DECISION No 1/2020 OF THE COMMUNITY/SWITZERLAND INLAND TRANSPORT COMMITTEE

of 19 June 2020

aligning Decision No 2/2019 with the dates of transposition, postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, of Directives (EU) 2016/797 and (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council [2020/896]

THE COMMITTEE,

Having regard to the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the carriage of goods and passengers by rail and road (1) (‘the Agreement’), and in particular Article 52(4) thereof,

Whereas:

Joint Committee Decision No 2/2019 of 13 December 2019 (2) aims to maintain smooth rail traffic between Switzerland and the European Union, in accordance with the requirements set out in Directive (EU) 2016/797 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) and Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4). Due to the exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Parliament and the Council have postponed the dates of transposition of Directives (EU) 2016/797 and (EU) 2016/798 by adopting Directive (EU) 2020/700 (5). Joint Committee Decision No 2/2019 should be aligned with the dates of transposition as amended by that Directive,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The following new paragraph 2a is inserted in Article 7 of Decision No 2/2019 of the Community/Switzerland Inland Transport Committee of 13 December 2019:

‘2a.	Article 2(1) and/or Article 3(1) of Joint Committee Decision No 1/2013 shall continue to apply until 31 October 2020 for Member States that have notified the Agency and the Commission pursuant to Article 57(2a) of Directive (EU) 2016/797 or Article 33(2a) of Directive (EU) 2016/798.’

Article 2

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption.

Done at Bern, 19 June 2020.

For the Swiss Confederation

The President

Peter FÜGLISTALER

For the European Union

The Head of the European Union Delegation

Elisabeth WERNER

(1) OJ L 114, 30.4.2002, p. 91.

(2) OJ L 13, 17.1.2020, p. 43.

(3) Directive (EU) 2016/797 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the interoperability of the rail system within the European Union (OJ L 138, 26.5.2016, p. 44).

(4) Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on railway safety (OJ L 138, 26.5.2016, p. 102).

(5) Directive (EU) 2020/700 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 2020 amending Directives (EU) 2016/797 and (EU) 2016/798, as regards the extension of their transposition periods (OJ L 165, 27.5.2020, p. 27).