Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/171 of 4 February 2015 on certain aspects of the procedure of licensing railway undertakings  Text with EEA relevance

5.2.2015 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 29/3
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2015/171
of 4 February 2015
on certain aspects of the procedure of licensing railway undertakings
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 establishing a single European railway area (1) and in particular Article 17(5) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Commission Recommendation of 7 April 2004 on the use of a common European format for licence documents issued in accordance with Council Directive 95/18/EC on the licensing of railway undertakings (2) recommended the use of the standard format for the licence documents issued by national licensing authorities.
(2) Pursuant to Article 23 of Directive 2012/34/EU licences delivered by national licensing authorities are valid throughout the territory of the Union. The national licensing authorities should inform the European Railway Agency of licences that have been issued, suspended, revoked or amended and the latter should inform the other Member States accordingly. A common template for the licence would facilitate the work of the national licensing authorities and of the European Railway Agency and provide easier access to information on licences by all interested parties, in particular the licensing authorities of other Member States and the infrastructure managers.
(3) All necessary information that confirms that a given railway undertaking has been regularly licensed for a certain type of rail transport services can be contained within a standardised document. The standard template for the licence document would facilitate publication of all relevant information on licences on the website of the European Railway Agency. The standard format could be modified in the future depending on experience of its use and the development of the needs for further information on licences.
(4) The conditions under which the requirements referred to in Article 22 of Directive 2012/34/EU relating to cover for civil liability may be fulfilled may vary between Member States depending on national law. Evidence that the railway undertaking meets these national requirements should be provided for by an annex to the licence document. The standard template for this annex should be used for this purpose. In case the railway undertaking wishes to exercise its activities in two or more Member States, the cover for civil liability for each of these Member States should be mentioned in an additional annex, which should be supplied by the licensing authority in the additional Member State the railway undertaking wishes to operate in.
(5) Licensing authorities may reduce their administrative costs, the level of licensing fees and the time to make a decision on an application for a licence if they swiftly exchange the necessary data with other authorities and other public or private entities.
(6) Due to little movement in the market, no licensing decisions are taken in some Member States for one or more consecutive years. At the same time, high fees may pose an obstacle to market entry of railway undertakings.
(7) Railway undertakings which apply for a new licence should not face less favourable licensing conditions than the railway undertakings already operating in the market.
(8) Unnecessary administrative burden imposed on licensing authorities and undertakings should be reduced by strictly limiting the requirements to the conditions set out in Directive 2012/34/EU.
(9) The licensing authorities have no obligation to request a licensing fee from a railway undertaking. However Member States may decide to impose such a fee for the work undertaken by the licensing authorities on the examination of the application. In such a case the licensing fee should be non-discriminatory, be effectively levied on all the undertakings applying for a licence and be based on the actual workload of the licensing authority. If the licensing fee exceeds EUR 5 000, the licensing authority should set out the number of person hours employed and the expenditure in the payment note for the fee.
(10) In an attempt to create a level playing field between railway undertakings, Directive 2012/34/EU has repealed certain arrangements that are not compatible with enhancing market conditions, whereby railway undertakings have to be insured or have adequate guarantees under market conditions. Licensing authorities should be invited to verify the implementation of the revised conditions in cooperation with other authorities of Member States.
(11) The granting of a licence to a railway undertaking should not be conditional on it holding a safety certificate referred to in Article 10 of Directive 2004/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (3).
(12) New railway undertakings are critical for competition, but they may have practical difficulties to provide a track record on their financial fitness which allows them to establish realistic assumptions for a period of 12 months in the future according to Article 20(1) and (2) of Directive 2012/34/EU. Whilst EU legislators have created the option of simplified proof for certain smaller air carriers according to Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4), the procedure for obtaining a licence may take account of these practical difficulties by alleviating the procedure for demonstrating financial fitness for railway undertakings that apply for a licence.
(13) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established in accordance with Article 62(1) of Directive 2012/34/EU,