EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR MOBILITY AND TRANSPORT Directorate B - European mobility network Summary Report 1st meeting of the Single European Railway Area Committee (SERAC) Brussels, 31.1.2013 1. Adoption of the agenda The agenda was adopted as foreseen. 2. Summary report of 18 th DERC The summary report of the 18 th meeting was adopted without modifications. 3. Functioning of the SERAC The SERAC will meet 3 4 times a year in view of the upcoming workload. The Commission presented the draft rules of procedure. The basic principles were agreed but Member States requested more time for reflection. The Chairman asked Member States to submit comments in writing as soon as possible so that a revised document can be circulated and adopted at the next meeting. 4. Important developments in Member States related to the implementation of the 1 st and 3 rd Railway Package and to the rail market; infringement procedures - Infringement procedures The Commission informed the Committee about on-going infringement procedures regarding the 1 st Railway Package. In a number of court procedures judgements by the European Court of Justice are awaited on 28 February. On a number of cases hearings took place in April and September 2012. A new round of infringements concerning account separation has now been launched with the sending of letters of formal notice regarding some MS. This issue was not part of the first wave of infringement procedures, since the Commission first wanted to conduct a study on the issue. There are currently no open infringement cases regarding the implementation of the 3 rd Package. The implementation check is on-going. 1
- Important developments in Member States in 2012 Member States provided information about important legal and administrative changes that took place in 2012. 5. Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 21 November 2012 establishing a Single European railway area (recast) The Commission summarised the main changes that the recast brings in the areas of financing and charging, competition and regulatory oversight. An overview of the implementing acts to be adopted together with an indication of the timing for the most urgent measures was provided. Directive 34/2012/EU explicitly foresees the consultation of certain parties, e.g. regulatory bodies or infrastructure managers, depending on the type of the act. Thus, there is not one single process of consultation. Reports from other meetings The Commission reported on the discussions at other meetings held in 2012: 1. Network of Regulators The last meeting held on 28-29 November 2012 was the last meeting before the entry into force of the recast. The draft rules of procedure for the Network of European Rail Regulators, established under the recast, were presented. They will be finalized in the March meeting. The Network of Regulators is not a sub-group of the SERAC any longer, but a body in its own right with specific competences directly attributed by the Directive. In addition to a round table on decisions taken by regulatory bodies, discussions revolved around the establishment of freight corridors, the control of corridor documents, information on the 4 th package, ETCS implementation and its relation to market access questions, principal purpose and economic equilibrium, framework agreements and charging rules. The Commission will continue to inform the SERAC about the work of the Regulators' Network at Committee meetings. 2. Working Group on Rail Market Monitoring At the last meeting on 3 rd October 2012 the results of the Eurobarometer on competition in rail were presented and Member States were informed about the impact of the provisions in the recast on monitoring and data collection. Member States presented market developments. The RMMS report 2013 will be published by the end of the year. The Commission urged those Member States that had not responded to the questionnaire sent in November to do so as soon as possible. 2
3. Working Group on Rail Freight Corridors Regulatory bodies attended the 2 nd meeting of the WG on 14 November for the first time. Representatives from Infrastructure Managers participated in the afternoon session. A central point of discussion was the Framework for Capacity Allocation (FCA) to be elaborated by the Executive Boards of the corridors. The draft FCA of RFC 1 and 2 (in the meantime adopted) was presented. There was general agreement that there should be harmonized framework agreements among all corridors, albeit on a voluntary basis. The Commission also presented corridor issues arising from the recast. Main issues include the definition of authorised applicants (to be laid down in an implementing measure), rules on framework agreements, requirements on infrastructure managers regarding the cooperation on access charges and the cooperation between RB. Six corridors have to become operational in November 2013, i.e. for the timetable change of 16 December prearranged train paths have to be available. There will be a transitional phase since One Stop Shops are not yet fully established. 7. 4 th Railway Package State-of-play The Commission informed the Committee about the adoption of the package on 30.1.2013 and presented the different elements of the proposal. Several Member States indicated that they would like to study the proposals in detail before commenting. First comments and questions related to the transfer of workers, compulsory tendering and unbundling. 8. Studies The Commission presented the three studies which will be launched in 2013: the Eurobarometer survey on passenger satisfaction, the rail noise study and the single wagon load study. Several Member States stressed the importance of the rail noise issue and the need for thorough reflection on the various options of reducing rail noise. 9. International rail matters - Switzerland The Commission informed the Committee about Switzerland's intention to introduce limit values for rail noise emissions as of 2020. With a view to aligning these measures as far as possible with possible future measures at EU level, Switzerland has introduced a new provision in the legislation. This would allow postponing the introduction of these values by 2 years. Discussions between the Commission and Switzerland are held on a regular basis and the Committee will be kept informed. 3
- OTIF (Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail) Mr François Davenne has been elected new Secretary General of OTIF in September 2012. The Committee of Technical Experts in which the Commission represents the EU should adopt a new version of the technical specification on freight wagons. A meeting of the Rail Facilitation Committee has been postponed to the end of 2013, beginning of 2014. A meeting of the Revision Committee will probably take place beginning of 2014. - OSJD (Organisation for Co-Operation between Railways) Nine EU Member States are members of OSJD. A Memorandum of Understanding between the Commission and OSJD had been envisaged to enable the Commission to participate in OSJD meetings. However, OSJD has now indicated that signature will not be possible in the near future due to opposition from Russia. Steps forward are being considered. - SEETO (South East European Transport Observatory) SEETO was established by Memorandum of Understanding between the EU and - by now - 7 partners in the West Balkan region. The SEETO - Railway Working Group meets 3 times a year and adopted a report last year summarizing best practice. Croatia will leave SEETO upon accession to the EU on 1 st July 2013. Regional partners have made important progress in implementing EU rail acquis in recent years. However, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia decided to close its rail service market last year. Commission services consider this step a breach of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. - UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) A ministerial meeting of the Inland Transport Committee of UNECE will take place in February. On this occasion, ministers may sign a Joint Declaration on the promotion of Euro- Asian rail transport including steps towards a unified railway law and general terms for the carriage of goods by rail. The Council adopted a Common Position setting out the EU's position to this Declaration in October 2012, supporting it. AOB The SERAC will meet again in the second half of June. The Commission presented the main features of the CIRCABC software which will be used to share and distribute documents. 4
Attendance List BE BG CZ DK DK DE EE IE ES FR IT LV LT HU NL AT PL SI SI SK FI SE UK NO Service public fédéral Mobilité et Transports Railway Administration Executive Agency of the Czech Republic Danish Transport Authority Federal, Building and Urban Development Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport Ministerio de Fomento Ministère de l'ecologie, du Développement durable, des Transports et du Logement Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport Permanent Representation of Hungary to the EU Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology, Construction and Maritime Economy Ministry of Infrastructure and Spatial Planning Public Agency for Railway Transport Swedish Transport Agency Department for Transport European Railway Agency (ERA) DG MOVE 5