Article 1 Objective
The objective of this Regulation is to establish common rules for the production of Community rail transport statistics.
Article 2 Scope
This Regulation shall cover all railways in the Community. Each Member State shall report statistics which relate to rail transport on its national territory. Where a railway undertaking operates in more than one Member State, the national authorities concerned shall require the undertaking to provide data separately for each country in which it operates so as to enable national statistics to be compiled. Member States may exclude from the scope of this Regulation: (a) railway undertakings which operate entirely or mainly within industrial and similar installations, including harbours; (b) railway undertakings which mainly provide local tourist services, such as preserved historical steam railways.
Article 3 Definitions
1. For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply: 1. ‘reporting country’ means the Member State transmitting data to Eurostat; 2. ‘national authorities’ means national statistical institutes and other bodies responsible in each Member State for producing Community statistics; 3. ‘railway’ means line of communication made up by rail exclusively for the use of railway vehicles; 4. ‘railway vehicle’ means mobile equipment running exclusively on rails, moving either under its own power (tractive vehicles) or hauled by another vehicle (coaches, railcar trailers, vans and wagons); 5. ‘railway undertaking’ means any public or private undertaking which provides services for the transport of goods and/or passengers by rail. Undertakings whose only business is to provide services for the transport of passengers by metro, tram and/or light rail are excluded; 6. ‘transport of goods by rail’ means the movement of goods using railway vehicles between the place of loading and the place of unloading; 7. ‘transport of passengers by rail’ means the movement of passengers using railway vehicles between the place of embarkation and the place of disembarkation. The transport of passengers by metro, tram and/or light rail is excluded; 8. ‘metro’ (also known as ‘subway’, ‘metropolitan railway’ or ‘underground’) means an electric railway for the transport of passengers with the capacity for a heavy volume of traffic and characterised by exclusive rights-of-way, multi-car trains, high speed and rapid acceleration, sophisticated signalling as well as the absence of level crossings to allow a high frequency of trains and high platform load. Metros are also characterised by closely spaced stations, normally meaning a distance of 700 to 1 200 m between the stations. ‘High speed’ refers to the comparison with trams and light rail, and means here approximately 30 to 40 km/h on shorter distances, 40 to 70 km/h on longer distances; 9. ‘tram (streetcar)’ means a passenger road vehicle designed to seat more than nine persons (including the driver), which is connected to electric conductors or powered by diesel engine and which is rail-borne; 10. ‘light rail’ means a railway for the transport of passengers that often uses electrically powered rail-borne cars operating singly or in short trains on fixed duo-rail lines. There is generally a distance of less than 1 200 m between stations/stops. In comparison to metros, light rail is more lightly constructed, is designed for lower traffic volumes and usually travels at lower speeds. It is sometimes difficult to make a precise distinction between light rail and trams; trams are generally not separated from road traffic, whereas light rail may be separated from other systems; 11. ‘national transport’ means rail transport between two places (a place of loading/embarkation and a place of unloading/disembarkation) located in the reporting country. It may involve transit through a second country; 12. ‘international transport’ means rail transport between a place (of loading/embarkation or unloading/disembarkation) in the reporting country and a place (of loading/embarkation or unloading/disembarkation) in another country; 13. ‘transit’ means rail transport through the reporting country between two places (a place of loading/embarkation and a place of unloading/disembarkation) outside the reporting country. Transport operations involving loading/embarkation or unloading/disembarkation of goods/passengers at the border of the reporting country from/onto another mode of transport are not considered as transit; 14. ‘rail passenger’ means any person, excluding members of the train crew, who makes a trip by rail. For accident statistics, passengers trying to embark/disembark onto/from a moving train are included; 15. ‘number of passengers’ means the number of trips by rail passengers, where each trip is defined as the movement from the place of embarkation to the place of disembarkation, with or without transfers from one rail vehicle to another. If passengers use the services of more than one railway undertaking, when possible they should not be counted more than once; 16. ‘passenger-km’ means the unit of measure representing the transport of one passenger by rail over a distance of one kilometre. Only the distance on the national territory of the reporting country shall be taken into account; 17. ‘weight’ means the quantity of goods in tonnes (1 000 kilograms). The weight to be taken into consideration includes, in addition to the weight of the goods transported, the weight of packaging and the tare weight of containers, swap bodies, pallets as well as road vehicles transported by rail in the course of combined transport operations. If the goods are transported using the services of more than one railway undertaking, when possible the weight of goods should not be counted more than once; 18. ‘tonne-km’ means the unit of measure of goods transport which represents the transport of one tonne (1 000 kilograms) of goods by rail over a distance of one kilometre. Only the distance on the national territory of the reporting country shall be taken into account; 19. ‘train’ means one or more railway vehicles hauled by one or more locomotives or railcars, or one railcar travelling alone, running under a given number or specific designation from an initial fixed point to a terminal fixed point. A light engine, i.e. a locomotive travelling on its own, is not considered to be a train; 20. ‘train-km’ means the unit of measure representing the movement of a train over one kilometre. The distance used is the distance actually run, if available, otherwise the standard network distance between the origin and destination shall be used. Only the distance on the national territory of the reporting country shall be taken into account; 21. ‘full trainload’ means any consignment comprising one or more wagonloads transported at the same time by the same sender at the same station and forwarded with no change in train composition to the address of the same consignee at the same destination station; 22. ‘full wagonload’ means any consignment of goods for which the exclusive use of a wagon is required, whether the total loading capacity is utilised or not; 23. ‘TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit)’ means a standard unit based on an ISO container of 20 feet length (6,10 m), used as a statistical measure of traffic flows or capacities. One standard 40' ISO Series 1 container equals 2 TEUs. Swap bodies under 20 feet correspond to 0,75 TEU, between 20 feet and 40 feet to 1,5 TEU and over 40 feet to 2,25 TEU; 24. ‘significant accident’ means any accident involving at least one rail vehicle in motion, resulting in at least one killed or seriously injured person, or in significant damage to stock, track, other installations or environment, or extensive disruptions to traffic. Accidents in workshops, warehouses and depots are excluded; 25. ‘serious injury accident’ means any accident involving at least one rail vehicle in motion, resulting in at least one killed or seriously injured person. Accidents in workshops, warehouses and depots are excluded; 26. ‘person killed’ means any person killed immediately or dying within 30 days as a result of an accident, excluding suicides; 27. ‘person seriously injured’ means any person injured who was hospitalised for more than 24 hours as a result of an accident, excluding attempted suicides; 28. ‘accident involving the transport of dangerous goods’ means any accident or incident that is subject to reporting in accordance with RID/ADR section 1.8.5. 29. ‘suicide’ means an act to deliberately injure oneself resulting in death, as recorded and classified by the competent national authority; 30. ‘attempted suicide’ means an act to deliberately injure oneself resulting in serious injury, but not in death, as recorded and classified by the competent national authority. 2. The definitions referred to in paragraph 1 may be adapted, and additional definitions needed to ensure harmonisation of statistics may be adopted by the Commission. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, inter alia, by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 11(3).
