Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the 9th session of the Ad Hoc Committee on Legal Affairs and International Cooperation of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) with regard to the amendment of its Rules of Procedure
Date: 2026-05-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: ad hoc committee, international convention, international cooperation, international organisation, international transport, rail transport, revision of an agreement, rules of procedure

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 28.5.2026  COM(2026) 265 final  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the 9th session of the Ad Hoc Committee on Legal Affairs and International Cooperation of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) with regard to the amendment of its Rules of Procedure  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PROPOSAL 

This proposal concerns the decision establishing the position to be taken on the Union's behalf 
at  the 9th session of the  Ad Hoc Committee on  Legal  Affairs and  International  Cooperation 
(hereafter, “the  ad hoc  Committee”) of  the  Intergovernmental Organisation for  International 
Carriage by Rail (OTIF) in connection with the envisaged adoption of a decision to amend the 
Rules of Procedure of the ad hoc Committee. 

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  Council  Decision  2013/103/EU  on  the  signing  and 
conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the 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  1999  (“EU-COTIF  Accession 
Agreement)2. 

The EU-COTIF Accession Agreement entered into force on 1 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 
States and its activities in general. 

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

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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) 

Only Cyprus and Malta are not Contracting Parties. 
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,  ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2013/103(1)/oj).  

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– 

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

the  Technical  Admission  of 

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

The OTIF Ad Hoc Committee on Legal Affairs and International Cooperation 

2.2. 
At  its  15th  session  in  September  2021,  the  General  Assembly  decided  to  set  up  an  Ad  Hoc 
Committee on Legal Affairs and International Cooperation, in accordance with Article 13 §2 
of COTIF, for a period of three years (September 2021 – September 2024). At its 16th session, 
in  September  2024,  the  General  Assembly  decided  to  renew  the  Ad  Hoc  Committee’s 
mandate for a period of six years, up to 1 October 2030.  

Without prejudice to the competence of the organs referred to in Article 13 §1 of COTIF, the 
General Assembly gave the Ad Hoc Committee the following mandate, laid down in Article 2 
of its Rules of Procedure:  

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To prepare draft amendments or supplements to the Convention; 

To provide legal advice on its own initiative or at the request of the organs referred 
to in Article 13§1 and 2 of COTF or at the request of the organs established by them; 

To promote and facilitate the functioning and implementation of COTIF; 

To monitor and assess legal instruments; 

To  take  decisions  on  cooperation  with  other  international  organisations  and 
associations,  including  establishing  and  dissolving  consultative  contact  groups  with 
other international organisations and associations and monitoring the functioning of 
contact groups. 

The  General  Assembly  decided  that,  whenever  applicable,  the  Ad  Hoc  Committee  shall 
submit its conclusions and proposals to the competent organs referred to in Article 13 §1 of 
COTIF for consideration and decision.  

2.3. 

The envisaged act of the Ad Hoc Committee 

On  24  June  2026,  during  its  9th  session,  the  Ad  Hoc  Committee  is  to  adopt  a  decision 
amending its Rules of Procedure (‘the envisaged act’). 

The  purpose  of  the  envisaged  act  is  to  align  the  practices  of  all  OTIF  organs,  based  on  the 
recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee at its 8th session, held on 4 December 2025. The 
Ad  Hoc  Committee  recommended  provisions  aimed  at  harmonising  the  rules  of  procedures 
across  all  OTIF  organs,  with  regard  to  the  rights  of  members,  associate  members  and 
observers,  so  as  to  ensure  consistency.  Furthermore,  the  proposal  includes  some  additional 
alignments with practices of other organs and some editorial corrections.  

The envisaged  act  will become binding on the parties  in  accordance  with  Article  16  §10 of 
COTIF,  according  to  which  the  OTIF  Committees  are  to  establish  their  rules  of  procedure, 
and with Article 30 of the Rules of Procedure of the Ad Hoc Committee, according to which 
these Rules may be amended, in whole or in part, by a decision of this body. 

3. 

POSITION TO BE TAKEN ON THE UNION'S BEHALF 

Pursuant to Article 6 of the EU-COTIF Accession Agreement: 

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“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”. 

Pursuant  to  Article  3(2)  TFEU,  the  Union  has  exclusive  competence  in  relation 
to international  commitments  to  be  undertaken  in  the  context  of  COTIF,  including 
legal instruments  adopted  pursuant  to  it,  when  such  commitments  risk  affecting  existing 
Union rules or altering their scope. 

The  objective  of  the  proposed  decision  is  to  amend  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  Ad  Hoc 
Committee, in order to align it with the rules of procedure of other OTIF organs.  

