Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the 14th meeting of the Committee of Technical Experts of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail as regards the modifications to the uniform technical prescriptions concerning telematics applications for freight and the modification of Annex B to the ATMF Uniform Rules on derogations, and in the written procedure of the Revision Committee of OTIF as regards the modification to Appendix G to COTIF
Date: 2022-05-20
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: carriage of goods, intelligent transport system, international convention, international organisation, international transport, revision of an agreement, technical rule, technical standard, telematics, vehicle on rails

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 20.5.2022  COM(2022) 227 final 2022/0163 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the 14th meeting of the Committee of Technical Experts of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail as regards the modifications to the uniform technical prescriptions concerning telematics applications for freight and the modification of Annex B to the ATMF Uniform Rules on derogations, and in the written procedure of the Revision Committee of OTIF as regards the modification to Appendix G to COTIF  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PROPOSAL 

This proposal concerns a decision establishing the position to be taken on the Union's behalf 
at: 

a. 

b. 

The  written  procedure  of  the  Revision  Committee  of  the  Intergovernmental 
Organisation Convention for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) as regards certain 
amendments  to  the  Convention  concerning  International  Carriage  by  Rail  (COTIF) 
and  to  its  Appendixes.  At  its  13th  session,  the  Committee  of  Technical  Experts 
requested the Revision Committee to take decisions within its competence provided 
for  in  Article  17  §  1,  letter  a)  of  COTIF  and  Article  33  §  4,  letter  g)  of  COTIF  to 
amend  Article  3a  §  5  and  Article  15  §  2  of  the    Uniform  Rules  concerning  the 
Technical  Admission  of  Railway  Material  used  in  International  Traffic  (ATMF  - 
Appendix  G  to  COTIF  Convention)  and  to  modify  the  Consolidated  Explanatory 
Report accordingly; the vote will take place by OTIF written procedure.  
The  14th  session  of 
the 
Intergovernmental  Organisation  for  International  Carriage  by  Rail  (OTIF)  that  will 
take place in Bern on 14 and 15 June 2022. The agenda of the meeting includes: 

the  Committee  of  Technical  Experts  (CTE)  of 

– 

– 

A  proposal  for  modification  of  the  Uniform  Technical  Prescriptions  (UTP) 
concerning Telematics applications for freight services (TAF)  

Proposal  for  modification  of  Annex  B  to  the  ATMF  Uniform  Rules  with 
regards to Derogations. 

OTIF develops  uniform  legal  regimes for international  rail transport in  three major areas of 
activity: technical interoperability, dangerous goods and railway contract law. 

The abovementioned decisions to be adopted by CTE and by the Revision Committee are acts 
having legal effects and the position to be taken on the Union's behalf has to be established by 
a Council Decision on the basis of Article 218(9) TFEU.  

2. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

2.1. 

The Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) 

The Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail of 9 May 1980, as amended by the 
Vilnius  Protocol  of  3  June  1999  (‘COTIF’),  is  an  international  agreement  where  both  the 
Union and 25 Member States1 are Contracting Parties. 

On 16 June 2011, the Council adopted a Council Decision 2013/103/EU on the signing and 
conclusion  of  the  Agreement  between  the  European  Union  and  the  Intergovernmental 
Organisation  Convention  for  International  Carriage  by  Rail  (OTIF)  on  the  Accession  of  the 
European  Union  to  the  Convention  concerning  International  Carriage  by  Rail  (COTIF)  of 
9 May  1980,  as  amended  by  the  Vilnius  Protocol  of  3  June  19992  (“EU-COTIF  Accession 
Agreement”). 

1 
2 

Only Cyprus and Malta are not Contracting Parties.  
Agreement between the European Union and the Intergovernmental Organisation for International 
Carriage by Rail on the Accession of the European Union to the Convention concerning International 
Carriage by Rail (COTIF) of 9 May 1980, as amended by the Vilnius Protocol of 3 June 1999, OJ L 51, 
23.2.2013, p. 8–10 

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The Agreement entered into force on 1st July 2011.  

According to Article 2(1) of the COTIF, OTIF aims at promoting, improving and facilitating, 
in  all  respects,  international  traffic  by  rail,  in  particular  by  establishing  systems  of  uniform 
law in various fields of law relating to international traffic by rail. The COTIF also governs 
the  running  of  the  Organisation,  its  objectives,  attributions,  relations  with  the  Contracting 
Parties and its activities in general.  