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The main objective of the European Union’s transport policy is to establish an internal market by developing common policies to promote a high degree of competitiveness and the harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities. The creation of a genuine internal market is fundamental to revitalising the railway sector and will help to make rail freight and passenger transport services more competitive and attractive, and increase their modal share of transport. In 2011, the European Commission adopted a roadmap (White Paper — Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system) featuring 40 concrete initiatives for the next decade aimed at building a competitive transport system that will increase mobility, remove major barriers in key areas and fuel growth and employment. At the same time, the proposals will dramatically reduce Europe’s dependence on imported oil and cut carbon emissions in transport by 60 % by 2050. According to the White Paper, a necessary condition for establishing a Single European Transport Area is the creation of Single European Railway Area, which can be done by completing the process of market liberalisation, including giving the European Rail Agency a stronger role in the field of rail safety, in particular in terms of supervising national safety measures and working towards their progressive harmonisation. The availability of detailed and timely rail transport statistics is becoming increasingly important given the growing momentum of evidence-based policy making in the Commission and the need to monitor progress towards the goals set out in the White Paper. Eurostat’s rail transport statistics are predominantly based on Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (16 December 2002), Commission Regulation (EC) No 1192/2003 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 332/2007. These Regulations cover passenger and freight transport by rail, as well as rail safety. The Commission needs statistics on the transport of goods and passengers by rail in order to monitor and develop the common transport policy. Detailed rail transport statistics for goods and passengers and information on intermodality are necessary to monitor the targets set in the 2011 Commission’s White Paper. Simplified reporting for goods and passengers presents only aggregated figures (total goods transported by type of goods and total passengers transported). There are no detailed breakdowns of, for example: country of embarkation/loading country, and country of disembarkation/unloading country; goods transported in intermodal transport units, by type of transport and by type of transport unit; goods transported, by category of dangerous goods; and the number of loaded intermodal transport units carried, by type of transport and by type of transport unit. Accidents have become a priority issue in EU transport policy, together with the other undesirable effects of transport: congestion, pollution, noise and CO2 emissions. Consequently it has become important to collect and disseminate data on accidents, fatalities, serious injuries and damage caused to the environment (by spillage of dangerous goods transported) in all modes of transport: road, rail, inland waterways, sea and air. Rail accident data have so far been collected under Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 on rail freight transport; they are also collected by the European Railways Agency (ERA) under the Statistical Annex to Directive 2009/149/EC on rail safety. In line with the requirement that official statistics should be relevant, i.e. that they should satisfy current and potential user needs, the proposal revises the current legal basis and further simplifies the requirements for data provision. Due account is also taken of the necessary trade-off between user needs and the burden on respondents and national statistical institutes. A technical analysis of the data collected under the European legislation on rail transport statistics and of the dissemination policy has been carried out at European level, in order to propose possible technical solutions to simplify as much as possible the various activities necessary for statistical production, while keeping the final output in line with present and future user needs. The aim of this proposal is thus to modify Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 in order to update, simplify and optimise the existing legal framework for European statistics on rail transport and to align it with the new institutional context.
