3 THE THIRD RAILWAY PACKAGE
(a)
(25436)
7170/04
COM(04) 140
(b)
(25437)
7147/04
COM(04) 139
(c)
(25438)
7172/04
SEC(04) 236
(d)
(25439)
7149/04
COM(04) 143
(e)
(25455)
7148/04
COM(04) 142
(f)
(25456)
7150/04
COM(04) 144
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Commission Communication: "Further integration of the European rail
system: third railway package
Draft Directive amending Council Directive 91/440/EEC on the
development of the Community's railways
Commission staff working paper: Draft Directive amending Directive
91/440/EEC on the development of the Community's railways to gradually
open up the market for international passenger services by rail
Draft Regulation on international rail passengers' rights and obligation
Draft Directive on the certification of train crews operating locomotives and
trains on the Community's rail network
Draft Regulation on compensation in cases of non-compliance with
contractual quality requirements for rail freight services
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| Legal base | (a) and (c) —
(b) and (d) to (f) Article 71 EC; co-decision; QMV
|
| Department | Transport
|
| Basis of consideration |
Minister's letter of 29 November 2004 |
| Previous Committee Report |
HC 42-xxxii (2003-04), para 8 (13 October 2004)
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| To be discussed in Council
| 9-10 December 2004 (document (e) only) |
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information awaited
|
Background
3.1 The Community's First Railway Package was intended, amongst
other things, to open up more than 50,000 kilometres of the transEuropean
rail freight network to international goods services in 2003,
with the entire network following in 2008. The Commission's 2001
White Paper, "European Transport Policy for 2010: time to
decide", proposed, amongst other things, construction of
a legally and technically integrated European railway area. The
Second Railway Package was designed to provide for the establishment
of that legally and technically integrated European railway area.
The White Paper and the two packages were all discussed in European
Standing Committee A.[9]
3.2 The present documents are together the Third
Railway Package, which aims to revitalise the international rail
passenger market by extending competition and establishing a harmonised
system of minimum passenger rights, improve the interoperability
of the European rail system and enhance the performance and size
of the Community rail freight market. The package includes four
legislative proposals:
- document (b) is a draft Directive
to amend Directive 91/440/EEC and is concerned with
the liberalisation of international passenger services;
- document (d) is a draft Regulation on
international passengers' rights and obligations;
- document (e) is a draft Directive on train
driver licensing. It would require licensing and certification
of all train drivers and other train staff "with an indirect
role in driving" working for those train operators and infrastructure
managers required to have safety certification or authorisation
under the Safety Directive of the Second Railway Package. It would
apply to virtually all train operators and infrastructure managers
in the UK, with the exception of operations on functionally-separated
infrastructure such as London Underground Ltd's own network.
The proposal sets out detailed requirements for the operation
of the licensing system; and
- document (f) is a draft Regulation on
contractual quality requirements for rail freight services.
3.3 In September 2004, we reported that initial discussions
had shown little support from Member States for treating these
proposals as a single package and that document (e) (train driver
licensing) had been selected to be discussed first.[10]
In October 2004, we reported a draft partial Regulatory Impact
Assessment, a summary of the consultation responses and an indication
of the Government's negotiating stance on the train driver licensing
proposal.[11]
The Minister's letter
3.4 The Minister of State, Department for Transport
(Mr Tony McNulty) writes now to tell us that it is still the case
that there is little support amongst Member States for the Commission's
desire to treat the proposals as a single package and that the
forthcoming Luxembourg Presidency has confirmed that it will continue
to deal with the dossiers separately. He says the Government intends
to continue this approach during the UK Presidency in the latter
half of 2005. The Minister adds that he will provide us with an
update on the other three proposals shortly. This will include
a summary of the results of the Department's consultation exercise,
which closed in October 2004, and detailed partial Regulatory
Impact Assessments.
3.5 The Minister encloses a revised partial Regulatory
Impact Assessment of the draft Directive on train driver licensing.
He notes that the main change is that it now acknowledges the
wide range of uncertainty about the scale of many of the costs
and benefits. The Government's conclusions are unchanged: the
core principle it "intends to pursue in the negotiations
is that mandatory licensing should be confined to cross-border
drivers, at least pending a thorough re-assessment of the costs
and benefits of extending the mandatory scope" of the legislation.
3.6 The Minister previously identified three key
issues for the UK: scope of the proposal; detail of the competence
requirements for licences and certificates, and frequency of periodic
checks; and competence and independence criteria to be met by
issuers of licences and certificates and examiners of train drivers'
competences, and the role of accreditation. He reports that Working
Group discussions of document (e) have continued, most recently
on 22 November 2004. He says there are many points of detail still
to be resolved. On the three main issues he tells us:
"The Commission's original proposal provides
for a phased, but automatic, extension of the scope of the proposal
from cross-border drivers, to all drivers plus other train crew
involved in safety-critical tasks (eg guards). The current position
is that a substantial majority of Member States, including the
UK, favour not including extension of the scope to 'other train
crew' within this Directive, but simply providing that the European
Rail Agency (ERA) prepare a report on the case for licensing such
staff, and if so, how. The UK, supported by two other Member States,
is arguing that the extension to 'domestic' drivers - that is,
drivers who do not wish to operate in another Member State --
should be made conditional on a comitology decision informed by
an ERA report and thorough cost benefit assessment. The UK will
continue to press its case, supported by the results of our own
partial RIA, the lack of a convincing Commission cost benefit
assessment, and the commitment made by the 2004-6 Presidencies
to make better regulation a priority in Council business.
Detail of the competence requirements for
licences and certificates, and frequency of periodic checks
"We have been successful in ensuring that
the Directive does not impose significant additional burdens compared
with current UK practice.
Competence and independence criteria to be
met by issuers of licences and certificates and examiners of train
drivers' competences, and the role of accreditation
"We have been successful in ensuring that
adequate, but not unduly onerous, mechanisms are stipulated to
ensure the independence and competence of the persons involved
in examining train drivers competences and fitness. In particular
the proposal now includes the possibility of a less onerous mechanism
of 'recognition' of competence and independence.
"On the other hand, the text now includes,
at the request of several Member States, requirements for recognition
or accreditation of training providers. The UK, along with two
other Member States, are continuing to resist this on the grounds
of the cost implications — particularly where train operators
would be required to organise 'independent' trainers within their
companies — and the absence of any obvious benefits given
the safeguards offered by the requirement for recognised/accredited
examiners at the end of the training process."
3.7 The Minister tells us that it is now the Dutch
Presidency's intention to seek a general agreement on the draft
Directive on train driver licensing at the Transport Council
on 9-10 December 2004. He adds that the European Parliament's
Transport and Tourism Committee has begun its consideration of
the whole package and that a plenary first reading is expected
in February 2005.
Conclusion
3.8 We are grateful to the Minister for this latest
information. We note that we can expect to see the promised further
information shortly. We expect to recommend the debate we have
mentioned previously when we have that information. Meanwhile
we continue not to clear the documents.
9 See Stg Co Deb, European Standing Committee A, 10
March 1999, cols 1-42; Stg Co Deb, European Standing Committee
A, 13 March 2002, cols 3-28; and Stg Co Deb, European Standing
Committee A, 8 May 2002, cols 3-24. Back
10
HC 42-xxx (2003-04), para 4 (9 September 2004). Back
11
See headnote. Back
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