment; 

-  number  of  recommendations  relating  to  technical  incompatibilities  of  ERTMS 
projects sent to the Commission 

-  other  outcomes  relating  to  ensuring  coherent  development  and  deployment  of  the 
ERTMS. 

Indicators of specific objective 6: 

- number of train drivers certified in accordance with the Directive on train drivers; 

- other outcomes relating to harmonisation of train drivers conditions. 

Indicators of specific objective 7: 

- number of public databases and registers established and managed; 

- other outcomes relating to transparency of railway-related data. 

1.5. 

Grounds for the proposal/initiative 

1.5.1.  Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term 

Allow  ERA  to  engage  in  new  activities  and  continue  to  sufficiently  cover  existing 
tasks  which  are  necessary  to  achieve  fully  interoperable  and  safe  internal  railway 
market (Single European Railway Area). 

EN 

56 

   EN 

 
1.5.2.  Added value of EU involvement 

Current  EU  involvement  (tasks  of  the  European  Railway  Agency)  is  laid  down  in 
ERA  Founding  Regulation  881/2004.  Moreover,  Directive  2004/49/EC,  Directive 
2008/57/EC and Directive 2007/59/EC have directly and indirectly given other tasks 
to the Agency. In a similar manner, numerous secondary legislation adopted by the 
Commission under the above-mentioned directives, in particular the TSIs, CSMs and 
CSTs, have had an impact of the activities and work of ERA. The current Regulation 
aims to combine all existing tasks of the Agency in one legal act, and extend the role 
of ERA to areas where is it justified. 

In  line  with  the  Transport  White  Paper  of  2011  (Roadmap  to  a  Single  European 
Transport  Area  —  Towards  a  competitive  and  resource  efficient  transport  system) 
and  the  results  of  the  impact  assessment  accompanying  current  initiative,  this 
proposal will provide further EU added value by eliminating existing technical and 
administrative barriers in the railway sector, notably by: 

-  making  railway  vehicle  authorisation  and  safety  certification  of  railway 
undertakings  more  efficient  (cheaper  and  faster)  and  impartial,  by  moving  them  to 
the EU level; 

-  increasing  the  coherence  and  application  of  EU  railway  acquis  by  allowing  the 
Agency  to  monitor  the  functioning  of  national  authorities  active  in  railway 
interoperability and safety fields; 

-  facilitating  faster  progress  towards  truly  common  EU  railway  standards  by 
increasing ERA’s action in reducing national railway rules; 

- improving spending of EU funds for the railways (TEN, Cohesion Fund, Structural 
Funds, research programmes, etc.). 

EU involvement through ERA allows for high added value thanks to: 

-  the  use  of  a  dedicated  structure  and  qualified  staff,  some  of  whom  are  already 
available; 

-  positive  experience  with  tried  and  tested  methods  (for  example,  using  the 
established and operational network of national safety authorities); 

- its objectivity and impartiality, highly appreciated by stakeholders. 

1.5.3.  Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past 

Evaluation of the ERA Regulation and functioning of the Agency (2009-2010) and 
the  general  evaluation  of  the  EU  Agencies  in  2009  both  showed  the  added  value 
provided by the Agency. 

This initiative seeks to apply (by revising the ERA Regulation) the recommendations 
from the ERA evaluation exercise, of the Court of Auditors, Internal Audit Service 
and the Joint Statement of the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council 
on decentralised agencies, particularly  with regard to internal structure,  governance 
and functioning. 

EN 

57 

   EN 

 
1.5.4.  Coherence and possible synergy with other relevant instruments 

The proposal is in line with the Transport White Paper of 2011, in particular with its 
initiatives 1 and 19: 

- "Achieve a single vehicle type authorisation and a single railway undertaking safety 
certification by reinforcing the role of the European Railway Agency (ERA)"; 

- "Enhance the role of ERA in the field of rail safety, in particular its supervision on 
national safety measures taken by National Safety Authorities and their progressive 
harmonisation". 

The proposal is consistent with the EU railway interoperability and safety policy and 
legislation, in particular Directives 2004/49 (Railway Safety Directive) and 2008/57 
(Railway  Interoperability  Directive)  which  will  also  be  amended  as  part  of  this 
initiative.  All  three  revised  acts  are  interlinked  and  aim  at  removing  remaining 
administrative  and  technical  barriers,  in  particular  by  establishing  a  common 
approach  to  safety  and  interoperability  rules  to  increase  economies  of  scale  for 
railway  undertakings  active  across  the  EU,  decreasing  administrative  costs  and 
accelerating  administrative  procedures,  as  well  as 
to  avoiding  disguised 
discrimination. 