Revised version (Article 3 Definitions):
1. For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply: 1. ‘reporting country’ means the Member State transmitting data to Eurostat; 2. ‘national authorities’ means national statistical institutes and other bodies responsible in each Member State for producing Community statistics; 3. ‘railway’ means line of communication made up by rail exclusively for the use of railway vehicles; 4. ‘railway vehicle’ means mobile equipment running exclusively on rails, moving either under its own power (tractive vehicles) or hauled by another vehicle (coaches, railcar trailers, vans and wagons); 5. ‘railway undertaking’ means any public or private undertaking which provides services for the transport of goods and/or passengers by rail. Undertakings whose only business is to provide services for the transport of passengers by metro, tram and/or light rail are excluded; 6. ‘transport of goods by rail’ means the movement of goods using railway vehicles between the place of loading and the place of unloading; 7. ‘transport of passengers by rail’ means the movement of passengers using railway vehicles between the place of embarkation and the place of disembarkation. The transport of passengers by metro, tram and/or light rail is excluded; 8. ‘metro’ (also known as ‘subway’, ‘metropolitan railway’ or ‘underground’) means an electric railway for the transport of passengers with the capacity for a heavy volume of traffic and characterised by exclusive rights-of-way, multi-car trains, high speed and rapid acceleration, sophisticated signalling as well as the absence of level crossings to allow a high frequency of trains and high platform load. Metros are also characterised by closely spaced stations, normally meaning a distance of 700 to 1 200 m between the stations. ‘High speed’ refers to the comparison with trams and light rail, and means here approximately 30 to 40 km/h on shorter distances, 40 to 70 km/h on longer distances; 9. ‘tram (streetcar)’ means a passenger road vehicle designed to seat more than nine persons (including the driver), which is connected to electric conductors or powered by diesel engine and which is rail-borne; 10. ‘light rail’ means a railway for the transport of passengers that often uses electrically powered rail-borne cars operating singly or in short trains on fixed duo-rail lines. There is generally a distance of less than 1 200 m between stations/stops. In comparison to metros, light rail is more lightly constructed, is designed for lower traffic volumes and usually travels at lower speeds. It is sometimes difficult to make a precise distinction between light rail and trams; trams are generally not separated from road traffic, whereas light rail may be separated from other systems; 11. ‘national transport’ means rail transport between two places (a place of loading/embarkation and a place of unloading/disembarkation) located in the reporting country. It may involve transit through a second country; 12. ‘international transport’ means rail transport between a place (of loading/embarkation or unloading/disembarkation) in the reporting country and a place (of loading/embarkation or unloading/disembarkation) in another country; 13. ‘transit’ means rail transport through the reporting country between two places (a place of loading/embarkation and a place of unloading/disembarkation) outside the reporting country. Transport operations involving loading/embarkation or unloading/disembarkation of goods/passengers at the border of the reporting country from/onto another mode of transport are not considered as transit; 14. ‘rail passenger’ means any person, excluding members of the train crew, who makes a trip by rail. For accident statistics, passengers trying to embark/disembark onto/from a moving train are included; 15. ‘number of passengers’ means the number of trips by rail passengers, where each trip is defined as the movement from the place of embarkation to the place of disembarkation, with or without transfers from one rail vehicle to another. If passengers use the services of more than one railway undertaking, when possible they should not be counted more than once; 16. ‘passenger-km’ means the unit of measure representing the transport of one passenger by rail over a distance of one kilometre. Only the distance on the national territory of the reporting country shall be taken into account; 17. ‘weight’ means the quantity of goods in tonnes (1 000 kilograms). The weight to be taken into consideration includes, in addition to the weight of the goods transported, the weight of packaging and the tare weight of containers, swap bodies, pallets as well as road vehicles transported by rail in the course of combined transport operations. If the goods are transported using the services of more than one railway undertaking, when possible the weight of goods should not be counted more than once; 18. ‘tonne-km’ means the unit of measure of goods transport which represents the transport of one tonne (1 000 kilograms) of goods by rail over a distance of one kilometre. Only the distance on the national territory of the reporting country shall be taken into account; 19. ‘train’ means one or more railway vehicles hauled by one or more locomotives or railcars, or one railcar travelling alone, running under a given number or specific designation from an initial fixed point to a terminal fixed point. A light engine, i.e. a locomotive travelling on its own, is not considered to be a train; 20. ‘train-km’ means the unit of measure representing the movement of a train over one kilometre. The distance used is the distance actually run, if available, otherwise the standard network distance between the origin and destination shall be used. Only the distance on the national territory of the reporting country shall be taken into account; 21. ‘full trainload’ means any consignment comprising one or more wagonloads transported at the same time by the same sender at the same station and forwarded with no change in train composition to the address of the same consignee at the same destination station; 22. ‘full wagonload’ means any consignment of goods for which the exclusive use of a wagon is required, whether the total loading capacity is utilised or not; 23. ‘TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit)’ means a standard unit based on an ISO container of 20 feet length (6,10 m), used as a statistical measure of traffic flows or capacities. One standard 40' ISO Series 1 container equals 2 TEUs. Swap bodies under 20 feet correspond to 0,75 TEU, between 20 feet and 40 feet to 1,5 TEU and over 40 feet to 2,25 TEU. 2. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 10 concerning the amendment of the present Article to adapt the technical definitions set out in points 8 to 10 and 21 to 23 of paragraph 1 and to provide for additional technical definitions, when needed to take into account new developments which require a certain level of technical detail to be defined in order to ensure the harmonisation of statistics. When exercising that power the Commission shall ensure that the delegated acts do not impose a significant additional burden on the Member States or on the respondents. Furthermore, the Commission shall duly justify the statistical actions for which those delegated acts provide, using, where appropriate, cost-effectiveness analysis, including an assessment of the burden on respondents and of the production costs, as referred to in point (c) of Article 14(3) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 1 ).
Article 4 Data collection
1. The statistics to be collected are set out in the Annexes to this Regulation. They shall cover the following types of data: (a) annual statistics on goods transport — detailed reporting (Annex A); (b) annual statistics on goods transport — simplified reporting (Annex B); (c) annual statistics on passenger transport — detailed reporting (Annex C); (d) annual statistics on passenger transport — simplified reporting (Annex D); (e) quarterly statistics on goods and passenger transport (Annex E); (f) regional statistics on goods and passenger transport (Annex F); (g) statistics on traffic flows on the rail network (Annex G); (h) statistics on accidents (Annex H). 2. Annexes B and D set out simplified reporting requirements, which may be used by Member States as alternatives to the normal detailed reporting requirements set out in Annexes A and C, for undertakings for which the total volume of goods or passenger transport is less than 500 million tonne-km or 200 million passenger-km respectively. These thresholds may be adapted by the Commission. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 11(3). 3. Member States shall also provide a list of the railway undertakings for which statistics are provided, as specified in Annex I. 4. For the purposes of this Regulation, goods shall be classified in accordance with Annex J. Dangerous goods shall additionally be classified in accordance with Annex K. 5. The contents of the Annexes may be adapted by the Commission. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 11(3).
