Considerations on COM(2023)687 - EU position at the 5th session of the OTIF ad hoc Committee on Legal Affairs and International Cooperation

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dossier COM(2023)687 - EU position at the 5th session of the OTIF ad hoc Committee on Legal Affairs and International Cooperation.
document COM(2023)687
date November  8, 2023
 
(1) The Union has acceded to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail of 9 May 1980, as amended by the Vilnius Protocol of 3 June 1999 (‘COTIF’), in accordance with Council Decision 2013/103/EU9 and with the Agreement between the European Union and the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) on the Accession of the European Union to the COTIF Convention.

(2) Pursuant to Article 2 of its Rules of Procedure, the OTIF ad hoc Committee on Legal Affairs and International Cooperation (‘the Committee’) is mandated to: a) prepare draft amendments or supplements to the Convention; b) provide legal advice on its own initiative or at the request of the organs referred to in Article 13 §§ 1 and 2 of the Convention or at the request of organs established by them; c) promote and facilitate the functioning and implementation of the Convention; d) monitor and assess legal instruments; e) take decisions on cooperation with other international organisations and associations, including establishing and dissolving consultative contact groups with other international organisations and associations and monitoring the functioning of contact groups.

(3) The Union participates in the Committee in accordance with the provisions of COTIF, of the Rules of Procedure of the Committee, and of the Agreement on the Accession of the Union to COTIF.

(4) At its 5th session, planned to take place on 7-9 November 2023, the Committee is expected to decide upon an advisory legal opinion on the application of COTIF Appendix E to service facilities; possible options to amend COTIF Appendix B to facilitate the uptake of the electronic rail consignment note; certain aspects on the preparation of a long-term strategy for OTIF; possible options to amend COTIF with regard to the suspension and termination of COTIF and/or membership of OTIF with regard to a particular OTIF member; the preparation of a recommendation on the use of electronic signatures in official communications between OTIF and its members; the development of a copyright policy and the preparation of guidelines on the protection of OTIF’s name, abbreviation and logo; and the clarification of the term ‘expert’ for the purpose of stakeholder involvement in its activities.

(5) It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the 5th session of the Committee, as the Union is a member of OTIF and the decisions to be taken by the Committee may lead to the adoption of acts which are binding under international law and capable of decisively influencing the content of EU legislation, namely: Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 establishing a single European railway area10, Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 on electronic freight transport information11 and Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC12.

(6) The Committee is expected to decide on an advisory legal opinion on the application of the Uniform Rules concerning the Contract of Use of Infrastructure in International Rail Traffic (CUI UR, COTIF Appendix E) to rail service facilities. It is necessary to ensure a harmonised and complementary interpretation between those rules and the legislation applicable in the OTIF members with regard those rail service facilities, in particular, as far as the Union is concerned, Directive 2012/34/EU.

(7) The existing provisions of COTIF allow the use of the electronic consignment note based on the principle of functional equivalence with the paper-version. In view of continuing digitalisation of transport, it is necessary to review the appropriateness of the OTIF legal framework and consider possible options to amend COTIF with the view to facilitating the uptake of the electronic rail consignment note, taking into account the rules adopted at EU as set out in Regulation (EU) 2020/1056.

(8) As regards the strategic development of OTIF, it is important to ensure that further advice and guidance is provided to the Secretary-General on the elaboration of a long-term strategy for OTIF, which should be presented for consideration and adoption by the OTIF General Assembly at its next ordinary session.

(9) Considering recent geopolitical tensions in the pan-European region, the Committee is expected to resume discussions on the suspension and termination of COTIF and/or membership of OTIF with regard to a particular Member State. It is necessary to make sure that COTIF rules on suspension and termination of treaties and membership including limitation of some rights are properly reviewed, and to decide whether COTIF should be amended to better protect the integrity of the organisation and of the network of the OTIF members as well as to better support the achievement of OTIF’s aim to promote, improve and facilitate international traffic by rail in all respects.

(10) The development of electronic communications requires certain administrative updates and modernisation to ensure the safe and reliable use of electronic signatures in official communications between OTIF and its members. It is important to support the preparation of a recommendation in that regard, which takes into account the different level of experience of OTIF members and in line with the rules laid down at EU level in this regard, notably Regulation (EU) No 910/2014.

(11) As regards the legal protection of OTIF’s name, abbreviation, logo and intellectual property, the Committee may decide to develop an intellectual property document management policy for OTIF. Such policy should be designed to facilitate the re-use of information and documents owned by OTIF in line with the rules set out in Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on open data and the re-use of public sector information13 and Commission decision of 12 December 2011 on the reuse of Commission documents (2011/833/EU)14.

(12) The Committee may decide to clarify the term ‘expert’ in the context of the ‘Recommendation on involving stakeholders in OTIF’s work’. It is necessary to ensure a harmonised interpretation of this concept, given the importance of ensuring appropriate stakeholder involvement in the activities of the Committee.

(13) The proposed decisions to be taken at the 5th session of the Committee are in line with the law and the strategic objectives of the Union and should therefore be supported.