Moreover,  this  initiative  is  a  part  of  a  broader  Fourth  Railway  Package  which  will 
aim  —  besides  the  objective  described  above  —  to  open  up  the  domestic  rail 
passenger  market  and  optimise  the  governance  of  infrastructure  management; 
synergies are expected especially with regard to reducing discrimination in relation 
to access to infrastructure, thus lowering the access barriers for new entrants. 

There is also an important synergy between the revised tasks of ERA and the TEN-T 
Executive  Agency  in  relation  to  the  evaluation  of  railway  projects,  in  relation  to 
increased value for money and efficiency of projects funded from the EU funds. 

Besides,  this  initiative  is  consistent  with  and  implements  recommendations  of  the 
Court of Auditors, Internal Audit Service and the Joint Statement of the Commission, 
the European Parliament and the Council on decentralised agencies, as well as with 
the evaluation of ERA. 

Finally, this initiative seeks to include in the ERA Regulation a number of tasks and 
activities  that  were  assigned  to  the  Agency  by  other  acts,  particularly  Directive 
2007/59/EC, Commission Decisions on Technical Specifications on Interoperability 
(TSIs) and Common Safety Methods (CSMs). 

EN 

58 

   EN 

 
1.6. 

Duration and financial impact 

⌧ Proposal/initiative of unlimited duration 

–  Implementation with a start-up period from 2015 to 2020, 

–  followed by full-scale operation. 
1.7.  Management mode(s) envisaged20 

(cid:133) Centralised direct management by the Commission 

⌧ Centralised indirect management with the delegation of implementation tasks 
to: 

–  (cid:133)  executive agencies 
–  ⌧ bodies set up by the Communities21 

–  (cid:133)  national public-sector bodies/bodies with public-service mission 

–  (cid:133)  persons entrusted with the implementation of specific actions pursuant to Title 
V of the Treaty on European Union and identified in the relevant basic act within 
the meaning of Article 49 of the Financial Regulation 

(cid:133) Shared management with the Member States 

(cid:133) Decentralised management with third countries 

(cid:133) Joint management with international organisations (to be specified) 

20 

21 

Details  of  management  modes  and  references  to  the  Financial  Regulation  may  be  found  on  the 
BudgWeb site: http://www.cc.cec/budg/man/budgmanag/budgmanag_en.html. 
As referred to in Article 185 of the Financial Regulation. 

EN 

59 

   EN 

 
                                                 
2. 

MANAGEMENT MEASURES 

2.1.  Monitoring and reporting rules 

Specify frequency and conditions. 

All  EU  agencies  work  under  a  strict  monitoring  system  involving  internal  audit 
capability, the Internal Audit Service of the Commission, the Administrative Board, 
the Commission, the Court of Auditors and the Budgetary Authority. This system as 
laid down in the ERA founding Regulation will continue to apply. 

2.2.  Management and control system 

2.2.1.  Risk(s) identified 

None 

2.2.2.  Control method(s) envisaged 

Not applicable 

2.3.  Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities 

Specify existing or envisaged prevention and protection measures. 

Anti-fraud measures are included in the ERA founding Regulation under Article 41 
and will continue to apply. 

EN 

60 

   EN 

 
3. 

3.1. 

ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE 

Heading(s)  of  the  multiannual  financial  framework  and  expenditure  budget 
line(s) affected 

•  Existing expenditure budget lines 

In order of multiannual financial framework headings and budget lines. 

Heading of 
multiannual 
financial 
framework 

Number  
[Description] 

Budget line 

Type of  
expenditure

Contribution  

Diff./non-
diff. 
(1) 

from 
EFTA2 
countries 

from 
candidate 
countries3 

from third 
countries 

within the 
meaning of Article 
18(1)(aa) of the 
Financial 
Regulation  

1.1 

06.02.08 [ERA budget line] 

Non-
diff. 

YES 

NO 

NO 

NO 

1 
2 
3 

Diff. = Differentiated appropriations / Non-diff. = Non-Differentiated Appropriations. 
EFTA: European Free Trade Association. . 
Candidate countries and, where applicable, potential candidate countries from the Western Balkans. 