COTIF therefore deals  with  rail legislation on a number of different  legal  and technical  rail 
matters  that  are  divided  in  two  parts:  the  Convention  itself,  which  governs  the  running  of 
OTIF, and the eight Appendices that establish uniform railway law: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Appendix A – Contract of International Carriage of Passengers by Rail (CIV) 

Appendix B – Contract of International Carriage of Goods by Rail (CIM) 

Appendix C –International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID) 

Appendix D – Contract of use of vehicles in international rail traffic (CUV) 

Appendix E – Contract of use of infrastructure in international rail traffic (CUI) 

Appendix F – Uniform Rules concerning the Validation of Technical Standards and 
the  Adoption  of  Uniform  Technical  Prescriptions  applicable  to  Railway  Material 
intended to be used in International Traffic (APTU UR) 

Appendix  G  –  Uniform  Rules  concerning  the  Technical  Admission  of  Railway 
Material used in International Traffic (ATMF UR) 

Appendix H – Uniform Rules concerning the safe operation of trains in international 
traffic (EST UR) 

Based on Appendix F and G to COTIF, there are 12 UTPs for technical interoperability. The 
UTPs in the framework of COTIF have the same purpose as the EU technical specifications 
for  interoperability  (TSIs)  for  admission  to  international  traffic,  as  defined  in  Chapter  II  of 
Directive (EU) 2016/797. 

42 out of the 47 States that are Party to the COTIF, including the already mentioned 25 EU 
Member States, apply Appendix F and G. 

2.2. 

The OTIF Revision Committee 

The  Revision  Committee  has  the  competence  to  take  decisions  to  amend  COTIF,  the  CIV, 
CIM,  CUV  and  CUI  Uniform  Rules,  and  the  APTU  and  ATMF  Uniform  Rules  in  certain 
cases.  According  to    Article  33  §  4  of  COTIF,  the  Revision  Committee  can  approve 
amendments itself or submit adopted amendments to the OTIF Member States for approval at 
the General Assembly. 
The last Revision Committee, 26th session, was held from 27 February to 1 March 2018. 

The  Union  and/or  its  Member  States  participate  in  that  process  in  accordance  with  their 
respective competences, the Rules of Procedure of the Revision Committee and the provisions 
of the Agreement on the Accession of the Union to the COTIF Convention. 

2.3. 

Quorum and voting rights in the Revision Committee 

There is a quorum in the Revision Committee when the majority of the OTIF Member States 
enjoying the right to vote are represented there at the time of the vote. 

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However, Article 13(3) of the COTIF Convention provides that OTIF Member States having 
made a declaration concerning the non-application to them of one or more Appendices do not 
have the right to vote concerning amendments to the given Appendix. 

The  following  OTIF  Member  States  have  not  withdrawn  their  declarations  on  the  non-
application  of  certain  Appendices:  Pakistan,  Russia  (concerning  Uniform  Rules  concerning 
the Contract of International Carriage of Passengers by Rail (CIV), the International Carriage 
of  Dangerous  Goods  by  Rail  (RID),  CUV,  CUI,  APTU  and  ATMF),  Georgia  (concerning 
CUV, CUI, APTU and ATMF), the Czech Republic, Norway, Slovakia, the United Kingdom 
(concerning CUI, APTU and ATMF), France (concerning ATMF). 

When  discussing  amendments  to  the  relevant  Appendices,  the  number  of  OTIF  Member 
States having made a declaration on the non-application of the Appendix in question has to be 
deducted  from  the  number  of  active  members  of  OTIF  (46)  to  establish  the  quorum 
concerning the vote on the Appendix in question. 

In  accordance  with  Article  6  (1)  of  the  EU-COTIF  Accession  Agreement,  for  decisions  in 
matters where the Union has exclusive competence, the Union exercises the voting rights of 
its  Member  States.  As  explained  below,  the  matter  is  exclusive  EU  competence  and  it  will 
thus be the Union voting. 

3. 

3.1. 

THE  ENVISAGED  ACTS  OF  THE  WRITTEN  PROCEDURE  OF  THE  REVISION 
COMMITTEE 

Amendment  of  the  ATMF  Uniform  Rules  (Appendix  G  to  COTIF)  and 
modification of the Consolidated Explanatory Report  

The modifications are necessary in order to harmonise the application of the Certification of 
Entity  in  Charge  of  Maintenance  to  all  types  of  vehicles  as  already  stated  by  the  OTIF 
regulation. Article 14 of Directive (EU) 2016/798 sets out the relevant EU provisions for the 
Entity in Charge of Maintenance.  

