2011/155/EU: Commission Decision of 9 March 2011 on the publication and management of the reference document referred to in Article 27(4) of Directive 2008/57/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the interoperability of the rail system within the Community (notified under document C(2011) 1536)  Text with EEA relevance

10.3.2011 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 63/22
COMMISSION DECISION
of 9 March 2011
on the publication and management of the reference document referred to in Article 27(4) of Directive 2008/57/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the interoperability of the rail system within the Community
(notified under document C(2011) 1536)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2011/155/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Directive 2008/57/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the interoperability of the rail system within the Community (1), and in particular Article 27(4) thereof,
Having regard to the recommendation of the European Railway Agency of 15 April 2010 on the reference document as specified in Article 27(3) of Directive 2008/57/EC,
Whereas:
(1) Decision 2009/965/EC of 30 November 2009 on the reference document referred to in Article 27(4) of Directive 2008/57/EC (2) set out in its Annex the list of parameters to be used for classifying national rules in the reference document referred to in Article 27 of Directive 2008/57/EC.
(2) It is important that national rules to be covered by the reference document are clearly defined so as to determine to which extent they can be declared as equivalent thus maximising the number of rules belonging to group A in accordance with Section 2 of Annex VII to Directive 2008/57/EC.
(3) Member States are responsible for the update of their national rules. Updates of national rules may affect rules’ classification in respect of other Member States’ rules for a specific parameter set out in Section 1 of Annex VII to Directive 2008/57/EC.
(4) It is necessary that the database cross-referencing national rules and classifying their equivalence is kept up-to-date.
(5) The European Railway Agency (‘the Agency’) should, in respect of each Member State, be responsible for the compilation, publication and maintenance of a list of national vehicle authorisation rules that references the national rule for each parameter and the classification of other Member States rules for this parameter. These lists should form a part of the reference document.
(6) Consistency between the rules listed in the reference document and the rules notified pursuant to Article 17 of Directive 2008/57/EC should be ensured by Member States. To this end Member States should have a sufficient time for updating the reference document or for notifying/amend/withdraw rules under the procedure of Article 17. Until both sets of rules are aligned and a single data entry for national rules is available, National Safety Authorities (NSAs) may use the rules listed in the reference document for the purpose of granting authorisations for placing vehicles in service, in the case of any discrepancy between the two set of rules.
(7) Moreover, as regards the notification of national safety rules in accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2004/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (3), they are not relevant for the reference document. Indeed, Directive 2008/110/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) amended that Directive so as to remove from Annex II to Directive 2004/49/EC the national safety rules related to requirements for the authorisation of placing in service and maintenance of vehicles.
(8) When compiling national reference documents, NSAs should determine priorities according to the objectives of Directive 2008/57/EC, taking account of the resources available within the NSAs after discussion in the relevant working parties.
(9) In accordance with Article 27(4) of Directive 2008/57/EC the Commission should be allowed at any time to adopt a measure addressed to the Agency with a view to modifying the reference document.
(10) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee referred to in Article 29(1) of Directive 2008/57/EC,