EN 

61 

   EN 

 
                                                 
3.2. 

Estimated impact on expenditure 

Before going into the details of the estimated impact of the present proposal, it is important to highlight that this estimated impact is 
provisional  at  this  stage  as  it  is  subject  to  the  adoption  of  the  new  Multiannual  Financial  Framework  2014-2020  by  the  Budgetary 
Authority. 

3.2.1. 

Summary of estimated impact on expenditure 

EUR million (current prices, to 3 decimal places) 

Heading of multiannual financial framework:  

1 

Smart and Inclusive Growth 

DG: MOVE 

2015 

2016 

2017 

2018 

2019 

2020 

TOTAL 2015-
2020 

(cid:121) Administrative appropriations  

Number of budget line 06.02.08 

[ERA budget line] 

Basis: 

- Starting point - DB 2013 at € 25M, 

- 2% taxation applied to staff in 2014-2017, 

-  1%  increase of  yearly  budget  due  to  annual 
adjustment. 

From  2017  onwards  external  revenues  from 
fees and charges kick in so no call on the EU 
budget in relation to new staff. 

Commitments 

(1) 

25.613 
(includin
g 0.113 
for new 
tasks) 

26 

26 

26.25 

26.5 

26.75 

157.113

 (incl. 
0.3 for 
new 
tasks) 

(0 for new 
tasks) 

(0 for 
new 
tasks) 

(0 for 
new 
tasks) 

(0 for 
new 
tasks) 

(out of which 
0.413 to cover 
new tasks in 
2015-2016) 

Payments 

(2) 

25.613 

26 

26 

26.25 

26.5 

26.75 

157.113 

TOTAL appropriations 
for DG MOVE 

Commitments 

(5)=1+
3 

25.613 

26 

26 

26.25 

26.5 

26.75 

157.113

(out of which 
0.413 to cover 
new tasks in 
2015-2016) 

EN 

62 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Payments 

(6)=2+
4 

25.613 

26 

26 

26.25 

26.5 

26.75 

TOTAL appropriations  
under HEADING 1 
of the multiannual financial framework 

Commitments 

=5 

25.613 

26 

26 

26.25 

26.5 

26.75 

Payments 

=6 

25.613 

26 

26 

26.25 

26.5 

26.75 

157.113 
157.113

(out of which 
0.413 to cover 
new tasks in 
2015-2016) 

157.113 

EN 

63 

EN 

 
  
Heading of multiannual financial 
framework:  

5 

’ Administrative expenditure ‘  

2015 

2016 

2017 

2018 

2019 

2020 

TOTAL 2015-2020 

EUR million (current prices, to 3 decimal places) 

DG: MOVE 

(cid:121) Human resources 
Basis: current level of budget for staff at DG MOVE dealing with ERA-
related  issues  (0.655  €M  –  5  staf f)  applied  each  year  +  1%  annual 
adjustment  
(cid:121) Other administrative expenditure  

0.655 

0.66 

0.665 

0.67 

0.675 

0.68 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

TOTAL DG MOVE 

Appropriations  

0.655  0.66 

0.665 

0.67 

0.675 

0.68 

TOTAL appropriations 
under HEADING 5 
of the multiannual financial framework  

(Total 
= Total payments) 

commitments 

0.655 

0.66 

0.665 

0.67 

0.675 

0.68 

4.005 

0 

4.005 

4.005 

TOTAL appropriations  
under HEADINGS 1 to 5 
of the multiannual financial framework  

Commitments 

Payments 

2015 

2016 

2017 

2018 

2019 

2020 

26.268 

26.66 

26.665 

26.92 

27.175 

27.43 

26.268 

26.66 

26.665 

26.92 

27.175 

27.43 

TOTAL 

161.118 

161.118 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

3.2.2.  Proposed draft establishment plan for ERA 2015-2020 

ALL NEW STAFF IS FINANCED WITH EXTERNAL FEES AND CHARGES FROM 2017: 

EN 

64 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Proposed staffing for ERA 
2015-2020 [Basis: 143 
establishment plan staff in 
2013 and 2 % taxation by 2017 
(-2-3 person per year)] 
AD Grades 
New AD Grades 
Total AD 
AST Grades 
New AST Grades 
Total AST 
Subtotal Establishment Plan Posts 
SNEs 
New SNEs 
Total SNEs 
Contract Agents 
New Contract agents 
Total Contract agents 
Cumulative new posts 
Impact on EPP 
GENERAL TOTAL 

