CELEX: 51991PC0084(02)
Language: en
Date: 1991-03-11
Title: AMENDMENT TO THE PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITY RAILWAYS

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                            C0M(91) 84 final
                                            Brussels, ^ March 1991
                   Amendment to the proposal for a
                       COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
            amending Regulation (EEC) No. 1191/69 on action
         by Member States concerning the obligations Inherent
            in the concept of public service in transport by
                     rail, road and inland navigation
                  Amendment to the proposal for a
                           COUNCIL PI RECTI YE
               on the development of Community railways
      (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 149(3)
                          of the EEC-Treaty)
 ---pagebreak---          Amendment to the proposai for a
             COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
   amending Regulation (EEC) No. 1191/69 on action
by Member States concerning the obligations Inherent
   in the concept of public service In transport by
           rail, road and inland navigation
 ---pagebreak---                                      - 2 -
                            Explanatory memorandum
1.  On 1 December 1989 the Commission sent to the Council a proposal
    for a Council Regulation (EEC) amending Regulation (EEC) No.
    1191/69 on action by Member States concerning the obligations
     inherent in the concept of public service In transport by rail,
    road and inland navigation^).
    The objective of that proposal Is to adapt the existing Community
    rules concerning public service obligations to the new railway
     legislation as proposed to the Council together with this proposal
2.  At its plenary session of 13 December 1990 the Parliament approved
    the Commission's proposal, subject to a number of amendments.
3.  There are good reasons to accept amendments No.s 49, 52 and 54, as
    they provide more clarity to the text of the proposed Regulation.
4.  The other amendments are unacceptable:
         No. 48 - as it is misplaced in the whereas concerned;
         No. 50 - as it gives to Article 1(2) of Regulation (EEC)
                  No. 1191/69 a meaning totally opposing its present
                  Article 1(1) which neither the Commission nor the
                  Parliament wanted to modify;
         No. 51 - as it deletes the requirement that no cross-subsidies
                  are allowed between public service and commercial
                  sector;
         No. 53 - as this proposal is not the place to lay down pro-
                  visions on the jurisdiction of the Community Court of
                  Just ice.
(1) O.J. No. C34, of 14.02.1990, p. 11
 ---pagebreak---                         Amendment to the proposal for a
                            COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
                 amending Regulation (EEC) No. 1191/69 on action
             (by Member States concerning the obligations Inherent
                 in the concept of public service in transport by
                          rail, road and inland navigation
           (presented by the Commission to the Council pursuant
                      to Article 149(3) of the EEC Treaty)
The Commission's proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation
(EEC) No. 1191/69(1>, is hereby amended as follows:
1.  Article 1(1), where replacing Article 1(2) of (EEC) Regulation No.
    1191/69, is replaced by:
    "2. In order to ensure appropriate rail transport on specific
         routes or in specific areas, taking into account social and
         environmental factors, Member States may provide for the
         establishment or continuation of public services on the basis
         of contracts to be negotiated with undertakings In accordance
         wi th Art icle 14."
2.   In Article 1(4), where laying down the new text for Article 14(4)
    of I(EEC) Regulation No. 1191/69, the words "for a reasonable
    period" are replaced by:
               "for a period of at most one year"
3.  To Article 1(4), where laying down the new text for Article 14(6)
    of (EEC) Regulation No. 1191/69, the following words are added, in
    the end:
               "or until the service is finally discontinued".
(1) O.J. No. C 34, of 14.02.1990, p. 11
 ---pagebreak---    Amendment to the proposal for a
          CQUNCtl. DIRECTIVE
on the development of Community railways
 ---pagebreak---                                      - 2 -
                            Explanatory memorandum
 1.  On 1 December 1989 the Commission sent to the Council a proposal
     for a Directive on the development of the Community railways^1).
     The objective of that proposed Directive is to establish the ground
     rules for the creation of a Community railway system adapted to the
     needs of a single transport market.
 2.  At its plenary session of 13 December 1990 the Parliament approved
     the Commission's proposal, subject to a number of amendments.
 3.  There are good reasons to accept amendments No. 1, No. 3, No. 6,
     No. 7, No. 10 and No. 11 (on recitals) as well as amendments No.
     18, No. 100, No. 21 (1st part)* 2 *, No. 22, No. 23, No. 26, No. 27
     (1st part)<3>, N O . 28 and No. 39 (on Articles), in fact they
     either provide further explanation on the purposes pursued or bring
     more clarity to the Directive's provisions.
4.   The other amendments are unacceptable by the following reasons:
         Amendments No.s 2, 12, 88, 13, 17, 20, 21 (2nd part), 24, 27
         (2nd part), 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 99, 44, 45. 46 and 47:
         they   are either redundant or misplaced In the context of this
         proposal.
