27 February 2014
On 26 February, the Parliament plenary session adopted its first reading position on the 4th Railway Package.
Competition to provide better rail passenger services should warm up under draft rules voted in Parliament.
National authorities nowadays granting rail service contracts to a single operator would have to put them out to tender or justify not doing so. Furthermore, new and/or small operators would have to be given better access to rail infrastructure. Moreover, the package simplifies complex authorisation procedures for putting trains on tracks.
However, the Commission considered controversial the amendments adopted by the plenary session of the European Parliament. In particular, on the so-called "market pillar" of the package (directives on governance and market opening and regulation on public service obligations), MEPs disregarded the Commission's proposals and the work of the Transport and Tourism committee (TRAN) by adopting measures that could put at risk the development of a Single European Rail Area. Under the new rules, competitive tendering procedures for public service contracts have been postponed to 2023 and are subject to very significant exceptions. Other amendments adopted by Parliament at its plenary session also fail to ensure an effective independence of the infrastructure manager and financial transparency.
As regards the "technical pillar" of the package (recasts of the safety and interoperability directives and a new regulation on the European Railway Agency), MEPs confirmed the need to remove existing administrative and technical barriers and empowered the European Railway Agency (ERA) with new tasks, such as the issuing of safety certificates and vehicle authorisations valid throughout the EU. This vote confirms Parliament's first reading position. Once Council has set out its own position, the two sides will negotiate the final wording of the rules.
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