2015
101
0
101
37
0
37
138
6
2
8
15
1
16
5
0
162

2016
100
0
100
36
0
36
136
6
5
11
15
3
18
10
0
165

2017
99
12
111
34
4
38
149
6
12
18
15
7
22
35
16
189

2018 
99 
14 
113 
34 
4 
38 
151 
6 
13 
19 
15 
9 
24 
40 
18 
194 

2019
99
14
113
34
4
38
151
6
13
19
15
10
25
41
18
195

2020
99
14
113
34
4
38
151
6
13
19
15
12
27
43
18
197

EN 

65 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
3.2.3.  Estimated impact on administrative and operational appropriations 

–  (cid:133)  The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational appropriations 

–  ⌧ The proposal/initiative requires the use of operational and administrative appropriations, as explained below: 

–  Please note that the outputs given below relate to the total budget of ERA (Titles 1+2+3). 

–  Please note that the cost of the outputs in Specific Objective no 1 will constitute an income for ERA: the Agency will charge external 
applicants for issuing these documents. Therefore, they are marked in brackets and are not added to the total sum of costs of all the 
outputs. 

Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

2015 

2016 

2017 

2018 

2019 

2020 

TOTAL 

Indicate 
objectives 
and 
outputs 

Type of 
output1 

(cid:216) 

Averag
e cost  
of the 
output 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cos
t 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cos
t 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

Total 
numbe
r of 
output
s 

Total  
cost 

1 

Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g.: number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.). 

EN 

66 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 12: 
Increase the efficiency of railway safety 
certification and authorisation 
procedures by issuing single safety 
certificates, vehicle authorisations for 
placing on the market and 
authorisations for placing in service of 
trackside control-command and 
signalling subsystems valid throughout 
the EU, and ensure non-discrimination. 

Single 
Safety 
Certificates 

Number of 
safety 
certificates 
issued 

Vehicle 
authorisatio
ns for 
placing on 
the market 

Number of 
vehicle 
authorisatio
ns for 
placing on 
the market 
issued 

0 

0 

(0.01) - 
will be 
covered by 
fees and 
charges  

(0.017) - 
will be 
covered by 
fees and 
charges 

0 

0 

110 

(1.1) 

110 

(1.1) 

110 

(1.1) 

110 

(1.1) 

440 

(4.4) 

will be 
covered by 
fees and 
charges  

456 

(7.752) 

452 

(7.684) 

449 

(7.632) 

447 

(7.598) 

1804 

(30.67) 

will be 
covered by 
fees and 
charges  

2 

As described in Section 1.4.2. "‘"Specific objective(s)…’. 

EN 

67 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
(0.05) 

0 

0 

30 

(1.5) 

32 

(1.6) 

35 

(1.75) 

40 

(2) 

137 

(6.85) 

will be 
covered by 
fees and 
charges 

will be 
covered by 
fees and 
charges  

System 
Authority 
for the 
ERTMS  

Number of 
authorisatio
ns for 
placing in 
service of 
trackside 
control-
command 
and 
signalling 
sub-
systems 
issued 

Sub-total for specific objective No 1 

(10.352)

(10.384)

(10.482)

(10.698)

(41.92) 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 2: Increase 
the coherence of the EU railway 
framework by monitoring national 
railway authorities and reducing the 
number of national railway rules 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cos
t 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cos
t 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Number of audit 
reports issued 

0.2 

2 

0.4 

3 

0.6 

5 

1 

5 

1000 

1.5 

1500 

2.25

1500 

2.25 

2000 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

Total 
numbe
r of 
output
s 

Total  
cost 

5 

1 

5 

1 

25 

5 

1500 

2.25 

1500 

2.25 

9000 

13.5 

Cost 

1 

3 

1000 

1.0 

1000 

1.0 

1000 

1.0 

1000 

1.0 

1000 

1.0 

1000 

1.0 

8000 

6.0 

100 

0.1 

100 

0.1 

125 

0.125 

125 

0.125 

150 

0.15 

150 

0.15 

750 

0.75 

Monitoring 
national 
authorities 

Reduction 
of 
diverging 
national 
rules and 
increasing 
cross-
acceptance 

Other 

Number of national 
rules withdrawn 

Number of national 
rules declared 
cross-accepted 

Other outcomes 
relating to control 
and monitoring 

0.0
01
5 

0.0
01 

0.0
01 

Sub-total for specific objective No 2 

25.25 

EN 

68 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 3: Improve 
implementation and application of EU 
railway legislation by increased 
assistance to the Commission, Member 
States and stakeholders, and other tasks 