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The main objective of the European Union’s transport policy is to establish an internal market by developing common policies to promote a high degree of competitiveness and the harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities. The creation of a genuine internal market is fundamental to revitalising the railway sector and will help to make rail freight and passenger transport services more competitive and attractive, and increase their modal share of transport. In 2011, the European Commission adopted a roadmap (White Paper — Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system) featuring 40 concrete initiatives for the next decade aimed at building a competitive transport system that will increase mobility, remove major barriers in key areas and fuel growth and employment. At the same time, the proposals will dramatically reduce Europe’s dependence on imported oil and cut carbon emissions in transport by 60 % by 2050. According to the White Paper, a necessary condition for establishing a Single European Transport Area is the creation of Single European Railway Area, which can be done by completing the process of market liberalisation, including giving the European Rail Agency a stronger role in the field of rail safety, in particular in terms of supervising national safety measures and working towards their progressive harmonisation. The availability of detailed and timely rail transport statistics is becoming increasingly important given the growing momentum of evidence-based policy making in the Commission and the need to monitor progress towards the goals set out in the White Paper. Eurostat’s rail transport statistics are predominantly based on Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (16 December 2002), Commission Regulation (EC) No 1192/2003 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 332/2007. These Regulations cover passenger and freight transport by rail, as well as rail safety. The Commission needs statistics on the transport of goods and passengers by rail in order to monitor and develop the common transport policy. Detailed rail transport statistics for goods and passengers and information on intermodality are necessary to monitor the targets set in the 2011 Commission’s White Paper. Simplified reporting for goods and passengers presents only aggregated figures (total goods transported by type of goods and total passengers transported). There are no detailed breakdowns of, for example: country of embarkation/loading country, and country of disembarkation/unloading country; goods transported in intermodal transport units, by type of transport and by type of transport unit; goods transported, by category of dangerous goods; and the number of loaded intermodal transport units carried, by type of transport and by type of transport unit. Accidents have become a priority issue in EU transport policy, together with the other undesirable effects of transport: congestion, pollution, noise and CO2 emissions. Consequently it has become important to collect and disseminate data on accidents, fatalities, serious injuries and damage caused to the environment (by spillage of dangerous goods transported) in all modes of transport: road, rail, inland waterways, sea and air. Rail accident data have so far been collected under Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 on rail freight transport; they are also collected by the European Railways Agency (ERA) under the Statistical Annex to Directive 2009/149/EC on rail safety. In line with the requirement that official statistics should be relevant, i.e. that they should satisfy current and potential user needs, the proposal revises the current legal basis and further simplifies the requirements for data provision. Due account is also taken of the necessary trade-off between user needs and the burden on respondents and national statistical institutes. A technical analysis of the data collected under the European legislation on rail transport statistics and of the dissemination policy has been carried out at European level, in order to propose possible technical solutions to simplify as much as possible the various activities necessary for statistical production, while keeping the final output in line with present and future user needs. The aim of this proposal is thus to modify Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 in order to update, simplify and optimise the existing legal framework for European statistics on rail transport and to align it with the new institutional context.
Revised version (Article 4 Data collection):
1. The statistics to be collected are set out in the Annexes to this Regulation. They shall cover the following types of data: (a) annual statistics on goods transport — detailed reporting (Annex A); (c) annual statistics on passenger transport — detailed reporting (Annex C); (e) quarterly statistics on goods and passenger transport (Annex E); (f) regional statistics on goods and passenger transport (Annex F); (g) statistics on traffic flows on the rail network (Annex G). 2. Member States shall report under Annexes A and C data for undertakings that have: (a) a total volume of goods transport of at least 200 000 000 tonne-km or at least 500 000 tonnes; (b) a total volume of passenger transport of at least 100 000 000 passenger-km. Reporting under Annexes A and C shall be optional in respect of undertakings falling below the thresholds referred to in points (a) and (b). 3. Member States shall report under Annex L the total data for undertakings falling below the thresholds referred to in paragraph 2 if those data are not reported under Annexes A and C, as specified in Annex L. 4. For the purposes of this Regulation, goods shall be classified in accordance with Annex J. Dangerous goods shall additionally be classified in accordance with Annex K. 5. The contents of the Annexes may be adapted by the Commission. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 11(3).
