Considerations on COM(2023)328 - Proposal for empowering France to negotiate sign and conclude an international agreement on the safety and interoperability requirements within the Channel Fixed Link - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2023)328 - Proposal for empowering France to negotiate sign and conclude an international agreement on the safety and interoperability ... |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2023)328  |
| date | March 13, 2024 |
(2)Since the end of the transition period provided for by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community 5 , the infrastructure manager of the Channel Fixed Link and the rail undertakings operating in the Channel Fixed Link are subject to two separate legal frameworks as regards railway safety and interoperability.
(3)By letter of 16 July 2020, the French Republic requested an empowerment by the Union to negotiate and conclude an international agreement with the United Kingdom on the safety and interoperability requirements within the Channel Fixed Link. In accordance with such request, Decision (EU) 2020/1531 of the European Parliament and of the Council 6 empowered the French Republic to negotiate an agreement to ensure the unified and dynamic application of Union law, in particular Regulation (EU) 2016/796 of the European Parliament and of the Council 7 and Directives (EU) 2016/797 and (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council 8 , over the entire Channel Fixed Link. Also, Decision (EU) 2020/1531 laid down the conditions under which the Intergovernmental Commission could continue fulfilling the role of national safety authority responsible for the part of the Channel Fixed Link under the jurisdiction of the French Republic.
(4)Because the negotiations under the conditions laid down in that decision have so far not led to an agreement satisfactory for both Parties, by letter of 23 March 2023 the French Republic manifested its intention to negotiate and conclude a different agreement.
(5)An international agreement with a third country on railway safety and interoperability in cross-border situations is liable to affect an area covered to a large extent by Union law, and in particular by Directives (EU) 2016/798 9 and (EU) 2016/797 and Regulation (EU) 2016/796 of the European Parliament and the Council. Therefore, any such agreement falls within the Union's exclusive external competence. Member States may negotiate and conclude such agreement only if empowered to do so by the Union in accordance with Article 2(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Since the agreement concerns areas covered by existing Union law in the area of transport, it is necessary that such empowerment be granted by the Union legislator, in accordance with the legislative procedure referred to in Article 91 TFEU.
(6)Considering the uniqueness of the Channel Fixed Link as a railway link involving a single, complex engineering structure situated partly in the territory of the French Republic and partly in a third country, it is appropriate to authorise the French Republic to negotiate, sign and conclude an international agreement with the United Kingdom to ensure the application of coherent rules on safety and interoperability in the Channel Fixed Link, as well as to ensure the cooperation between the French national safety authority, namely the Etablissement Public de Sécurité Ferroviaire (‘EPSF’) and the United Kingdom’s national safety authority, namely the Office of Rail and Road (‘ORR’).
(7)The part of the Channel Fixed Link under the jurisdiction of the French Republic should remain subject to Union law. The principles of primacy and, where relevant, direct effect of Union law and the respective competences of Union institutions and bodies should be safeguarded.
(8)Disputes between the French Republic and the United Kingdom concerning the application of the Agreement should not be submitted to the arbitral tribunal set up under Article 19 of the Treaty of Canterbury or to any other means of legally binding dispute settlement.
(9)In accordance with Article 3 of the Regulation (EU) 2016/796, the European Union Agency for Railways should continue having the sole responsibility for the functions and powers assigned to it and, in accordance with Article 16 of Directive (EU) 2016/798, the EPSF should continue to be independent in its decision making. Consequently, the role, in respect of the matters addressed in the proposed agreement, of the Intergovernmental Commission and the Safety Authority established under the Treaty of Canterbury should be limited to coordinating the activities of the EPSF and the ORR. The regulatory acts of the Intergovernmental Commission and the Safety Authority or their effects should not affect the decision-making autonomy of the EPSF, in conformity with Union law.
(10)In order to ensure that Union law is correctly implemented at all times in the part of the Channel Fixed Link under the jurisdiction of the French Republic, and in order to ensure that the Commission can oversee its application under the control of the Court of Justice, including in circumstances of urgency, the French Republic should retain the right to unilaterally suspend or terminate the agreement.
(11)In order to account for possible future changes of Union law, in particular of Directives (EU) 2016/797 and (EU) 2016/798, the agreement should also provide for rules for its amendment. The Commission should be empowered to authorise the French Republic to amend the agreement in accordance with the amending procedure laid down therein, in order to adapt it to changes in Union law.
(12)With a view to future possible developments, this empowerment should be without prejudice to the empowerment granted by the Union in Decision (EU) 2020/1531.