CELEX: 51979PC0404
Language: en
Date: 1979-07-20
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION concerning common action by the Member States for the negotiation of a revision of the CIV and CIM Conventions (submitted to the Council by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (79) 404
Vol. 1979/0144
 ---pagebreak--- Disclaimer
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concernant l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communauté économique
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p. 1), tel que modifié par le règlement (CE, Euratom) n° 1700/2003 du 22 septembre 2003
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In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                   COM(79)404    final .
                                                   Brussels , 20 July 1979
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                                     1
                          V       –■ !
                            . v. /
                                    Proposal for a
                                 COUNCIL DECISION
  concerning common action by the Member States for the negotiation
               of a revision of the CIV and CIM Conventions
               ( submitted to the Council by the Commission )
 COM ( 79 ) 404 final .
 ---pagebreak---                                  iwmmMsmm
 1 # Within th© frsjnework of the 8th revision of the CIV and CXM conventions concerning
      international rail traffic the Governments of the States which axe parties to these
      conventions are at present negotiating a new convention whose objectives are s
     - to create a formal organisation linking the States which are parties to the
        convention and which will have the title of "Intergovernmental organisation
        for international rail transport ", in order that the present co-operation
        between the Member States of the two conventions will have a legal personality j
     – to carry forward the uniform rules concerning the international transport
        contract in two CIM and CIV regulations annexed to this convention#
2 . Everything has been done during the preparatory discussions to preserve the
     attitude to be adopted by the Community . In particular the Council 's attention
     is drawn to the Transport Questions Group 's report of 6 September 1978 ( doc .
     R/2209/78 (TRANS 124 )) and to the extract of the minutes of the 4th session of
     Preliminary Committee I of 14 September 1978 at Berne , ( see Annex)
3 . The 5"th session of the Preliminary Committee I which will take place from
     10 - 15 September at Berne , should especially decide on the question of the
     reservations and f in particular , on what is to happen to the additional protocol
     to the CIV/CIM Conventions of 7 February 1970 which gives priority to the EEC
     and ECSC Treaties .
4 « The Commission is of the opinion that in the present situation the Community
     should demand its accession to the new convention .
     In its view a satisfactory solution would consist of ensuring the maintenance
                                                                                     t.
     of the priority of Community law in relation to the new CIV/CIM convention .
     This priority could be stipulated in a clause , as for example that under III of
     the additional Protocol to the present CIV/CIM , which , however , should be
     improved and widened .
     This solution should be attained by means of common action of the Member States
     who should , in addition , take account of the objectives of the common transport
     policy as regards the autonomy and the responsibility of the railway undertakings
     for their own commercial management .
                                                                               •/•
 ---pagebreak---                                   2
5 . In the event that the Council does not approve this solution or that
    Member States are opposed to it , the thesis of Community competence
    for external matters should be presented as the only possible alter­
    native and implemented by the adhesion of the Community as well as
    Member States to the new CIV and CIM Agreements . In this case , Member
    States will be obliged to defend this second solution against any reaction
    from the Eastern Bloc countries .
6 . Conclusions .
    The Commission proposes that the Council adopt the attached draft
    decision concerning common action by the Member States for the negotia­
    tion of the revised CIV / CIM conventions .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                       ANN3X
Extract from the minutes of the seventh meeting' of the fourth session of
Preliminary Commission I in Berne on 14 September 1978
      As acting President , of the European Community for this year the Federal
Republic of Germany would like the following declaration to "be entered in
the minutes on the question of the " additional protocol :
"Relations between the European Communities and the future Intergovernmental
Organization for International Rail Transport are being studied by the competent
Community bodies . .
The Member States of the Communities may therefore raise this matter again at
a future date . Some provisions of the present draft Convention appear to con– .
                                         •             ,                          ' 1
flict with Community law . The question of the Communities * accession as such
may also be raised ."                             .      .     v
      t'.r . AII3URG agreed to draw up a report on this matter for the Commission 's
fifth session . He wished to point out to the delegati-ons that too many
derogations would be contrary to the very aim of the Organization .      The Central
Office preferred to leave it up to the States to make proposals concerning
possible reservations but hoped that they would, be restricted to specific and
well defined points rather than general matters .
                                 1     -   . .   - •         '                 <
                                               /
      The Chairman stated that the agenda, had been exhausted - and informed the
Commission that the minutes would be submitted for approval the following
day *                         " •'                         '
      The meeting rose at 11.45 hours .              '                              •
 ---pagebreak---                              Proposal for a
                            COUNCIL DECISION
concerning common action by the Member States for the negotiation of
                a revision of the CIV and CIM Conventions
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
and in particular Article 116 thereof ,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ,
Whereas at present a revision of the International Convention concerning
the carriage of passengers and luggage by rail ( CIV ) and the International
Convention concerning the carriage of goods by rail ( CIM ) is taking place
in the organizations created by those Conventions ;
Whereas the provisions which are the subject of the draft Convention
governing international transport contracts , together with the transport
rates with which they form a coherent and inseparable whole , constitute a
matter capable of coming under the common transport policy ;
Whereas the Member States should pursue the work within the framework of
common action ;
 ---pagebreak---  VJhereas , in order to safeguard the development of the common transport policy
 and having regard to the interest which the CM in particular represents
  for the organisation of the international goods traffic market s within the
  framework of this policy as well as certain provisions of the additional
  Protocol to the present CIV" and CIM as " regards their compatibility with
  Community lav;, it is necessary , within the framework of common action , to
  defend the principle of the priority of Community law with regard to the
  revised CIV/CIM Convention }
  MAS' DECIDED AS FOLLOWS :
                                    Article  1
        Within the framework of the 8th ordinary revision of the CIV and CIM
• Conventions the Member States shall pursue the work by means of common action
  in accordance with the directives annexed hereto .
                                    Article   2
        The repre sentative s of the Member States cUicL the Commission shall
. consult in the course of this common action ; they shall
   continue thi3 action until the end of the negotiations on the 8th ordinary
   revision of the CIV and CIM Conventions .
                                                     Done at Brussels
                                                             By the Council
                                                             Président
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      mm
                         DIRECTIVES
1.       The general reservation     in favour of the EEC and ECSC Treaties
   contained in Chapter III of the additional Protocol of 7 February 1970
   to the CIV and the CHI should "be maintained while widening it to traffic
   bet ween the European Communities and third countries as well as to measures
   which the railway undertakings have to take in carrying out Community law.
2.       As far as the CH>I in particular is concerned the revision should "be
   pursued while talcing account of the objectives of the common transport
   policy   oriented towards the autonomy and responsibility of the railway
   undertakings for their own commercial management .
3.       Chapters I , 2 ( subpara (a)) and II , 2 ( subpara (a)) of the Protocol
   mentioned should be re-drafted to talee account of the obligations for the
   United ICLngdom and Ireland following their accession to the EEC and ECSC
   Treaties arising from the regulations under Community law which provide
   for adequate publicity as well as non-discriminatory application of certain
   rates and conditions of transport .