Following  the  full  revision  of  Annex  A  of  ATMF  UR,  which  sets  out  the  rules  for  the 
certification  of  Entities  in  Charge  of  Maintenance  in  line  with  ECM  Regulation  (EU) 
2019/7793, it was noted that Articles 3a and 15 of the ATMF UR would need to be modified 
to reflect the changes in the Annex. Furthermore, references to newly revised EU legislation 
would  also  need  to  be  updated.  Changes  to  the  ATMF  UR  falls  in  the  competence  of  the 
Revision Committee.  

In 2021, the CTE proposed the Revision Committee to amend  Appendix G to COTIF  (CTE 
Working  Document  TECH-20045-CTE13-7).  Following  that  proposal,  questions  arose 
concerning the reference to mutual recognition of ECMs contained in the text to be included 
in the Consolidated Explanatory Report concering the ATMF UR. Those questions have been 
settled  and  the  amendments  to  the  Consolidated  Explanatory  Report  should  be  reviewed  by 
removing any reference to mutual recognition, in accordance with the advisory opinion issued 
by  the  ad  hoc  Committee  on  Legal  Affairs  and  International  Cooperation  during  its  first 
session in November 2021 (OTIF-21008-JUR 1).  

The  proposed  modifications  to  Appendix  G  to  COTIF  are  a  matter  falling  under  Union's 
exclusive competence and the Union will exercise its voting rights. 

3 

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/779 of 16 May 2019 laying down detailed provisions 
on a system of certification of entities in charge of maintenance of vehicles pursuant to Directive (EU) 
2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the  Council and repealing  Commission  Regulation (EU) 
No 445/2011 (OJ L 139I, 27.5.2019, p. 360). 

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4. 

THE OTIF COMMITTEE OF TECHNICAL EXPERTS (CTE) 

The CTE is set up by Article 13(1)(f) of the COTIF. It is made up of the OTIF Member States 
that apply Appendices F (APTU UR) and G (ATMF UR) to COTIF.  

The  CTE  has  competence  in  matters  of  interoperability  and  technical  harmonisation  in  the 
railway  field  and  technical  approval  procedures.  It  develops  the  APTU  and  ATMF 
Appendices  and  its  Uniform  Rules,  which  apply  to  railway  material  intended  for  use  in 
international traffic, which concern in particular: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the  adoption  of  technical  prescriptions  for  vehicles  and  infrastructure  and  the 
validation of standards; 

procedures concerning the assessment of conformity of vehicles; 

provisions concerning the maintenance of vehicles; 

responsibilities for train composition and the safe use of vehicles; 

provisions concerning risk evaluation and assessment; 

specifications for registers. 

The  CTE  currently  has  a  standing  working  group  (WG  TECH)  which  is  responsible  for 
preparing the former’s decisions. 

Pursuant to Article 20(1) (b) of the COTIF, and in accordance with Article 6 of its Appendix 
F (APTU), the CTE is competent to adopt or to amend the UTPs. In accordance with Article 
7a  of  the  ATMF  UR  (Appendix  G  to  COTIF),  “The  Committee  of  Technical  Experts  is 
competent to  adopt  guidelines  or mandatory provisions for  derogations  from structural and 
functional UTPs.” 

4.1. 

The adoption of acts by the CTE 

According to Article 6 of APTU, the CTE shall decide whether to adopt a UTP or a provision 
amending it in accordance with the procedure laid down in Articles 16, 20 and 33 § 6 of the 
Convention. The usual adoption process for UTPs may take about one and a half years.  

4.2. 

The  envisaged  acts  to  be  adopted  by  the  CTE  during  the  session  on  14  and 
15 June 2022 

4.2.1.  Modification of UTP concerning Telematics Applications for Freight. The proposed 

modifications include: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Updated  provisions  concerning  equivalence  with  the  provisions  of  the 
European Union; 

Updates to the structure of the document; 

The requirement that the non-EU Contracting Parties should inform the OTIF 
Secretariat of their National Contact Point; 

Addition  of  provisions  related  to  Path  Allocation  and  Train  Running 
Information; 

Replacement of provisions regarding train composition, with a reference to the 
UTP TCRC; 

Update of Appendix II Glossary and deletion of abbreviations no longer used 
in the legal text; 

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– 

– 

– 

Update  to  latest  legal  references  under  COTIF  and  EU  law  throughout  the 
document; 

Editorial modifications; 

An  update  of  the  references  to  Technical  Documents  issued  by  the  European 
Union Agency for Railways, which set out the harmonised IT specifications for 
implementing TAF.  

