Considerations on COM(2023)179 - EU position at the 15th meeting of the Committee of Technical Experts of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF)

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dossier COM(2023)179 - EU position at the 15th meeting of the Committee of Technical Experts of the Intergovernmental Organisation for ...
document COM(2023)179 EN
date May 22, 2023
 
(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 (the ‘COTIF'), in accordance with Council Decision 2013/103/EU 12 and 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 (the Agreement). 

(2)Pursuant to Article 13(1) (f) of the COTIF, the Committee of Technical Experts ('CTE') of the OTIF was set up.

(3)Pursuant to Article 20(1) (b) of the COTIF, and in accordance with Article 6 of the Uniform Rules concerning the Validation of Technical Standards and the Adoption of Uniform Technical Prescriptions applicable to Railway Material intended to be used in International Traffic (APTU) - Appendix F to COTIF, the CTE is competent to adopt or to amend, inter alia, the Uniform Technical Prescriptions (UTP) concerning the qualifications and independence of assessing entities (UTP GEN-E), concerning a common safety method on risk evaluation and assessment (UTP GEN-G), and concerning telematics applications for freight (UTP TAF).

(4)In accordance with Article 16(10) of COTIF, the CTE is competent to propose a revision of its rules of procedure.

(5)The CTE has included in the agenda of its 15th session that will take place on 13 and 14 June 2023, a proposal for decisions to fully revise the UTP GEN-E concerning the qualifications and independence of assessing entities, to amend the UTP GEN-G concerning a Common Safety Method on risk evaluation and assessment, to modify the rules of procedure of the Committee of Technical Experts and to upgrade the references to the Technical Documents of TAF TSI listed in Appendix I of UTP TAF.

(6)It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the CTE, as the proposed decisions will be binding on the Union. 

(7)The objectives of those decisions are to align the UTP GEN-E concerning the qualifications and independence of assessing entities with Directive (EU) 2016/797 of the European Parliament and of the Council 13 , to revise the UTP GEN-G concerning a Common Safety Method on risk evaluation and assessment, to modify the rules of procedure of the Committee of Technical Experts and to align the UTP TAF with EU rules, namely Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/5419 14 .

(8)The envisaged OTIF decisions are in line with the law and the strategic objectives of the Union by contributing to the alignment of OTIF legislation with the equivalent provisions of Union law, and should therefore be supported by the Union.