A provisional agreement to open up the EU market for
domestic passenger rail transport and to ensure equal conditions for railway
companies was reached by European Parliament and Council negotiators on Tuesday
evening. It aims to boost the quality of services offered to passengers and to
improve the performance of the rail sector.
The new rules would boost competition in two
ways. First, railway companies should have access to the EU domestic passenger
rail market from 1 January 2019 “in time for the railway timetables starting on
14 December 2020”.
Second, in cases where authorities decide to
award public service contracts to provide passenger rail services, which
currently make up the majority of passenger rail services in the EU,
competitive bidding for public service contracts would be brought in gradually
as the main tool for selecting service providers.
Competitive bidding for public service contracts
for passenger rail services will be the norm. However, for six years, it will
remain possible to award public service contracts directly. After this transition
period, any direct award will only be possible on the basis of objective
efficiency and performance criteria.
To prevent conflicts of interest and improve
financial transparency between rail operators and infrastructure managers,
certain safeguards will be put in place. Member states will be required to
ensure that infrastructure managers grant non-discriminatory access to rail
operators and that their impartiality is not affected by any conflict of
interest.
For information on situation of rail market
liberalisation across the EU see the background note on the right.
Statements by Parliament’s negotiators:
“European rail needs a strong competitive
impetus if it is to continue playing a central role in the successful
functioning of European economies. This agreement will result in more competition
and more affordable rail services that can boost economic growth, be more
sustainable and ensure that rail remains an attractive means of transport in
the future.
Currently direct awarding, without any
competitive bidding is the norm. In the new text we agree it should become an
exception. Bidding based on objective criteria will improve the quality and
affordability of the services for passengers and boost competitiveness for the
sector as a whole."
David-Maria Sassoli (S&D, IT), rapporteur for the proposal for market opening and
governance of rail infrastructure:
“Finally we have a good deal after 7 months of
negotiations. All Parliament’s proposals have been accepted: on the powers of
the regulatory body, on avoiding conflicts of interest between operators and
infrastructure managers and on ticketing, but above all on open access for high
speed rail.
The market is now open, even if this happens 20
years after it took place in the aviation sector. I wish this deal will give a
strong boost to the European rail sector.”
Merja Kyllönen (GUE/NGL, FI), rapporteur for the proposal to repeal the regulation on
normalisation of accounts:
“After all, I'm very happy that we are in a
position to close these long negotiations on the fourth railway package.
Especially the final approval of the so-called ‘technical pillar’ is very much
anticipated by our rail sector and is essential to further progress in safety
and interoperability of the European rail system.
I hope that this package will boost investment
in both passenger and freight rail traffic, to provide better services for our
customers and enable swift towards green transportation.”
Next steps
The informal agreement reached between the
negotiators now needs to be approved by the Council of the EU and the European
Parliament.
Background
The 4th railway package, tabled by the European Commission in January
2013, aims to improve the competitiveness of the rail sector and quality of
rail services by introducing more competition in passenger services and
ensuring a level playing field for operators, and reducing the costs to rail
operators of obtaining authorisations and certifications.
The “market” pillar aims to encourage further
competition in passenger rail services and ensure that networks are run in a
non-discriminatory manner. The technical pillar of the 4th railway package
define rules on interoperability, safety and the role of the European Railway
Agency.
Parliament voted its position on the Commission proposals in February
2014. A trilogue agreement on the “technical” pillar was approved in the EP transport and Tourism committee
in March 2016 and is scheduled for approval in the April II plenary session.
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