The  proposed  modifications  will  align  the  UTP  TAF  with  the  latest  version  of  the  TSI  and 
will  ensure  continued  full  equivalence  in  the  meaning  of  ATMF  UR  of  the  TAF  rules  for 
vehicles  used  in  international  traffic  by  rail.  The  EU  TSI  has  been  last  amended  by 
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/5414 of 26 March 2021. 

The matter falls under EU exclusive competence and the Union will exercise the voting rights 
for the adoption of the modifications to UTP TAF. 

4.2.2.  Modification of Annex B to the ATMF Uniform Rules (Derogations) 

The aim of this proposal for the complete revision of Annex B to ATMF UR is to formulate 
more  simply  and  clearly  the  rules  and  guidelines  concerning  the  non-application  of  entire 
UTPs  or  particular  provisions  thereof.  The  proposed  provisions  would  be  applicable  to  the 
non-EU  Contracting  Parties  only5.  Derogations  from  TSIs  is  regulated  under  EU  law  by 
Article 7 of Directive (EU) 2016/797. 

Compared with the version in force, the proposed complete revision of Annex B to the ATMF 
UR will: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Simplify the provisions; 

Clarify the scope and rules concerning derogations; 

Remove all tasks and roles of the Secretary General of OTIF; 

Reinforce the competences of the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties; 

Ensure transparency. 

The  proposed  modifications  will  align  the  derogation  procedures  for  non-EU  Contracting 
Parties to the provisions already applicable to the EU Member States, ensuring continued full 
equivalence  in  the  meaning  of  ATMF  UR  of  the  derogation  rules  for  vehicles  used  in 
international traffic by rail. 

The Union has exclusive competence on the matter and will exercise the voting rights for the 
adoption of the proposal to modify Annex B of the ATMF Uniform Rules (Derogations). 

4 

5 

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/541 of 26 March 2021 amending Regulation (EU) No 
1305/2014 as regard the simplification and improvement of data calculation and exchange and the update 
of the Change Control Management process (OJ L 108, 29.3.2021, p. 19). 

Derogations from the application of the TSIs by the Contracting States that are also Member States of the 
European Union and Contracting States that apply the relevant European Union law in accordance with 
an agreement with the European Union would remain subject to EU law. 

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4.3. 

Union competence and voting rights  

The  existing  Union  rules  covered  by  the  act  to  be  adopted  during  the  CTE  meeting  are 
respectively Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/541 and Article 7 of Directive 
(EU) 2016/797. 

According  Article  3  (2)  TFEU,  the  Union  has  exclusive  competence  where  the  COTIF  or 
legal instruments adopted pursuant to it may affect or alter the scope of these existing Union 
rules.  

The objective of the envisaged OTIF decisions is to: 

 

 

align  UTP  TAF  to  Commission  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  2021/5416  of 
26 March 2021; 

simplify the rules for the derogation from the application of UTPs set out in Annex B 
to the ATMF UR for non-EU Contracting States and in light of Article 7 of Directive 
(EU) 2016/797 for non-application of TSIs. 

The above-mentioned Union rules will be clearly affected by the adoption of these decisions.  

Therefore, the subject matter of these decisions is subject to the EU exclusive competence. 

Article 6 (1) – (3) of the EU-COTIF Accession Agreement provides the following: 

"1.  For  decisions  in  matters  where  the  Union  has  exclusive  competence,  the  Union  shall 
exercise the voting rights of its Member States under the Convention.  

2. For decisions in matters where the Union shares competence with its Member States, either 
the Union or its Member States shall vote.  

3.  Subject  to  Article  26,  paragraph  7,  of  the  Convention,  the  Union  shall  have  a  number  of 
votes  equal  to  that  of  its  Member  States  who  are  also  Parties  to  the  Convention.  When  the 
Union votes, its Member States shall not vote." 

The Union, represented by the Commission, will, thus, exercise the voting rights with respect 
to the adoption of these decisions.  

5. 

POSITION TO BE TAKEN ON THE UNION'S BEHALF 

The Union should support the envisaged OTIF acts and vote in favour for their adoption.  

6. 

LEGAL BASIS 

6.1. 