Assistance 
to the 
Commissi
on  

Number of reports 
evaluating 
implementation of 
railway legislation  

Assistance 
to 
Member 
States and 
other 
stakeholde
rs 

Number of railway 
projects evaluated 

Number of 
information and 
training events 
(workshops, 
conferences) 
organised 

Number of 
interpretative 
documents issued 

Number of 
assistance visits 
performed 

0.1 

3 

0.3 

5 

0.5 

7 

0.7 

10 

1 

14 

0.0
5 

0.1 

5 

5 

0.25

0.5 

7 

7 

0.35

10 

0.5 

15 

0.75 

20 

0.7 

10 

1 

12 

1.2 

14 

1.4 

16 

1.6 

64 

6.4 

1 

1 

18 

1 

57 

5.7 

25 

1.25 

82 

4.1 

0.1 

2 

0.2 

2 

0.2 

0.1 

2 

0.2 

4 

0.4 

4 

8 

0.4 

8 

0.8 

10 

0.8 

10 

1 

10 

1 

1 

10 

1 

36 

3.6 

12 

1.2 

46 

4.6 

Other 
tasks  

Other outcomes 
relating to increased 
assistance 

0.0
01 

Sub-total for specific objective No 3 

100 

0.1 

100 

0.1 

100 

0.1 

100 

0.1 

100 

0.1 

100 

0.1 

600 

0.6 

25 

EN 

69 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 4: Assist 
the Commission in creating and 
updating secondary railway 
interoperability and safety legislation, 
including developing a common 
approach to safety 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cos
t 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cos
t 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

Total 
numbe
r of 
output
s 

Total  
cost 

Increasing 
interoperab
ility 

Increasing 
level of 
safety 

Facilitating 
operation 
of Single 
European 
Railway 
Area 

Other 

Number of new 
TSIs sent to the 
Commission 

Number of revised 
TSIs sent to the 
Commission 

Number of new 
CSMs sent to the 
Commission 

Number of revised 
CSMs sent to the 
Commission 

Number of 
opinions provided 
to the Commission, 
MS and 
stakeholders 

Number of impact 
assessments and 
cost-benefit 
analyses issued 

Other outcomes 
relating to 
increasing 
interoperability and 
safety 

1 

0 

0 

0.6 

4 

2.4 

1 

0 

0 

0.6 

4 

2.4 

0 

4 

0 

4 

0 

2.4 

0 

2.4 

1 

4 

1 

4 

1 

2.4 

1 

2.4 

0.2 

6 

1.2 

6 

1.2 

8 

1.6 

1 

4 

1 

4 

8 

1 

2.4 

1 

2.4 

1.6 

1 

4 

1 

4 

8 

1 

2.4 

1 

2.4 

1.6 

1 

4 

1 

4 

8 

1 

4 

4 

2.4 

24 

14.4 

1 

4 

4 

2.4 

24 

14.4 

1.6 

44 

8.8 

0.0
6 

0.0
06 

20 

1.2 

20 

12 

25 

1.5 

27 

1.62 

29 

1.74 

30 

1.8 

151 

9.06 

50 

0.3 

80 

0.48

80 

0.48 

80 

0.48 

80 

0.48 

80 

0.48 

450 

2.7 

Sub-total for specific objective No 4 

57.36 

EN 

70 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 5: Ensure a 
coherent development of the ERTMS in 
the EU and promote the ERTMS 
outside the EU 

Number of 
recommendations 
for changes and new 
versions of the 
ERTMS issued  

System 
Authority 
for the 
ERTMS  

Verificati
on of 
implement
ation of 
the 
ERTMS 

Other 
tasks 

Number of reports 
evaluating the 
implementation of 
the conformity 
assessment and the 
EC verification 
procedure of 
ERTMS equipment 
issued 

Number of 
recommendations 
relating to technical 
incompatibilities of 
ERTMS projects 
issued 

Other outcomes 
relating to ensuring 
coherent 
development and 
deployment of the 
ERTMS 