Article 5 Data sources
1. Member States shall designate a public or private organisation to participate in collecting the data required under this Regulation. 2. The necessary data may be obtained using any combination of the following sources: (a) compulsory surveys; (b) administrative data, including data collected by regulatory authorities; (c) statistical estimation procedures; (d) data supplied by professional organisations in the rail industry; (e) ad hoc studies. 3. The national authorities shall take measures for the coordination of the data sources used and to ensure the quality of the statistics transmitted to Eurostat.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The main objective of the European Union’s transport policy is to establish an internal market by developing common policies to promote a high degree of competitiveness and the harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities. The creation of a genuine internal market is fundamental to revitalising the railway sector and will help to make rail freight and passenger transport services more competitive and attractive, and increase their modal share of transport. In 2011, the European Commission adopted a roadmap (White Paper — Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system) featuring 40 concrete initiatives for the next decade aimed at building a competitive transport system that will increase mobility, remove major barriers in key areas and fuel growth and employment. At the same time, the proposals will dramatically reduce Europe’s dependence on imported oil and cut carbon emissions in transport by 60 % by 2050. According to the White Paper, a necessary condition for establishing a Single European Transport Area is the creation of Single European Railway Area, which can be done by completing the process of market liberalisation, including giving the European Rail Agency a stronger role in the field of rail safety, in particular in terms of supervising national safety measures and working towards their progressive harmonisation. The availability of detailed and timely rail transport statistics is becoming increasingly important given the growing momentum of evidence-based policy making in the Commission and the need to monitor progress towards the goals set out in the White Paper. Eurostat’s rail transport statistics are predominantly based on Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (16 December 2002), Commission Regulation (EC) No 1192/2003 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 332/2007. These Regulations cover passenger and freight transport by rail, as well as rail safety. The Commission needs statistics on the transport of goods and passengers by rail in order to monitor and develop the common transport policy. Detailed rail transport statistics for goods and passengers and information on intermodality are necessary to monitor the targets set in the 2011 Commission’s White Paper. Simplified reporting for goods and passengers presents only aggregated figures (total goods transported by type of goods and total passengers transported). There are no detailed breakdowns of, for example: country of embarkation/loading country, and country of disembarkation/unloading country; goods transported in intermodal transport units, by type of transport and by type of transport unit; goods transported, by category of dangerous goods; and the number of loaded intermodal transport units carried, by type of transport and by type of transport unit. Accidents have become a priority issue in EU transport policy, together with the other undesirable effects of transport: congestion, pollution, noise and CO2 emissions. Consequently it has become important to collect and disseminate data on accidents, fatalities, serious injuries and damage caused to the environment (by spillage of dangerous goods transported) in all modes of transport: road, rail, inland waterways, sea and air. Rail accident data have so far been collected under Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 on rail freight transport; they are also collected by the European Railways Agency (ERA) under the Statistical Annex to Directive 2009/149/EC on rail safety. In line with the requirement that official statistics should be relevant, i.e. that they should satisfy current and potential user needs, the proposal revises the current legal basis and further simplifies the requirements for data provision. Due account is also taken of the necessary trade-off between user needs and the burden on respondents and national statistical institutes. A technical analysis of the data collected under the European legislation on rail transport statistics and of the dissemination policy has been carried out at European level, in order to propose possible technical solutions to simplify as much as possible the various activities necessary for statistical production, while keeping the final output in line with present and future user needs. The aim of this proposal is thus to modify Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 in order to update, simplify and optimise the existing legal framework for European statistics on rail transport and to align it with the new institutional context.
Revised version (Article 5 Data sources):
1. Member States shall designate a public or private organisation to participate in collecting the data required under this Regulation. 2. The necessary data may be obtained using any combination of the following sources: (a) compulsory surveys; (b) administrative data, including data collected by regulatory authorities, in particular the rail freight waybill if one is available; (c) statistical estimation procedures; (d) data supplied by professional organisations in the rail industry; (e) ad hoc studies. 3. The national authorities shall take measures for the coordination of the data sources used and to ensure the quality of the statistics transmitted to Eurostat.
Article 6 Transmission of statistics to Eurostat
1. Member States shall transmit to Eurostat the statistics referred to in Article 4. 2. The arrangements for transmission of the statistics referred to in Article 4 shall be laid down in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 11(2).
Article 7 Dissemination
1. Community statistics based on the data specified in Annexes A to H to this Regulation shall be disseminated by Eurostat. In this context, and in view of the characteristics of the European railway market, data deemed to be confidential under Article 13(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 may be disclosed only if: (a) the data are already available to the public in the Member States; or (b) the explicit approval for such disclosure has been given in advance by the undertakings concerned. The national authorities shall make a request to such undertakings for permission to disclose the required data and shall inform Eurostat of the result of this request when the data are transmitted to Eurostat. 2. The information reported under Annex I shall not be disseminated.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The main objective of the European Union’s transport policy is to establish an internal market by developing common policies to promote a high degree of competitiveness and the harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities. The creation of a genuine internal market is fundamental to revitalising the railway sector and will help to make rail freight and passenger transport services more competitive and attractive, and increase their modal share of transport. In 2011, the European Commission adopted a roadmap (White Paper — Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system) featuring 40 concrete initiatives for the next decade aimed at building a competitive transport system that will increase mobility, remove major barriers in key areas and fuel growth and employment. At the same time, the proposals will dramatically reduce Europe’s dependence on imported oil and cut carbon emissions in transport by 60 % by 2050. According to the White Paper, a necessary condition for establishing a Single European Transport Area is the creation of Single European Railway Area, which can be done by completing the process of market liberalisation, including giving the European Rail Agency a stronger role in the field of rail safety, in particular in terms of supervising national safety measures and working towards their progressive harmonisation. The availability of detailed and timely rail transport statistics is becoming increasingly important given the growing momentum of evidence-based policy making in the Commission and the need to monitor progress towards the goals set out in the White Paper. Eurostat’s rail transport statistics are predominantly based on Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (16 December 2002), Commission Regulation (EC) No 1192/2003 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 332/2007. These Regulations cover passenger and freight transport by rail, as well as rail safety. The Commission needs statistics on the transport of goods and passengers by rail in order to monitor and develop the common transport policy. Detailed rail transport statistics for goods and passengers and information on intermodality are necessary to monitor the targets set in the 2011 Commission’s White Paper. Simplified reporting for goods and passengers presents only aggregated figures (total goods transported by type of goods and total passengers transported). There are no detailed breakdowns of, for example: country of embarkation/loading country, and country of disembarkation/unloading country; goods transported in intermodal transport units, by type of transport and by type of transport unit; goods transported, by category of dangerous goods; and the number of loaded intermodal transport units carried, by type of transport and by type of transport unit. Accidents have become a priority issue in EU transport policy, together with the other undesirable effects of transport: congestion, pollution, noise and CO2 emissions. Consequently it has become important to collect and disseminate data on accidents, fatalities, serious injuries and damage caused to the environment (by spillage of dangerous goods transported) in all modes of transport: road, rail, inland waterways, sea and air. Rail accident data have so far been collected under Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 on rail freight transport; they are also collected by the European Railways Agency (ERA) under the Statistical Annex to Directive 2009/149/EC on rail safety. In line with the requirement that official statistics should be relevant, i.e. that they should satisfy current and potential user needs, the proposal revises the current legal basis and further simplifies the requirements for data provision. Due account is also taken of the necessary trade-off between user needs and the burden on respondents and national statistical institutes. A technical analysis of the data collected under the European legislation on rail transport statistics and of the dissemination policy has been carried out at European level, in order to propose possible technical solutions to simplify as much as possible the various activities necessary for statistical production, while keeping the final output in line with present and future user needs. The aim of this proposal is thus to modify Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 in order to update, simplify and optimise the existing legal framework for European statistics on rail transport and to align it with the new institutional context.
