CELEX: 51997PC0034
Language: en
Date: 1997-02-13
Title: Amended proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE amending Directive 91/440/EEC on the development of the Community's railways

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                    Brussels, 13.02.1997
                                    COM(97)34 final
                                    95/0205 (SYN)
                  Amended proposal for a
                  COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
          amending Directive 91/440/EEC on the
         development of the Community's railways
(presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 189 a (2)
                    of the EC-Treaty)
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                           EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
On 19 July 1995 the Commission adopted a proposal1 for a Council directive
amending Directive 91/440/EEC on the development of the Community's
railways . The purpose of the proposal was to extend the access rights to railway
infrastructure provided for in Article 10 of Directive 91/440/EEC, to create access
rights for railways undertakings for the purpose of operating international and
cabotage services for the transport of goods and for the combined transport of
goods, and international services for the transport of passengers.
At its plenary session of 25 October 1996 the European Parliament approved the
Commission's proposal, subject to nine amendments.The Commission accepts the
amendments to the third and ninth recitals, and to article 10, paragraph 1, of the
proposed directive. These amendments strengthen or clarify the original text.
The other amendments either go beyond the scope of the proposal, limited to the
extension of access rights, or cover subjects on which the Community is
developing policies in other contexts. The Commission, therefore, refuses the ^
following amendments :
• introducing a new recital 5 a.
    This links the improvement of the financial situation and the write-off of the
    debt of railways to the extension of access rights, and so goes beyond the scope
    of the proposal; in any case, the Commission is presently working on policy in
    this area.
• introducing a new recital 5 b.
    This introduces an obligation to develop Community rules, for all modes of
    transport, on the internalisation of external costs, respect for working time and
    the harmonisation of indirect taxation, and so goes beyond the scope of the
    proposal; in any case the Commission is presently working on policy in these
    areas.
• introducing a new recital 5 c
    This obliges the Commission to ensure that infrastructure managers charge for
    the use of infrastructure on the basis of uniform criteria, even before the date
          COM(95)337 final, 19.07.1995, O.J.N° C 321, 1.12.1995, p. 10.
          Directive 91/440/EEC of 29 July 1991; O.J. N° L 237, 24.08.1991, p. 25.
 ---pagebreak---   set for the implementation by the Member States of Council Directive
  95/19/EC3 which cover this subject. (27 June 1997). This requirement goes
  beyond the scope of the proposal and is inconsistent with Directive 95/19/EC;
• modifying recital 6.
  This recalls that each mode of transport should be charged for the costs that it
  imposes, and so goes beyond the scope of the proposal; in any case the
  Commission is presently working on policy in this area
  modifying article 9.1 and 9.2, first subparagraph, of Directive 91/440/EEC, and
  introducing a new paragraph 9.1 a
       modification of article 9.1. This creates an obligation on Member States to
  help reduce debt and improvesfinancesby the date of transposai of the
  proposed Directive. This goes beyond the scope of the Commission's proposal.
  Moreover, article 9.1 already imposes such an obligation, which had to be
  complied with by 1st January 1993. Consequently, the new date would be a
  step backward and could create legal uncertainty. The Commission is, in any
  case, working on policy in this area.
        introduction of a new paragraph 9. la This requires the Member States to
  ensure that the railways have customary own resources. This goes beyond the
  scope of the proposal and would create an unclear obligation as there is no
  customary level of own resources. The Commission is, in any case, working on
  policy in this area.
        modification of article 9.2, first subparagraph. This obliges Member States
  to require the establishment of separate debt amortitization units within railway
  undertakings; article 9.2 of Directive 91/440/EEC allows but does not oblige
  them to require this. This goes beyond the scope of the proposal; in any case
  such amortization units are only one means of achieving the end and so should
  not be obligatory.
  introducing new articles 10.2 a and 10.2 b to Directive 91/440/EEC :
        introduction of new article 10.2 a. This obliges Member States to ensure,
  by 1st January 2000, that the railways are not a a disadvantage compared to
  other modes of transport, as regards VAT on cross border transport and other
  fiscal provisions like duty-free sales. This goes beyond the scope of the
  proposal, being part of fiscal policy.
        introduction of new article 10.2 b. This obliges the Commission to report,
  by 1st January 1998, on plans to further interoperability. This goes beyond the
  scope of the proposal. In any case, the Council has adopted a directive on the
  interoperability of high speed rail and the Commission is to study how far this
        Council Directive 95/19/EC of 19 June 1995 on the allocation of railway infrastructure
        capacity and the canging of infrastructure fees. O.J. N° L 143, 27.06.1995, p. 75
        Council Directive 96/48/EC of 23 July 1996, O.J. N° L 235, 17.09.1996, p. 6, on the
        interoperability of the European high speed train network.
 ---pagebreak---                                 Amended proposal for a
                               COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
                        amending Directive 91/440/EEC on the
                       development of the Community's railways
The Commission's proposal is amended as follows
                                        Recital 3
Original proposal                             Amendment proposal
Whereas the application to the railways      Whereas the application to the railways
sector of the principle of freedom to        sector of the principle of freedom to
provide services needs to take account        provide services needs to take account
of the specific characteristics of the       of the specific characteristics of the
sector and to be applied by stages;          sector and to take place by stages; and
                                              whereas the principle must be applied
                                              uniformly as the Directive is
                                              implemented by the Member States, in
                                              order to avoid distortions of
                                              competition in and betweem the
                                              Member States:
                                        Recital 9
Whereas, in the process of                    Whereas, in the process of
liberalization, it is necessary to take       liberalization, it is necessary to take
account of the contribution of transport      account of the contribution of transport
services to the internal cohesion of          services, in particular the socio-
national economies;                           economic role of regional rail transport.
                                              to the internal cohesion of national
                                              economies;
 ---pagebreak---                                  ARTICLE 1, POINT 1
                                 Article 10, paragraph 1
Railway undertakings within the scope         Railway undertakings within the scope
of Article 2 shall be granted access and      of Article 2 shall be granted access and
transit rights to the infrastructure in       transit rights to the infrastructure in
their Member State of establishment           their Member State of establishment
and in other Member States on                 and in other Member States on
equitable conditions, for the purpose of      equitable, transparent and non-
operating:                                    discriminatory conditions, for the
                                              purpose of operating :
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                                                    ISSN 0254-1475
                                                             COM(97) 34 final
                                              DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                            07
                                    Catalogue number : CB-CO-97-031-EN-C
                                                              ISBN 92-78-15289-7
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