0.7 

2 

1.4 

2 

1.4 

4 

2.8 

5 

3.5 

6 

4.2 

8 

5.6 

27 

18.9 

0.0
4 

8 

0.32

12 

0.48

20 

0.8 

25 

1 

30 

1.2 

30 

1.2 

125 

5 

0.1 

3 

0.3 

3 

0.3 

5 

0.5 

8 

0.8 

10 

1 

12 

1.2 

41 

4.1 

100 

0.1 

100 

0.1 

100 

0.1 

100 

0.1 

100 

0.1 

100 

0.1 

600 

0.6 

0.0
01 

Sub-total for specific objective No 5 

28.6 

EN 

71 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 6: Ensure 
proper certification of train drivers and 
other related tasks, in accordance with 
Directive 2007/59/EC 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cos
t 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cos
t 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

r
e
b
m
u
N

s
t
u
p
t
u
o

f
o

Cost 

Total 
numbe
r of 
output
s 

Total  
cost 

0.6 

2 

1.2 

2 

1.2 

2 

1.2 

2 

1.2 

2 

1.2 

2 

1.2 

12 

7.2 

Number of 
measures 
harmonising the 
train drivers 
conditions issued 
in accordance with 
the Directive on 
train drivers 

Harmonisat
ion of 
criteria for 
train 
drivers 

Other outcomes 

0.0
01 

10 

0.01

10 

0.01

10 

0.01 

10 

0.01 

10 

0.01 

10 

0.01 

60 

0.6 

Sub-total for specific objective No 6 

7.8 

EN 

72 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 7: 
Maintain and update public registers 
and databases relating to railway safety 
and interoperability 

0.1 

15 

1.5 

17 

1.7 

20 

2 

20 

2 

25 

2.5 

25 

2.5 

122 

12.2 

Number of public 
databases and 
registers established 
and managed 

Other outcomes 

0.0
01 

Transpare
ncy for 
stakeholde
rs and the 
public 
regarding 
railway 
interopera
bility and 
safety 
data 

Sub-total for specific objective No 7 

TOTAL COST 

10 

0.01

10 

0.01

15 

0.015 

15 

0.015 

15 

0.015 

15 

0.015 

80 

0.8 

13 

157.01 

EN 

73 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.2.4.  Estimated impact on appropriations of an administrative nature 

3.2.4.1.  Summary 

–  (cid:133)  The  proposal/initiative  does  not 

require 

the  use  of  administrative 

appropriations 

–  ⌧ The  proposal/initiative  requires  the  use  of  administrative  appropriations,  as 

explained below: 

Basis  for  calculations:  current  staff  at  DG  MOVE  dealing  with  ERA-related  issues 
(5 persons,  0.131€  M  per  person/year  and  1%  annual  adjustment)  applied  to  each 
year; no increase due to enhanced powers of ERA 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

2015 

2016 

2017 

2018 

2019 

2020 

TOTAL 
2015-
2020 

Officials (AD 
Grades) 

Officials (AST 
grades) 

Contractual agent 

Temporary agents  

Seconded National 
Experts 

0.655 

0.66 

0.665 

0.67 

0.675 

0.68 

4.005

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0

0

0

TOTAL 

0.655 

0.66 

0.665 

0.67 

0.675 

0.68 

4.005

EN 

74 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.2.4.2.   Estimated requirements of human resources 

–  (cid:133)  The proposal/initiative does not require the use of human resources 

–  ⌧ The  proposal/initiative  requires  the  use  of  human  resources,  as  explained 

below: 

Basis  for  calculations:  current  staff  at  DG  MOVE  dealing  with  ERA-related  issues 
(5 persons,  0.131€  M  per  person/year)  appl ied  to  each  year;  no  increase  due  to 
enhanced powers of ERA 

Estimate to be expressed in full amounts (or at most to one decimal place) 

2015 

2016 

2017 

2018 

2019 

2020 

(cid:121) Establishment plan posts (officials and temporary agents) 

XX 01 01 01 (Headquarters and Commission’s 
Representation Offices) 

XX 01 01 02 (Delegations) 

XX 01 05 01 (Indirect research) 

10 01 05 01 (Direct research) 

5 

0 

0 

0 

(cid:121) External personnel (in Full Time Equivalent unit: FTE)1 

XX 01 02 01 (CA, INT, SNE from the ‘global 
envelope’) 

XX 01 02 02 (CA, INT, JED, LA and SNE in 
the delegations) 

XX 01 04 yy 2 

- at Headquarters3 

- in delegations  

0 

0 

XX 01 05 02 (CA, INT, SNE — Indirect 
research) 

10 01 05 02 (CA, INT, SNE — Direct research) 

Other budget lines (specify) 

TOTAL 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

5 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

5 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

5 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

5 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

5 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

XX is the policy area or budget title concerned. 

