COUNCIL DECISION
of 6 May 2014
establishing the position to be adopted by the Union at the 53rd session of the OTIF Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods as regards certain amendments to Appendix C to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) applicable from 1 January 2015
(2014/327/EU)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 91 in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
Whereas:
(1)
The Union acceded to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail of 9 May 1980 as amended by the Vilnius Protocol of 3 June 1999 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘COTIF Convention’), by virtue of Council Decision 2013/103/EU (1).
(2)
All Member States, with the exception of Cyprus and Malta, applythe COTIF Convention.
(3)
Directive 2008/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 2008 on the inland transport of dangerous goods (2) lays down requirements for the transport of dangerous goods by road, by rail or by inland waterway within or between Member States, by referring to the Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail, appearing as Appendix C to the COTIF Convention (RID Annex). In addition, Article 4 of this Directive provides that ‘The transport of dangerous goods between Member States and third countries shall be authorised in so far as it complies with the requirements of the ADR, RID or ADN, unless otherwise indicated in the Annexes.’ Thus, the Union has exercised its competence in this subject-matter.
(4)
The Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods set up in accordance with Article 13.1(d) of the COTIF Convention, at its 53rd session due to take place on 22 May 2014, is expected to decide upon certain amendments to the RID Annex. These amendments, which concern technical standards or uniform technical prescriptions, have the objective to ensure safe and efficient transport of dangerous goods whilst taking into account scientific and technical progress in the sector and the development of new substances and articles that pose danger during their transport.
(5)
The committee on the transport of dangerous goods established by Article 9 of Directive 2008/68/EC has carried out preliminary discussions on these amendments.
(6)
Most of the proposed amendments are justified and beneficial, and should therefore be supported by the Union. Two proposed amendments need to be further assessed in the light of technical and scientific progress. In particular, the European Railway Agency, in cooperation with the relevant bodies, should continue to work on the identification of a sustainable solution to detect derailments and mitigate their effects, including the future implementation of this solution. Therefore, should the latter amendments be approved at this point, the Union should formulate an objection following the procedure established in Article 35§4 of Title VII of the COTIF Convention,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Position of the European Union
1. The position to be taken by the European Union at the 53rd session of the Committee of experts on the transport of dangerous goods in the framework of the Convention concerning international carriage by rail shall be in accordance with the Annex to this Decision.
2. Minor changes to the documents mentioned in the Annex to this Decision may be agreed by the representatives of the Union in the above-mentioned body without further decision of the Council.
Article 2
After its adoption the Decision of the abovementioned body shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 3
Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption.
Done at Brussels, 6 May 2014.