Procedural legal basis 

6.1.1.  Principles 

Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for 
decisions establishing ‘the positions to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in a body set up by 
an  agreement,  when  that  body  is  called  upon  to  adopt  acts  having  legal  effects,  with  the 
exception of acts supplementing or amending the institutional framework of the agreement.’ 

The concept of ‘acts having legal effects’ includes acts that have legal effects by virtue of the 
rules of international law governing the body in question. It also includes instruments that do 

6 

Commission  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  2021/541  of  26  March  2021  amending  Regulation  (EU) 
No 1305/2014  as  regard  the  simplification  and  improvement  of  data  calculation  and  exchange  and  the 
update of the Change Control Management process (OJ L 108, 29.3.2021, p. 19) 

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not  have  a  binding  effect  under  international  law,  but  that  are  ‘capable  of  decisively 
influencing the content of the legislation adopted by the EU legislature’7. 

6.1.2.  Application to the present case 

The Revision Committee and the CTE are bodies set up by an agreement, namely the COTIF, 
in particular Article 13(1) (c) and (f).  

The acts to be adopted by written procedure by the Revision Committee and the  acts which 
the CTE is called upon to adopt during its 14th session constitute acts having legal effects.  

The envisaged acts modify the OTIF legal framework. As the Union is a full contracting party 
to  COTIF,  the  envisaged  acts  will  be  binding  upon  the  Union  under  international  law  in 
accordance with the EU-COTIF Accession Agreement.  

Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed decision is Article 218(9) TFEU. 

6.2. 

Substantive legal basis 

6.2.1.  Principles 

The  substantive  legal  basis  for  a  decision  under  Article  218(9)  TFEU  depends  primarily  on 
the  objective  and  content  of  the  envisaged  act  in  respect  of  which  a  position  is  adopted  on 
behalf of the Union. 

6.2.2.  Application to the present case 

The main objective and content of the envisaged act relate to international rail transport. 

The substantive legal basis of the proposed decision, therefore, is Article 91 TFEU. 

7. 

CONCLUSION 

The  legal  basis  of  the  proposed  decision  should  be  Article  91  TFEU,  in  conjunction  with 
Article 218(9) TFEU. 

8. 

PUBLICATION OF THE ENVISAGED ACT 

As the act of the OTIF Revision Committee will amend COTIF and some of its Appendices, it 
is appropriate to publish it in the Official Journal of the European Union after its adoption. 

7 

Judgment  of 
ECLI:EU:C:2014:2258, paragraphs 61 to 64 

the  Court  of  Justice  of  7  October  2014,  Germany  v  Council,  C-399/12, 

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2022/0163 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the 14th meeting of the 
Committee of Technical Experts of the Intergovernmental Organisation for 
International Carriage by Rail as regards the modifications to the uniform technical 
prescriptions concerning telematics applications for freight and the modification of 
Annex B to the ATMF Uniform Rules on derogations, and in the written procedure of 
the Revision Committee of OTIF as regards the modification to Appendix G to COTIF 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 91, in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

8 

The  Union  acceded  to  the  Convention  concerning  International  Carriage  by  Rail  of 
9 May  1980,  as  amended  by  the  Vilnius  Protocol  of  3  June  1999  (the  ‘COTIF'),  in 
accordance  with  Council  Decision  2013/103/EU8  and  the  Agreement  between  the 
European Union and the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by 
Rail (OTIF) on the Accession of the European Union to the COTIF Convention (the 
'Agreement'). 

The  Revision  Committee  set  up  in  accordance  with  point  (c)  of  Article  13(1)  of  the 
COTIF, is expected to carry out a written procedure to decide upon  the amendment of 
Article  3a  §  5  and  Article  15  §  2  of  the  Uniform  Rules  concerning  the  Technical 
Admission of Railway Material used in International Traffic (ATMF Uniform Rules) - 
Appendix G to COTIF. 

Following  the  proposal  of  the  CTE  2021  concerning  the  revision  of  Appendix  G  to 
COTIF  Article  3a  §  5  and  Article  15  §  2,  questions  arose  concerning  the  text  to  be 
included  into  the  consolidated  Explanatory  Report  concering  the  ATMF  Uniform 
Rules. The proposal laid down in the CTE Working Document TECH-20045-CTE13-
7 should therefore be reviewed in accordance with the advisory opinion adopted by the 
ad  hoc  Committee  on  Legal  Affairs  and  International  Cooperation  during  its  first 
session in November 2021 OTIF-21008-JUR 1 before being adopted by the Revision 
Committee. 