The human resources required will be met by staff from the DG who are already assigned to 
management of the action and/or have been redeployed within the DG, together if necessary 
with any additional allocation which may be granted to the managing DG under the annual 
allocation procedure and in the light of budgetary constraints. 

1 

2 
3 

CA= Contract Agent; INT= agency staff ("(‘("Intérimaire");’);"); JED= "‘"Jeune Expert en Délégation’ 
(Young Experts in Delegations); LA= Local Agent; SNE= Seconded National Expert; . 
Under the ceiling for external personnel from operational appropriations (former "‘"BA’ lines). 
Essentially  for  Structural  Funds,  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  (EAFRD)  and 
European Fisheries Fund (EFF). 

EN 

75 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
Description of tasks to be carried out: 

Officials and temporary agents 

Existing staff of DG MOVE deals with ERA-related issues, including: 

-  managing  implementing  measures  adopted  in  result  of  Agency's  recommendations 
(Commission  Decisions  and  Regulations)  in  the  field  of  railway  safety  and 
interoperability; 

- administrative coordination and control over ERA: work programmes, multi-annual 
staff policy plans, meetings of Management Board and its sub-committee; 

-  policy  coordination:  participation  in  working  parties  of  ERA,  content  of  work 
programme, mandates from Commission to ERA, working-level meetings; 

- managing ERA's opinions;  

-  financial  and  accounting  responsibilities  regarding  ERA  at  the  side  of  the 
Commission (budget, discharge etc.).  

External personnel 

3.2.5.  Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework 

–  (cid:133)  Proposal/initiative is compatible the current multiannual financial framework. 

–  ⌧ Proposal/initiative  will  entail  reprogramming  of  the  relevant  heading  in  the 

multiannual financial framework. 

Explain what reprogramming is required, specifying the budget lines concerned and the corresponding 
amounts. 

The ERA budget line (06.02.08) will have to be adjusted to the amount specified in 
this financial statement (total of €

 157.113 M for the period 2015-2020). 

For  the  time  being,  only  indicative  amounts  for  the  agencies  are  included  in  the 
financial  framework.  The  indicative  amount  for  ERA  was  estimated  before  the 
results  of  the  impact  assessment  and  other  calculations  linked  with  this  initiative 
were known. 

For  the  period  2015-2020  the  status  of  ERA  will  change  from  ‘cruising  speed 
agency’ to ‘new tasks agency’. 

–  (cid:133)  Proposal/initiative requires application of the flexibility instrument or revision 

of the multiannual financial framework4. 

Explain what is required, specifying the headings and budget lines concerned and the corresponding 
amounts. 

3.2.6.  Third-party contributions 

–  The proposal/initiative provides for the co-financing estimated below: 

Appropriations in EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

2015 

2016 

2017 

2018 

2019 

2020 

Total 

4 

See points 19 and 24 of the Inter-institutional Agreement. 

EN 

76 

   EN 

 
 
 
                                                 
EFTA  Contribution 
Norway 
calculated  at  2 %  of 
budget 

and 

from 
Iceland 
the 

0.5 

0.5 

0.5 

0.5 

0.5 

0.5 

TOTAL appropriations co-
financed  

0.5 

0.5 

0.5 

0.5 

0.5 

0.5 

3.3. 

Estimated impact on revenue 

–  (cid:133) Proposal/initiative has no financial impact on revenue. 

–  ⌧ Proposal/initiative has the following financial impact: 

–  ⌧ on own resources 

–  (cid:133) on miscellaneous revenue 

3 

3 

Appropriation
s available for 
the ongoing 
budget year 

Budget revenue line: 

budget 

ERA 
06.02.08 

line 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

Impact of the proposal/initiative5 

2015 

2016 

2017 

2018 

2019 

2020 

10.352 

10.384 

10.482 

10.698 

Specify the method for calculating the impact on revenue. 