Revised version (Article 7 Dissemination):
Statistics based on the data specified in Annexes A, C, E, F, G and L shall be disseminated by the Commission (Eurostat). The Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down the arrangements for the dissemination of results. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 11(2).
Article 8 Quality of statistics
1. In order to assist Member States in maintaining the quality of statistics in the domain of rail transport, Eurostat shall develop and publish methodological recommendations. These recommendations shall take account of the best practices of national authorities, of railway undertakings and of professional organisations for the railway industry. 2. The quality of the statistical data shall be evaluated by Eurostat. To this end, on request by Eurostat, Member States shall supply information on the methods used in producing the statistics.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The main objective of the European Union’s transport policy is to establish an internal market by developing common policies to promote a high degree of competitiveness and the harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities. The creation of a genuine internal market is fundamental to revitalising the railway sector and will help to make rail freight and passenger transport services more competitive and attractive, and increase their modal share of transport. In 2011, the European Commission adopted a roadmap (White Paper — Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system) featuring 40 concrete initiatives for the next decade aimed at building a competitive transport system that will increase mobility, remove major barriers in key areas and fuel growth and employment. At the same time, the proposals will dramatically reduce Europe’s dependence on imported oil and cut carbon emissions in transport by 60 % by 2050. According to the White Paper, a necessary condition for establishing a Single European Transport Area is the creation of Single European Railway Area, which can be done by completing the process of market liberalisation, including giving the European Rail Agency a stronger role in the field of rail safety, in particular in terms of supervising national safety measures and working towards their progressive harmonisation. The availability of detailed and timely rail transport statistics is becoming increasingly important given the growing momentum of evidence-based policy making in the Commission and the need to monitor progress towards the goals set out in the White Paper. Eurostat’s rail transport statistics are predominantly based on Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (16 December 2002), Commission Regulation (EC) No 1192/2003 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 332/2007. These Regulations cover passenger and freight transport by rail, as well as rail safety. The Commission needs statistics on the transport of goods and passengers by rail in order to monitor and develop the common transport policy. Detailed rail transport statistics for goods and passengers and information on intermodality are necessary to monitor the targets set in the 2011 Commission’s White Paper. Simplified reporting for goods and passengers presents only aggregated figures (total goods transported by type of goods and total passengers transported). There are no detailed breakdowns of, for example: country of embarkation/loading country, and country of disembarkation/unloading country; goods transported in intermodal transport units, by type of transport and by type of transport unit; goods transported, by category of dangerous goods; and the number of loaded intermodal transport units carried, by type of transport and by type of transport unit. Accidents have become a priority issue in EU transport policy, together with the other undesirable effects of transport: congestion, pollution, noise and CO2 emissions. Consequently it has become important to collect and disseminate data on accidents, fatalities, serious injuries and damage caused to the environment (by spillage of dangerous goods transported) in all modes of transport: road, rail, inland waterways, sea and air. Rail accident data have so far been collected under Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 on rail freight transport; they are also collected by the European Railways Agency (ERA) under the Statistical Annex to Directive 2009/149/EC on rail safety. In line with the requirement that official statistics should be relevant, i.e. that they should satisfy current and potential user needs, the proposal revises the current legal basis and further simplifies the requirements for data provision. Due account is also taken of the necessary trade-off between user needs and the burden on respondents and national statistical institutes. A technical analysis of the data collected under the European legislation on rail transport statistics and of the dissemination policy has been carried out at European level, in order to propose possible technical solutions to simplify as much as possible the various activities necessary for statistical production, while keeping the final output in line with present and future user needs. The aim of this proposal is thus to modify Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 in order to update, simplify and optimise the existing legal framework for European statistics on rail transport and to align it with the new institutional context.
Revised version (Article 8 Quality of statistics):
1. In order to assist Member States in maintaining the quality of statistics in the domain of rail transport, Eurostat shall develop and publish methodological recommendations. These recommendations shall take account of the best practices of national authorities, of railway undertakings and of professional organisations for the railway industry. 1a. Member States shall take all measures necessary to ensure the quality of the data transmitted. 2. The quality of the statistical data shall be evaluated by Eurostat. To this end, on request by Eurostat, Member States shall supply information on the methods used in producing the statistics. 3. For the purposes of this Regulation, the quality criteria to be applied to the data to be transmitted are those referred to in Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009. 4. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying the detailed arrangements, structure, periodicity and comparability elements for the standard quality reports. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 11(2).