The  objective  of  the  Revision  Committee  (RC)  decision  is  to  align  ATMF  Uniform 
Rules with Safety Directive (EU) 2016/798. 

Pursuant to Article 13(1)(f) of the COTIF, the Committee of Technical Experts ('CTE') 
of the OTIF was set up.  

Council Decision 2013/103/EU of 16 June 2011 on the signing and conclusion of the Agreement between 
the  European  Union  and  the  Intergovernmental  Organisation  for  International  Carriage  by  Rail  on  the 
Accession of the European Union to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) 
of 9 May 1980, as amended by the Vilnius Protocol of 3 June 1999 (OJ L 51, 23.2.2013, p. 1) 

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(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

Pursuant  to  Article  20(1)  (b)  of  the  COTIF,  and  in  accordance  with  Article  6  of  the 
Uniform Rules concerning the Validation of Technical Standards and the Adoption of 
Uniform Technical Prescriptions applicable to Railway Material intended to be used in 
International Traffic (APTU) - Appendix F to COTIF, the CTE is competent to adopt 
or  to  amend,  inter  alia,  the  Uniform  Technical  Prescriptions  (UTP)  concerning 
telematics applications for freight (UTP TAF).  

In accordance with Article 20 § 1 e) of COTIF and Articles 7a and 21 of the ATMF 
Uniform Rules, the Committee of Technical Experts is competent to adopt or to amend 
the Annex B to the ATMF Uniform Rules concerning derogations from the application 
of Uniform Technical Prescriptions. 
The CTE has included in the agenda of its 14th session that will take place on 14 and 
15 June 2022 a proposal for decisions to amend the UTP TAF - telematics applications 
for freight and the revision of the Annex B to the ATMF Uniform Rules concerning 
derogations from the application of Uniform Technical Prescriptions. 

It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the CTE 
and,  as  regards  the  revision  of  AMTF,  in  the  Revision  Committee  of  OTIF,  as  the 
proposed decisions will be binding on the Union.  

(10)  The objectives of the CTE decision are to align the UTP TAF with EU rules, namely 
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/5419 and the Annex B to the ATMF 
Uniform Rules to Directive (EU) 2016/797. 

(11)  The envisaged OTIF decisions are in line with the law and the strategic objectives of 
the Union as they contribute to the alignment of OTIF legislation with the equivalent 
provisions of Union law, and should therefore be supported by the Union, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

The position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the partial revision of the ATMF Uniform 
Rules – Appendix G to COTIF by written procedure of the Revision Committee set up by the 
Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail is to vote in favour of the CTE proposal 
to  amend  Article  3a  §  5  and  Article  15  §  2  of  the  ATMF  Uniform  Rules  (Appendix  G  to 
COTIF) as laid down in the CTE Working Document TECH-20045-CTE13-7, provided that 
any reference to mutual recognition is removed from Annex II thereof, in accordance with the 
advisory  opinion  adopted  by  the  ad  hoc  Committee  on  Legal  Affairs  and  International 
Cooperation  during  its  first  session  in  November  2021  OTIF-21008-JUR  1.  If  the 
abovementioned reference is not removed, the Union shall vote against the CTE proposal.  

Article 2 
The  position  to  be  taken  on  the  Union's  behalf  during  the  14th  session  of  the  CTE  of  the 
COTIF  on  the  modifications  to  the  UTP  TAF,  and  on  the  revision  of  the  Annex  B  of  the 
ATMF Uniform Rules with regard to derogations from the application of Uniform Technical 
Prescriptions shall be the following:  

9 

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/541 of 26 March 2021 amending Regulation (EU) 
No 1305/2014 as regard the simplification and improvement of data calculation and exchange and the 
update of the Change Control Management process (OJ L 108, 29.3.2021, p. 19) 

EN 

9 

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(1) 

(2) 

to  vote  in  favour  of  the  CTE  proposal  to  update  the  UTP  TAF,  as  found  in  the 
proposal of the CTE working document TECH-22004-CTE14; 

to vote in favour of the CTE proposal to update the Annex B to the ATMF Uniform 
Rules  concerning  derogations  from 
the  application  of  Uniform  Technical 
Prescriptions, as found in the CTE working document TECH-22005-CTE14. 

Once  adopted,  the  decisions  of  the  Revision  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  Technical 
Experts shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, indicating the date 
of their entry into force. 

Article 3 

This Decision is addressed to the Commission. 

Done at Brussels, 

Article 4 

For the Council 
The President 

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  EN