L_2016138EN.01000101.xml
| 26.5.2016 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | L 138/1 |
REGULATION (EU) 2016/796 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 11 May 2016
on the European Union Agency for Railways and repealing Regulation (EC) No 881/2004
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 91(1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (2),
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (3),
Whereas:
| (1) | The progressive establishment of a single European railway area requires Union action in the field of the rules applicable to railways with regard to technical safety and interoperability aspects, the two being inextricably linked and both requiring a higher level of harmonisation at Union level. Relevant railway legislation has been adopted in the last two decades, in particular three railway packages of which Directive 2004/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) and Directive 2008/57/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) are the most relevant in this regard. |
| (2) | The simultaneous pursuit of the goals of railway safety and interoperability requires substantial technical work led by a specialised body. That is why it was necessary, as part of the Second Railway Package in 2004, to create within the existing institutional framework, and with respect for the balance of power in the Union, a European agency dealing with railway safety and interoperability. |
| (3) | Regulation (EC) No 881/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) establishes a European railway agency (‘the Agency’) in order to promote the establishment of a European railway area without borders and to help revitalise the railway sector while reinforcing its essential advantages in terms of safety. The Fourth Railway Package contains important changes designed to improve the functioning of the single European railway area through amendments by way of recast to Directive 2004/49/EC and Directive 2008/57/EC, both of which are directly linked to the tasks of the Agency. Those Directives provide in particular for the performance of tasks relating to the issuing of vehicle authorisations and safety certificates at Union level. It involves a greater role for the Agency. Due to the substantial number of changes that it introduces to the tasks and internal organisation of the Agency, Regulation (EC) No 881/2004 should be repealed and replaced by a new legal act. |
| (4) | The Agency should contribute to the development of a genuine European railway culture providing an essential tool for dialogue, consultation and the exchange of views between all the actors in the railway sector, having due regard to their respective functions, as well as the technical characteristics of the railway sector. When performing its tasks, and particularly when drafting recommendations and opinions, the Agency should take utmost account of external railway expertise, in particular that of professionals from the railway sector and from the relevant national authorities. The Agency should therefore set up competent and representative working parties and groups composed predominantly of those professionals. |
| (5) | In order to provide insight into the economic effects on the railway sector and its impact on society, to allow others, in particular the Commission, the Management Board of the Agency (‘the Management Board’) and the Executive Director of the Agency (‘the Executive Director’) to make informed decisions, and to manage the work priorities and resource allocation within the Agency more effectively, the Agency should further develop its engagement in impact-assessment activity. |
| (6) | The Agency should provide independent and objective technical support predominantly to the Commission. Directive (EU) 2016/797 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7) provides for the drafting and revision of technical specifications for interoperability (‘TSIs’), while Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8) provides for the drafting and revision of common safety methods (‘CSMs’), common safety targets (‘CSTs’) and common safety indicators (‘CSIs’). The continuity of the work and of the development of TSIs, CSMs, CSTs and CSIs requires a permanent technical framework and a specialised body with a dedicated staff possessing a high level of expertise. To that end, the Agency should be responsible for providing the Commission with recommendations and opinions in relation to the drafting and revision of TSIs, CSMs, CSTs and CSIs. The Agency should also provide an independent technical opinion, upon request from the national safety authorities and regulatory bodies. |
| (7) | In order to make the issuing of single safety certificates to railway undertakings more efficient and impartial, it is essential that the Agency be assigned a central role. Where the area of operation is limited to one Member State, the railway undertaking concerned should have the possibility of choosing whether to submit its application for a single safety certificate to the Agency or to the national safety authority. Directive (EU) 2016/798 is to provide for this. |
| (8) | Currently, Directive 2008/57/EC provides, in the case of rail vehicles, for the granting of authorisation for the placing in service of such vehicles in each Member State, except in certain specific cases. The task force on vehicle authorisation set up by the Commission in 2011 discussed several cases where manufacturers and railway undertakings have suffered as a result of the excessive duration and cost of the authorisation process and proposed a number of improvements. As some problems are due to the complexity of the current vehicle authorisation process, it should be simplified and, where possible, unified under a single procedure. Each rail vehicle should only receive one authorisation. Where the area of use is limited to a network or networks within one Member State only, the applicant should have the possibility of choosing whether to submit its application for vehicle authorisation, through the one-stop shop referred to in this Regulation, to the Agency or to the national safety authority. This would bring tangible benefits for the sector by reducing the cost and duration of the procedure, and would diminish the risk of potential discrimination, especially against new companies wishing to enter a railway market. Directive (EU) 2016/797 is to provide for this. |
| (9) | It is essential that Directive (EU) 2016/797 and Directive (EU) 2016/798 should not lead to a reduced level of safety in the Union rail system. In that respect, the Agency should take full responsibility for the vehicle authorisations and single safety certificates it issues, assuming, inter alia, both contractual and non-contractual liability in respect thereof. |
| (10) | With regard to liability of the staff of the Agency when carrying out the tasks assigned to the Agency, Protocol No 7 on the privileges and immunities of the European Union should apply. The application of that Protocol should not lead to undue delays or the imposition of unjustified restrictions on the conduct of national judicial proceedings. In the event of judicial proceedings involving the staff of the Agency, in which a member of the staff is requested to appear before a national court, the Management Board should decide without undue delay to waive that member of the staff's immunity, provided that such waiver will not compromise the interests of the Union. Such a decision should be duly justified and should be amenable to judicial review before the Court of Justice of the European Union. |
| (11) | The Agency should cooperate loyally with the national judicial authorities, in particular in cases in which the participation of the Agency is necessary by reason of the Agency having exercised its powers in relation to vehicle authorisations, single safety certificates issued by it and decisions for the approval of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) trackside equipment projects. Where the Agency or a member of its staff is requested to provide information in the context of relevant national proceedings, the Agency should ensure that such request for information or, if necessary, participation in proceedings, is handled with due diligence and within a reasonable period of time. To that end, the Management Board should adopt appropriate procedures to be used in such cases. |
| (12) | In order to further pursue the development of the single European railway area, in particular in relation to providing appropriate information to freight customers and passengers, and to avoid fragmented development of telematics applications, it is necessary to give the Agency a strengthened role in the field of such applications. The Agency, as a competent body at Union level, should be given a prominent role so as to ensure consistency in the development and deployment of all telematics applications. To that end, the Agency should be empowered to act as the system authority for telematics applications, and should, in that capacity, maintain, monitor and manage all corresponding subsystems requirements at Union level. |
| (13) | Given the importance of the ERTMS for the smooth development of the single European railway area and its safety, and in order to avoid fragmented development of the ERTMS, it is necessary to strengthen overall coordination at |
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