Article 9 Report
After data have been collected over three years, the Commission shall send a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on experience acquired in the work carried out under this Regulation accompanied, if necessary, by appropriate proposals. That report shall include the results of the quality evaluation referred to in Article 8. It shall evaluate the impact on the quality of rail transport statistics of the application to this Regulation of the provisions on the confidentiality of statistics laid down in Regulation (EC) No 322/97. It shall also evaluate the benefits of the availability of statistics in this domain, the costs of obtaining such statistics and the burden on enterprises.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The main objective of the European Union’s transport policy is to establish an internal market by developing common policies to promote a high degree of competitiveness and the harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities. The creation of a genuine internal market is fundamental to revitalising the railway sector and will help to make rail freight and passenger transport services more competitive and attractive, and increase their modal share of transport. In 2011, the European Commission adopted a roadmap (White Paper — Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system) featuring 40 concrete initiatives for the next decade aimed at building a competitive transport system that will increase mobility, remove major barriers in key areas and fuel growth and employment. At the same time, the proposals will dramatically reduce Europe’s dependence on imported oil and cut carbon emissions in transport by 60 % by 2050. According to the White Paper, a necessary condition for establishing a Single European Transport Area is the creation of Single European Railway Area, which can be done by completing the process of market liberalisation, including giving the European Rail Agency a stronger role in the field of rail safety, in particular in terms of supervising national safety measures and working towards their progressive harmonisation. The availability of detailed and timely rail transport statistics is becoming increasingly important given the growing momentum of evidence-based policy making in the Commission and the need to monitor progress towards the goals set out in the White Paper. Eurostat’s rail transport statistics are predominantly based on Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (16 December 2002), Commission Regulation (EC) No 1192/2003 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 332/2007. These Regulations cover passenger and freight transport by rail, as well as rail safety. The Commission needs statistics on the transport of goods and passengers by rail in order to monitor and develop the common transport policy. Detailed rail transport statistics for goods and passengers and information on intermodality are necessary to monitor the targets set in the 2011 Commission’s White Paper. Simplified reporting for goods and passengers presents only aggregated figures (total goods transported by type of goods and total passengers transported). There are no detailed breakdowns of, for example: country of embarkation/loading country, and country of disembarkation/unloading country; goods transported in intermodal transport units, by type of transport and by type of transport unit; goods transported, by category of dangerous goods; and the number of loaded intermodal transport units carried, by type of transport and by type of transport unit. Accidents have become a priority issue in EU transport policy, together with the other undesirable effects of transport: congestion, pollution, noise and CO2 emissions. Consequently it has become important to collect and disseminate data on accidents, fatalities, serious injuries and damage caused to the environment (by spillage of dangerous goods transported) in all modes of transport: road, rail, inland waterways, sea and air. Rail accident data have so far been collected under Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 on rail freight transport; they are also collected by the European Railways Agency (ERA) under the Statistical Annex to Directive 2009/149/EC on rail safety. In line with the requirement that official statistics should be relevant, i.e. that they should satisfy current and potential user needs, the proposal revises the current legal basis and further simplifies the requirements for data provision. Due account is also taken of the necessary trade-off between user needs and the burden on respondents and national statistical institutes. A technical analysis of the data collected under the European legislation on rail transport statistics and of the dissemination policy has been carried out at European level, in order to propose possible technical solutions to simplify as much as possible the various activities necessary for statistical production, while keeping the final output in line with present and future user needs. The aim of this proposal is thus to modify Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 in order to update, simplify and optimise the existing legal framework for European statistics on rail transport and to align it with the new institutional context.
Revised version (Article 9 Reports on implementation):
By 31 December 2020 and every four years thereafter, the Commission, after consulting the European Statistical System Committee, shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of this Regulation and on future developments. In that report, the Commission shall take account of relevant information provided by Member States relating to the quality of the data transmitted, the data collection methods used and information on potential improvements and on users' needs. In particular, that report shall: (a) assess the benefits, accruing to the Union, the Member States and the providers and users of statistical information, of the statistics produced, in relation to their costs; (b) assess the quality of the data transmitted, the data collection methods used and the quality of the statistics produced.
Article 10 
Implementing procedures 1. The arrangements for the transmission of data to Eurostat shall be made in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 11(2). 2. The Commission shall adopt the following implementing measures: (a) adaptation of the thresholds for simplified reporting (Article 4); (b) adaptation of the definitions and adoption of additional definitions (Article 3(2)); (c) adaptation of the contents of the annexes (Article 4); (d) specification of information to be supplied for the reports on the quality and comparability of the results (Article 8(2)). Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, inter alia, , by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 11(3).