         Amendments No.s 4, 8 and 43: the separation between infra-
         structure and transport operations, has to mean at least an
         effective managerial separation; this is an essential
         prerequisite for a sound accounting separation, preventing anv
         cross-subsidies to, or from, other activities of the
         undertak ing.
(1) O.J. No. C 34, of 14.02.1990, p. 8
(2) untiI "No. 2598/70".
(3) until "its establishment".
 ---pagebreak---                           - 3 -
Amendments No.s 5 and 25: having in mind that railway
facilities may be owned and/or operated by independent
undertakings, having in each case a well defined relation with
the State (as will be the case of the Channel Tunnel), the
related financial responsibility cannot be simply assigned to
the State by the Community  legislation.
Amendments No.s 9, 101 and 35: all Infrastructure operators and
railway undertakings operating (in) the national railway
Infrastructure should be bound by the Community  legislation,
either being publicly or being privately owned.
Amendments No.s 14, 15, 16, 30, 40, 41 and 42: they are either
against the essential guidelines of the proposal or against
well grounded Community principles (notably against the
subsidiarity principle).
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 4 -
                     Amendment to the proposal for a
                            COUNCH niPFfjjYp
                 on the development of Community railways
          (presented by the Commission to the Council pursuant
                  to Article 149(3) of the EEC Treaty)
The Commission's proposal for a Council Directive on the development of
Community railways^), is hereby amended as follows:
1.  The following recital is added (becoming the 2nd recital), after
    the former 1st recital:
    "Whereas the expansion of the railway system is a prerequisite for
    the development of combined transport and greater competition
    between various modes of transport;"
2.  To the former 3rd recital (becoming the 4th recital) the following
    words are added, after "practical experience":
    " ... and whereas the position of railways in the single market
    must be based on the same conditions as other modes of transport:"
(1) O.J. No. C 34, of 14.02.1990, p. 8
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 5 -
 3. The following recitals are added (becoming 6th and 7th recitals),
    after the former 4th recital:
     "Whereas the separation between Infrastructure and the provision of
    services, achieved by boosting competition in railway service
    management in terms of confort and the number of users, makes it
    necessary that the Member States should be assigned responsibility
    for the development and maintenance of railway Infrastructure;
    Whereas access to railway Infrastructure must be made available to
    the railway undertakings of the other Member States;"
4.  The following recital is added (becoming the 13th recital), after
    the former 9th recital:
    "Whereas decisions must be harmonised among the Member States to
    prevent the risk of differing developments;"
5.  To the former 10th recital (becoming 14th recital) the following
    words are added in the end:
              "and adapting to market needs"
6.  To Article 2(1 )(a) the following indent is added, after the 4th
    i ndent .-
              -- Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR)"
 ---pagebreak---                                      - 6 -
7.  To Article 2(1)(b) the following words are added, after "services
    between them":
    "A public railway undertaking of a third State may belong to an
    International grouping, if an agreement concluded between this
    State and the Community provides accordingly.     The Commission shall
    open negotiations, in particular with Austria, Switzerland and
    Yugoslavia, aiming at the conclusion of such agreements of the
    basis of mutual   Interest and reciprocal trade."
8.  To Article 2(1) a new sub-paragraph, ( d ) , is added:
             "d) "railway infrastructure" Is as defined In part A,
            Annex I of Regulation (EEC) No. 2598/70."
9.  To Article 2(2) the words "urban and suburban" are replaced by
              'urban, suburban and regional"
10. Article 3 is replaced by:
                                  "Article 3
    Member States shall    lay down the financial and other requirements,
    including the procedure for authorisation, that a railway
    undertaking or an international grouping has to meet for
    establishment and for having access to the infrastructure on their
    respective territories.     These provisions are designed to guarantee
    that all transport undertakings shall have access to alI modes of
    transport   in accordance with the principle of equal treatment of
    and fair competition between modes of transport."
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 7 -
11. Article 5 is replaced by
                                "Article 5
    The Infrastructure operators shall be responsible for the operation
    of the rail transport and the management systems.   Security
    standards and provisions governing the allocation of Infrastructure
    capacity shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of
    the Member States and under their control."
12. Article 6 is replaced by:
                                "Article 6
    1.  Any railway undertaking established In accordance with
        Article 3 shall be granted on equitable conditions access
        rights to (one word deleted) railway Infrastructure in the
        Member State of its establishment.
    2.   International groupings of undertakings shall be granted access
        and transit rights in the Member States of establishment of
        their constituent undertakings, as well as transit rights In
        other Member States, as required to operate international
        services on links between the Member States where their
        constituent undertakings are established."
13. Articles 7 to 14 are replaced by former Articles 6 to 13.
14. To Article 8(2) - former Article 7(2) - the following Indent is
    added, after the 8th one:
             "- establish their multiannual business plans and their
             operational an* investment budgets."
15. Article 15 is aéded, with the text of former Article 14
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak--- ft
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