Some of the new tasks envisaged for ERA (safety certificates, vehicle authorisations 
for  placing  on  the  market  and  authorisations  for  placing  in  service  of  trackside 
control-command  and  signalling  sub-systems)  will  allow  for  charging  the  external 
applicants for issuing them. 

According  to  the  impact  assessment,  these  new  tasks  will  start  in  2017  and  the 
revenue for ERA was calculated in the following way: 

- cost of issuing a safety certificate: €0.01m 

- cost of issuing a vehicle authorisation: €0.017m 

-  cost  of  issuing  an  authorisations  for  placing  in  service  of  trackside  control-

command and signalling sub-system: €0.05m  

- respective numbers of all types of decisions issued each year are provided in 

table 3.2.3. 

Summary of method of calculation: 

The fees set out in the impact assessment report have been calculated by taking the 
average of the current fees paid by operators wishing to obtain a safety certificate or 
gain  vehicle  authorisation  in  the  EU;  a  similar  approach  was  used  in  case  of 
authorisations  for  placing  in  service  of  trackside  control-command  and  signalling 
sub-system.  There  was  a  large  variation  in  the  fees  paid,  and  also  a  substantial 
difference between the fees paid in EU15 Member States (about €20,000 for safety 
certificates and €28,000 for authorisations) and  the fees paid in EU12 Member States 

5 

As regards traditional own resources (customs duties, sugar levies), the amounts indicated must be net 
amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 25 % for collection costs. 

EN 

77 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
(about €3,000 for safety certificates and €17,0 00 for authorisations). In determining 
the  future  value  of  these  fees  it  was  assumed  that,  given:  the  cost  of  staff  in  the 
Agency,  the  more  streamlined  processes  of  dealing  with  the  applications,  a  value 
close  to  the  mid-point  of  the  low  average  and  the  high  average  would  be  the  most 
appropriate going forward.  

It is important to note that the calculations set out for the fees are average across all 
types  of  safety  certificates  and  vehicle  authorisations;  4  types  of  safety  certificates 
and  20  types  of  vehicle  authorisations  were  identified  in  the  IA  support  study. 
Although the “centralisation” process with ERA will lead to the number of types of 
certificates  and  authorisations  falling,  there  will  still  be  multiple  categories.  For 
example, there will still be a different process for the authorisation of a locomotive 
and a wagon. As such the fees will need to be differentiated for these two categories. 
In particular, the fees for wagon authorisation will be lower than the average and the 
fees for locomotives and multiple units will be higher. 

The  number  (price  per  authorisation/certificate)  that  was  calculated  in  the  impact 
assessment report is meant to be an average, it would be up to the Agency to define 
the exact fees for the different categories with the aim of ensuring that the average of 
the  fees  collected  was  equal,  or  greater  than  this  average.  However,  the  aim  of  the 
calculation  is  to  provide  a  realistic  but  conservative  estimation  of  revenues  for  the 
Agency,  and  it  is  not  excluded  that  the  fees  to  be  charged  can  actually  lead  to  a 
higher average value, if necessary and justified. 

In  terms  of  the  number  of  authorisations  and  certificates,  these  were  calculated 
starting from the current level of authorisations and certifications. For future years, in 
relation to safety certificates, it was assumed that the number of new entrants into the 
market would lead to an increase in the number of safety certificates issued over time 
while  the  fact  that  there  may  be  a  change  in  the  types  of  safety  certificates  could 
decrease that number. Therefore, as a conservative estimate it was assumed that there 
is no change in the total annual number of safety certificates.  

For vehicle authorisations the approach was slightly different: the model starts from 
existing  authorisation  levels  as  provided  by  stakeholders  and  various  studies. 
However,  while  there  are  likely  to  be  more  new  entrants  and  therefore  in  absolute 
terms more vehicles to authorise, new entrants are more likely to stick with proven 
technology  and  as  such  with  the  rolling  stock  that  has  already  been  certified. 
Furthermore, as the industry standardises, in future there are likely to be fewer types 
of vehicles to authorise, leading to a slight fall in the number of authorisations. Once 
again, the model divided the assessment into EU15 and EU12 Member States.  

DG MOVE considers that the calculations are robust and properly based on existing 
and  verifiable  data  obtained  from  stakeholders  and  the  European  Railway  Agency. 
More  information  on  methodology  is  provided  in  the  impact  assessment  report 
accompanying this proposal, in particular its Annex VII. 

EN 

78 

   EN