51995PC0337

Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 91/440/EEC on the development of the Community's railways (95/C 321/06) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(95) 337 final - 95/0205(SYN)

(Submitted by the Commission on 19 September 1995)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 75 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

In cooperation with the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Whereas the internal market comprises an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured;

Whereas the greater integration of the Community transport sector is an essential element of the internal market; whereas the railways are a vital part of the Community transport sector;

Whereas the application to the railways sector of the principle of freedom to provide services needs to take account of the specific characteristics of the sector and to be applied by stages;

Whereas Council Directive 91/440/EEC (1) provides that international groupings are to be granted access and transit rights in the Member States of establishment of their constituent railway undertakings, as well as transit rights in other Member States, for international transport services between the Member States where the undertakings constituting the said groupings are established;

Whereas the extension of those access rights, in accordance with the principle of freedom to provide services, would improve the efficiency of the railways relative to other modes of transport and facilitate transport between Member States, by encouraging competition and allowing the entry of new capital and enterprises;

Whereas freight transport offers considerable opportunities for the creation of new transport services and the improvement of existing ones;

Whereas, to be fully competitive, freight transport increasingly requires the provision of comprehensive services, including transport between and within Member States;

Whereas the international transport of passengers also offers substantial possibilities for the improvement of services;

Whereas, in the process of liberalization, it is necessary to take account of the contribution of transport services to the internal cohesion of national economies;

Whereas, in accordance with the principle of freedom to provide services and in order substantially to encourage competition and the entry of new operators, access rights should be extended to all railway undertakings established in the Community for the transport of goods, for the combined transport of goods and for the international transport of passengers throughout the Community;

Whereas, pursuant to the principle of proportionality, it is necessary and appropriate to set out at Community level the fundamental principle and objective of the freedom to provide services in the railway transport sector by the extension of access rights to all railway undertakings established in the Community, whilst leaving within the responsibility of the Member States the choice of the means to achieve the end result, which should be identical for all railway enterprises in the Community; whereas this is in accordance with the provisions of the third paragraph of Article 3b of the Treaty;

Whereas Directive 91/440/EEC should accordingly be amended,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Directive 91/440/EEC is hereby amended as follows:

1. Article 10 is replaced by the following:

'Article 10

1. Railway undertakings within the scope of Article 2 shall be granted access and transit rights to the infrastructure in their Member State of establishment and in other Member States on equitable conditions, for the purpose of operating:

- international and cabotage services for the transport of goods and for the combined transport of goods, where "cabotage" means national services provided by a railway undertaking within a Member State other than that in which it is established,

- international services for the transport of passengers including the right to pick up and set down passengers at any intermediate points between those of arrival and departure.

2. Railway undertakings engaged in providing the services referred to in paragraph 1 should conclude the necessary administrative, technical and financial agreements with the managers of the railway infra structure used, with a view to regulating traffic control and safety issues concerning those transport services. Such agreements shall be non-discriminatory.`

2. Article 14 is replaced by the following:

'Article 14

Within three years of (the date of adoption of Directive . . .), the Commission shall submit a report to the Council on the implementation of this Directive accompanied, if necessary, by suitable proposal on continuing Community action to develop railways.`

Article 2

Member States shall, after consultation with the Commission, adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive within 18 months of its entry into force. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt these provisions, these shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference at the time of their official publication. The procedure for such reference shall be adopted by Member States.

Article 3

This Directive shall enter into force the 20th day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 4

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

(1) OJ No L 237, 24. 8. 1991, p. 25.