Evaluation of the EU Agency for Railways (ERA) and its assignments under the Fourth Railway Package
Date: 2021-03-01
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: common transport policy



IMMC.Ares%282021%291555088.ENG.xhtml.PART-2021-119523V1.docx











EVALUATION ROADMAP  






Roadmaps aim to inform citizens and stakeholders about the Commission's work to allow them to provide feedback and to participate effectively in future consultation activities. Citizens and stakeholders are in particular invited to provide views on the Commission's understanding of the problem and possible solutions and to share any relevant information that they may have.






Title of the evaluation




Evaluation of the EU Agency for Railways






Lead DG – responsible unit 




DG MOVE Unit C4 Rail Safety & Interoperability






Indicative Planning 


(planned start date and completion date)




Q3 2021


Q3 2022






Additional Information




-






The Roadmap is provided for information purposes only. It does not prejudge the final decision of the Commission on whether this initiative will be pursued or on its final content. All elements of the initiative described by the document, including its timing, are subject to change.









A. Context, purpose and scope of the evaluation






Context: 






The EU Agency for Railways has been established to issue single safety certificates and vehicle authorisations valid in multiple European countries and to ensure an interoperable European Rail Traffic Management System, in the development and implementation of the Single European Railway Area.



In order to make mobility more sustainable in line with the objectives of the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy
1
 and the European Green Deal
2
, rail must achieve technical harmonisation and eliminate operating obstacles for seamless traffic and full digitalisation.  



With the entry into force of the Fourth Railway Package technical pillar
3
, the responsibilities of the European Union Agency for Railways (the Agency) have been substantially extended. The Agency became an EU body responsible to issue vehicle authorisations, single safety certificates, and ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) trackside approvals throughout the European rail network. The powers of the Agency gradually extended from 8 EU Member States that transposed the framework by 16 June 2019, with 4 more as of 16 June 2020. As of 31 October 2020, the Agency’s increased responsibilities are applicable across the entire Union. Nonetheless, not all Member States were able to complete legislative works by 31 October 2020. However, the situation has been mitigated with the signature of the cooperation agreements between all the safety authorities and the Agency the direct applicability of the Commission Regulations setting practical arrangements for granting vehicle authorisations and issuing single safety certificates.  



The Fourth Railway Package reinforced the Agency’s role in monitoring national (safety) authorities and enhanced its power to cooperate with Member States and the Commission in eliminating redundant national rules. The aim is to strengthen uniform European railway law on matters concerning rail safety, interoperability and operational matters of the railways. Reducing the remaining national technical and operating barriers is expected to improve infrastructure capacity. This would increase the competitiveness of rail vis-à-vis other modes of transport, and develop further the harmonised Single European Rail Area. It would benefit new operators, and contribute to reducing costs for users and society as a whole.



The Commission is carrying out the evaluation of the Agency as required by Article 82(1) of the Agency’s founding Regulation (EU) 2016/796
4
. A report will be submitted to the European Parliament, the Council and Agency’s Management Board. 


The outcomes of the support study for this evaluation will also be used as input for the assessment the Commission is required to make under Article 82(2) ERA Regulation, concerning the possible need for improvements in the system for vehicle authorisation and single safety certificates and the one stop shop.  






Purpose and scope






The evaluation will be looking at the Agency’s mandate and its working practices. The findings of the evaluation, if relevant and justified, may feed into possible amendments to the role of the Agency. As an evidence gathering exercise, it will also look at the functioning of the dual system for vehicle authorisation and safety certification, the one-stop-shop and harmonised implementation of ERTMS. 


The exercise should look at the impacts of the Agency’s work and whether its enhanced role has been effective and appropriate to deliver on its objectives.


The analysis shall cover effectiveness (how successful the Agency has been in achieving or progressing towards its objectives.); relevance (whether the objectives are still in line with the current needs or problems); efficiency (adequacy/sufficiency of the resources; the relationship between the resources used and the impact/achievements generated by the Agency, and also the possibility for reducing costs and administrative burden); EU added value (the added value delivered by the Agency’s enhanced  role); and coherence of the Agency’s regulatory framework itself, and the coherence of this framework with other relevant EU policies. 


The evaluation will also study the regulatory framework and provide context and background information on the Agency’s functioning and working practices. 


The evaluation covers the period from May 2016 until end of 2021.  The geographical scope will cover the 25 EU Member States operating railways. The evaluation will also consider ERA activity in the Western Balkan region under the Transport Community Treaty.






B. Better regulation






Consultation of citizens and stakeholders






The exercise will be used to consult the stakeholders and representative bodies that work with the Agency or whose activities depend on the efficient and timely decision-making of the Agency. A 12 weeks public consultation will also be carried out and will give the opportunity for the public to express its opinion. The consultation will be available in all official EU languages. 


The consultation activities will target main stakeholders, including representative bodies from the railway sector; the successor of the Joint Undertaking Shift2Rail; National Safety Authorities and other public authorities; members of the Agency’s Management Board; members of the Rail Safety and Interoperability Committee.


The following stakeholder activities are planned: feedback on this roadmap; public consultation through the Commission’s ‘Have Your Say’ webpage; targeted consultation (including interviews and/or questionnaires) of all relevant stakeholder groups covering all main elements of the evaluation. Stakeholder meetings/workshops and Commission's expert groups might also be used. A summary of the results of the consultation will be published once all consultation activities are concluded.







Data collection and methodology






The evaluation will look at a mix of evidence, such as:


- An external support study that will help to address the relevant evaluation questions;


- Impact assessment underlying the Commission 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;


- Evaluation of Regulation 881/2004 establishing the Agency published in 2011
5
;


- the results of the audits carried on the Agency by the Commission (Internal Audit Service), the Court of Auditors; outcomes and findings of the Fourth Railway Package steering group;


- Minutes and relevant decisions of the Agency’s Management Board, Annual Agency’s reports;


- Commission Opinions on the Agency’s draft programming document from 2017 to 2021;


- All relevant regulations and rules in the framework of the Regulation; the relevant internal working procedures.











(1)
 COM (2020) 789 final. https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/mobilitystrategy_en



(2)
 https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en



(3)
 https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/rail/packages/2013_en



(4)
 Regulation (EU) 2016/796 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union Agency for Railways and repealing Regulation (EC) No 881/2004, OJ L 138, 26.5.2016, p. 1



(5)
 https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/rail/studies/rail_en