On June 16, the European transport ministers met in Luxembourg to discuss several key proposals launched by the European Commission, including a Directive on supporting the single European railway area and the White Paper on Transport. The Transport Council has also been attended by the EC Vice President, Siim Kallas. The European railway sector, represented by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), has asked the transport ministers to support the ten goals specified by the Commission in the White Paper.
In order to meet the Commission’s target to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from transport by at least 60% by 2050 compared to their 1990 levels, the ten goals of the White Paper now need to be translated into legislation and concrete measures. CER, the representative of the railway sector, believes that the ten goals are achievable and indeed necessary and asked transport ministers to endorse them. A firm statement from Europe’s transport ministers supporting the White Paper’s goals would echo that of Europe’s energy ministers, who concluded on 10 June that “decisive action is crucial to improve transport sustainability and to reduce oil dependence by increasing the energy efficiency of the transport system”.
Despite the fact CER took a firm stand stressing the importance of revising and observing the proposals included in the White Paper, the organisation was deeply disappointed by the Council’s ‘general approach’ on the recast of the first railway package. Why? European transport ministers adopted by qualified majority a ‘general approach’ on the recast of the first railway package. Despite the tremendous efforts undertaken by the Hungarian Presidency in trying to reach a reasonable compromise, the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) was extremely disappointed by the position taken by the Council on such an important legislative proposal for the rail sector.
The European Commission proposal aimed to clarify the first railway package and to further enhance competition within the rail sector. This was to be achieved through clearer rules on the financial architecture and on market access provisions for rail related services as well as by reinforcing the independence and scope of competence of regulatory bodies.
The Transport Council completely undermined the text by watering down the key provisions to such an extent that there is a serious risk of falling behind the sector’s current state of play. Even more disappointing is the fact that the European Commission openly supported such a step backwards.
“It was a sad day for the rail sector as no valuable progress was made towards reinforcing the Single European Railway Area. CER is now putting all its hopes on the European Parliament which appears to be taking a positive and much more ambitious direction”, said CER Executive Director Johannes Ludewig.
Eventually, reconciling in second reading two completely opposed positions in Council and Parliament will be more than a challenging task for all interested parties in the coming months.
by Elena Ilie
Share on:
