(1)

The Union acceded to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail of 9 May 1980, as amended by the Vilnius Protocol of 3 June 1999 (the ‘COTIF’), by means of Council Decision 2013/103/EU (1) and the Agreement between the European Union and the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) on the Accession of the European Union to the COTIF Convention (2).

(2)

Pursuant to Article 13(1)(f) of the COTIF, the Committee of Technical Experts (‘CTE’) of the OTIF was set up.

(3)

Pursuant to Article 20(1)(b) of the COTIF, and in accordance with Article 6(1) of the Uniform Rules concerning the Validation of Technical Standards and the Adoption of Uniform Technical Prescriptions applicable to Railway Material intended to be used in International Traffic (APTU) — Appendix F to COTIF, the CTE is competent to adopt or to amend, inter alia, the Uniform Technical Prescriptions (UTP) concerning the subsystem ‘Rolling stock — Freight Wagons’ (UTP WAG), concerning the subsystem ‘Rolling stock — Noise’ (UTP Noise), concerning train composition and route compatibility checks (UTP TCRC), and concerning ‘telematics applications for freight services’ (UTP TAF).

(4)

The CTE has included in the agenda of its 16th session, which will take place on 11 and 12 June 2024, a proposal for decisions to revise the UTP WAG, the UTP Noise, and the UTP TCRC, and to modify Appendix I to the UTP TAF.

(5)

It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the CTE, as the proposed decisions will be binding on the Union pursuant to Article 6(1) APTU and Article 35(3) and (4) COTIF.

(6)

The objectives of those decisions are to align the UTP WAG, UTP Noise, and UTP TCRC to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1694 (3), and to align the references to the European Union Agency for Railways’ Technical Documents of technical specifications for interoperability relating to the ‘telematics applications for freight’ (TAF TSI) listed in Appendix I of UTP TAF.

(7)

The envisaged OTIF decisions are in line with the law and the strategic objectives of the Union by contributing to the alignment of OTIF legislation with the equivalent provisions of Union law, and should therefore be supported by the Union,

(1)

to vote in favour of the CTE proposed revision of UTP WAG (CTE Working Document TECH-24003 UTP WAG), and subject to the following amendments:

(2)

to vote in favour of the CTE proposed revision to UTP Noise (CTE Working Document TECH-24004 UTP Noise);

(3)

to vote in favour of the CTE proposed revision to UTP TCRC (CTE Working Document TECH-24005 UTP TCRC);

(4)

to vote in favour of the CTE proposal to update the references to the Technical Documents of TAF TSI listed in Appendix I of UTP TAF (CTE Working Document TECH-24005 UTP TAF);

(5)

minor changes may be agreed to the acts set out in this Article by the Commission, without a further decision of the Council.