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The main objective of the European Union’s transport policy is to establish an internal market by developing common policies to promote a high degree of competitiveness and the harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities. The creation of a genuine internal market is fundamental to revitalising the railway sector and will help to make rail freight and passenger transport services more competitive and attractive, and increase their modal share of transport. In 2011, the European Commission adopted a roadmap (White Paper — Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system) featuring 40 concrete initiatives for the next decade aimed at building a competitive transport system that will increase mobility, remove major barriers in key areas and fuel growth and employment. At the same time, the proposals will dramatically reduce Europe’s dependence on imported oil and cut carbon emissions in transport by 60 % by 2050. According to the White Paper, a necessary condition for establishing a Single European Transport Area is the creation of Single European Railway Area, which can be done by completing the process of market liberalisation, including giving the European Rail Agency a stronger role in the field of rail safety, in particular in terms of supervising national safety measures and working towards their progressive harmonisation. The availability of detailed and timely rail transport statistics is becoming increasingly important given the growing momentum of evidence-based policy making in the Commission and the need to monitor progress towards the goals set out in the White Paper. Eurostat’s rail transport statistics are predominantly based on Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (16 December 2002), Commission Regulation (EC) No 1192/2003 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 332/2007. These Regulations cover passenger and freight transport by rail, as well as rail safety. The Commission needs statistics on the transport of goods and passengers by rail in order to monitor and develop the common transport policy. Detailed rail transport statistics for goods and passengers and information on intermodality are necessary to monitor the targets set in the 2011 Commission’s White Paper. Simplified reporting for goods and passengers presents only aggregated figures (total goods transported by type of goods and total passengers transported). There are no detailed breakdowns of, for example: country of embarkation/loading country, and country of disembarkation/unloading country; goods transported in intermodal transport units, by type of transport and by type of transport unit; goods transported, by category of dangerous goods; and the number of loaded intermodal transport units carried, by type of transport and by type of transport unit. Accidents have become a priority issue in EU transport policy, together with the other undesirable effects of transport: congestion, pollution, noise and CO2 emissions. Consequently it has become important to collect and disseminate data on accidents, fatalities, serious injuries and damage caused to the environment (by spillage of dangerous goods transported) in all modes of transport: road, rail, inland waterways, sea and air. Rail accident data have so far been collected under Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 on rail freight transport; they are also collected by the European Railways Agency (ERA) under the Statistical Annex to Directive 2009/149/EC on rail safety. In line with the requirement that official statistics should be relevant, i.e. that they should satisfy current and potential user needs, the proposal revises the current legal basis and further simplifies the requirements for data provision. Due account is also taken of the necessary trade-off between user needs and the burden on respondents and national statistical institutes. A technical analysis of the data collected under the European legislation on rail transport statistics and of the dissemination policy has been carried out at European level, in order to propose possible technical solutions to simplify as much as possible the various activities necessary for statistical production, while keeping the final output in line with present and future user needs. The aim of this proposal is thus to modify Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 in order to update, simplify and optimise the existing legal framework for European statistics on rail transport and to align it with the new institutional context.
Revised version (Article 10 Exercise of the delegation):
1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article. 2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 3(2) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 13 December 2016. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the five year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period. 3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 3(2) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force. 4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making ( 2 ). 5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council. 6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 3(2) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.
Article 11 
Committee procedure 1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Statistical Programme Committee established by Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom. 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof. The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months. 3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to (4) and (5)(a) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The main objective of the European Union’s transport policy is to establish an internal market by developing common policies to promote a high degree of competitiveness and the harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities. The creation of a genuine internal market is fundamental to revitalising the railway sector and will help to make rail freight and passenger transport services more competitive and attractive, and increase their modal share of transport. In 2011, the European Commission adopted a roadmap (White Paper — Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system) featuring 40 concrete initiatives for the next decade aimed at building a competitive transport system that will increase mobility, remove major barriers in key areas and fuel growth and employment. At the same time, the proposals will dramatically reduce Europe’s dependence on imported oil and cut carbon emissions in transport by 60 % by 2050. According to the White Paper, a necessary condition for establishing a Single European Transport Area is the creation of Single European Railway Area, which can be done by completing the process of market liberalisation, including giving the European Rail Agency a stronger role in the field of rail safety, in particular in terms of supervising national safety measures and working towards their progressive harmonisation. The availability of detailed and timely rail transport statistics is becoming increasingly important given the growing momentum of evidence-based policy making in the Commission and the need to monitor progress towards the goals set out in the White Paper. Eurostat’s rail transport statistics are predominantly based on Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (16 December 2002), Commission Regulation (EC) No 1192/2003 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 332/2007. These Regulations cover passenger and freight transport by rail, as well as rail safety. The Commission needs statistics on the transport of goods and passengers by rail in order to monitor and develop the common transport policy. Detailed rail transport statistics for goods and passengers and information on intermodality are necessary to monitor the targets set in the 2011 Commission’s White Paper. Simplified reporting for goods and passengers presents only aggregated figures (total goods transported by type of goods and total passengers transported). There are no detailed breakdowns of, for example: country of embarkation/loading country, and country of disembarkation/unloading country; goods transported in intermodal transport units, by type of transport and by type of transport unit; goods transported, by category of dangerous goods; and the number of loaded intermodal transport units carried, by type of transport and by type of transport unit. Accidents have become a priority issue in EU transport policy, together with the other undesirable effects of transport: congestion, pollution, noise and CO2 emissions. Consequently it has become important to collect and disseminate data on accidents, fatalities, serious injuries and damage caused to the environment (by spillage of dangerous goods transported) in all modes of transport: road, rail, inland waterways, sea and air. Rail accident data have so far been collected under Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 on rail freight transport; they are also collected by the European Railways Agency (ERA) under the Statistical Annex to Directive 2009/149/EC on rail safety. In line with the requirement that official statistics should be relevant, i.e. that they should satisfy current and potential user needs, the proposal revises the current legal basis and further simplifies the requirements for data provision. Due account is also taken of the necessary trade-off between user needs and the burden on respondents and national statistical institutes. A technical analysis of the data collected under the European legislation on rail transport statistics and of the dissemination policy has been carried out at European level, in order to propose possible technical solutions to simplify as much as possible the various activities necessary for statistical production, while keeping the final output in line with present and future user needs. The aim of this proposal is thus to modify Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 in order to update, simplify and optimise the existing legal framework for European statistics on rail transport and to align it with the new institutional context.
Revised version (Article 11 Committee procedure):
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the European Statistical System Committee established by Regulation (EC) No 223/2009. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 3 ). 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
Article 12 Directive 80/1177/EEC
1. Member States shall provide results for the year 2002 in accordance with Directive 80/1177/EEC. 2. Directive 80/1177/EEC is hereby repealed with effect from 1 January 2003.
Article 13 Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities . This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.