The amendment of the Rules of Procedure of the Ad Hoc Committee is a horizontal matter, as 
it  is  auxiliary  to  legal  instruments  and  policy  areas  for  which  the  Union  is  exclusively 
competent.  The Union has  therefore  exclusive competence in  respect  of amendments  to  the 
Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  Ad  Hoc  Committee,  pursuant  to  Article  3(2)  TFEU.  The  Union, 
represented by the Commission, should exercise the voting rights with respect to the adoption 
of this decision, pursuant to point 3.3 of Annex III of Council Decision 2013/103/EU. 

4. 

LEGAL BASIS 

4.1. 

Procedural legal basis 

4.1.1. 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 
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’3. 

4.1.2. Application to the present case 

The Ad Hoc Committee is a body set up by an agreement, namely COTIF, in accordance with 
its Article 13§2. 

The act which the Ad Hoc Committee is called upon to adopt constitutes an act having legal 
effects. As the Union is a full contracting party to COTIF, the envisaged act will be binding 
upon  the  Union  under  international  law,  in  accordance  with  Article  16  §10  of  COTIF, 
according to  which the OTIF Committees are to establish  their rules of procedure, and with 
Article  30  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  Ad  Hoc  Committee,  according  to  which  these 
Rules may be amended, in whole or in part, by a decision of this body..  

The  envisaged  act  does  not  supplement  or  amend  the  institutional  framework  of  the 
Agreement. 

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

4.2. 

Substantive legal basis 

4.2.1. 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 taken on the 
Union's  behalf.  If the  envisaged act  pursues two  aims or has two components  and if one of 
those  aims  or  components  is  identifiable  as  the  main  one,  whereas  the  other  is  merely 
incidental, the decision under Article 218(9) TFEU must be founded on a single substantive 
legal basis, namely that required by the main or predominant aim or component. 

4.2.2. Application to the present case 

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

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

4.3. 

Conclusion 

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

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Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the 9th session of the Ad 
Hoc Committee on Legal Affairs and International Cooperation of the 
Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) with regard 
to the amendment of its Rules of Procedure 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

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

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

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 Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) of 9 May 1980, 
as  amended  by  the  Vilnius  protocol  of  3  June  19991  (‘EU-COTIF  Accession 
Agreement’)  was  concluded  on  16  June  2011  by  the  Union  by  means  of  Council 
Decision 2013/103/EU2.  

Pursuant  to  Article  13  §2  of  COTIF,  the  Ad  Hoc  Committee  on  Legal  Affairs  and 
International Cooperation (the “ad hoc Committee”) of OTIF was set up. 

Pursuant to Article 16 §10 of COTIF and to Article 30 of the Rules of Procedure of the 
ad  hoc  Committee,  the  ad  hoc  Committee  is  competent  to  amend  its  Rules  of 
Procedure.  
The  ad  hoc  Committee,  during  its  9th  session  on  23-24  June  2026,  is  scheduled  to 
adopt a decision to amend its Rules of Procedure.  

The  decision  by  the  ad  hoc  Committee  to  amend  its  Rules  of  Procedure  will,  if 
adopted, produce legal effects for the Union.  

The  objective  of  this  decision  is  to  amend  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  ad  hoc 
Committee in order to align them with the rules of procedure of other OTIF organs.  

The  envisaged  amendments  to  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  ad  hoc  Committee  are 
based  on  the  recommendations  of  the  8th  session  of  the  OTIF  ad  hoc  Committee  to 
ensure further alignment and consistency between the practices of this and other OTIF 
organs. The amendments to the Rules of Procedure should therefore be supported.  

(8) 

It  is  therefore  appropriate to  establish the position to  be taken on the Union’s behalf 
within the ad hoc Committee with regard to amending its Rules of Procedure, 

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OJ L 51, 23.2.2013, p. 8. 
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, 
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2013/103(1)/oj).  

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HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 
The position to be taken on the Union's behalf at the 9th session of the ad hoc Committee on 
Legal  Affairs  and  International  Cooperation  of  the  Convention  concerning  International 
Carriage by Rail of 9 May 1980, on the amendments to its Rules of Procedure, shall be to vote 
in  favour  of  the  proposed  amendments  to  the  Rules  of  Procedure,  as  set  out  in  document 
INST-24046-JUR9/8. 

Article 2 

Minor  technical  changes  to  the  position  set  out  in  Article  1  may  be  agreed  upon  by  the 
representatives of the Union at the meeting of the ad hoc Committee on Legal Affairs and 
International Cooperation without further decision of the Council. 

Thid Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption. 

Done at Brussels, 

Article 3 

For the Council 
The President 

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