Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on a “European Year of Rail”
In order to promote rail transport in line with the objectives set out in the European Green Deal, the year 2021 has been designated as the European Year of Rail. 2021 will be important for the Union rail policy, since it will represent the first full year where the rules agreed under the Fourth Railway Package [1] will be implemented throughout the Union. The package sees the opening of the market for domestic passenger services, on reducing costs and administrative burden for railway undertakings operating across the Union and on providing the European Union Agency for Railways (“ERA”) with additional tasks that aim at lowering technical barriers.
Rail has a significant role to play as a game changer in achieving the climate neutrality objective by 2050; thus, the European Rail Year should contribute to a pan-European debate on the future of railways.
The general objective of the European Rail Year is to encourage and support the efforts to increase the share of passengers and freight moving by rail, while specific objectives are to promote rail as a sustainable, innovative, interconnected and intermodal, safe and affordable mode of transport, to highlight the European cross-border dimension of rail, to enhance the contribution of rail to the Union’s economy, to contribute to promoting rail as an important element in relations between the Union and its neighbouring countries, to promote the key role of railways in international passenger transport within the Union and to create public awareness of rail’s potential role in the development of sustainable tourism in Europe.
Adina Vălean, European Commissioner for Transport, said: “Our future mobility needs to be sustainable, safe, comfortable and affordable. Rail offers all of that and much more! The European Year of Rail gives us the opportunity to re-discover this mode of transport. Through a variety of actions, we will use this occasion to help rail realise its full potential. I invite all of you to be part of the European Year of Rail”.
Implications for State Aid in the Rail Sector
The Commission has notably announced its Recovery and Resilience Facility, whereby the European Green Deal objectives and the promotion of clean modes of transport, such as rail, are set to play a pivotal role in Member States’ national recovery and resilience plans. In view of this, the 19th Florence Rail Forum, co-organised by the Transport Area of the Florence School of Regulation together with the Commission’s DG COMP and DG MOVE, examined the role of State aid in meeting the challenges of the Green Deal; the Forum sought to examine the regulatory framework for State aid beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, thus taking into account the longer-term perspective and EU objectives.
Among the main takeaways from the discussions were: rail freight transport, State Aid and investment, rail freight transport: operating Aid, passenger rail, public service contracts and open access rail services and compensation parameters.
Juan Montero and Matthias Finger, from the Transport Area of the Florence School of Regulation, commented that “the Community guidelines on State aid for railway undertakings need a review to be adapted to the European Green Deal’s new policy goals”, and “State aid for digitalisation could unleash the competitiveness of rail. New possibilities for Public Service Obligations could be explored”.
The development of the rail market
On 13 January 2021 the Commission issued the “Seventh monitoring report on the development of the rail market” [2]; the report covers a broad range of topics, including the evolution of the single market for rail services, the infrastructure and services available to railway undertakings, the framework conditions for the rail market, the state of the network, utilisation of access rights and barriers to more effective rail services. In addition to RMMS [3] data submitted by the Member States, the United Kingdom and Norway, this report also draws on contributions from the statistical pocketbook “EU transport in figures” [4], reports from the European Union Agency for Railways [5], Eurostat [6], statistics collected by various sectoral organisations, presentations and studies.
Rail transport needs to become more punctual and reliable compared to other modes of transport by increasing its customer orientation and making better use of innovation. It must also become more efficient and affordable. EU action is focusing on four objectives: i) a competitive market; ii) improved cross-border rail services; iii) better rail infrastructure performance; iv) more customer orientation.
The European Year of Rail 2021 will further support efforts to increase the share of passengers and freight moving by rail, sharing knowledge and best practices.
Climate action: withdrawal of the United Kingdom and EU Rules on CO2 standards
During the transition period, the EU and the United Kingdom negotiated an agreement on a new partnership, providing notably for a free trade area. The agreement has created a relationship which in terms of market access conditions is very different from the United Kingdom’s participation in the internal market, in the EU Customs Union, and in the VAT and excise duty area.
After the end of the transition period, EU rules on CO2 emission performance standards for new vehicles no longer apply to the United Kingdom [7]. On 18 December 2020 DG Climate Action released a notice to notify stakeholders of the legal situation applicable after the end of the transition period.
For new passenger cars and new light commercial vehicles: the United Kingdom continued to report the data on new passenger cars and new light commercial vehicles registered until 31 December 2020 in its territory and It will notify the Commission by 28 February 2021, while for new passenger car and new light commercial vehicle registered after the end of the transition period, the United Kingdom will no longer report any data.
For new heavy-duty vehicles: the Withdrawal Agreement does not provide for reporting obligations of the UK as regards heavy-duty vehicles after the end of the transition period. Thus, the United Kingdom is not obliged to report any data.
In any event, starting from 1st January 2021: i) a manufacturer based in the United Kingdom has to have an EU representative in the EU; ii) a manufacturer based in a third country whose EU representative was based in the United Kingdom before the end of the transition period, has to have an EU representative in the EU.
The EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment
The EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (“CAI”) represents the most ambitious agreement that China has ever concluded with a third country. The Commission considers that this is also the first agreement to deliver on obligations for the behaviour of state-owned enterprises and comprehensive transparency rules for subsidies and commitments related to sustainable development.
The CAI will ensure that EU investors achieve better access to a fast growing 1.4 billion consumer market, and that they compete on a better level playing field in China. This is important for the global competitiveness and the future growth of EU industry.
The Agreement binds China’s liberalisation of investments over the last 20 years and, in that way, it prevents backsliding. This makes the conditions of market access for EU companies clear and independent of China’s internal policies.
The EU has negotiated further and new market access openings and commitments such as the elimination of quantitative restrictions, equity caps or joint venture requirements in a number of sectors.
Furthermore, EU sensitivities, such as in the field of energy, agriculture, fisheries, audio-visual, public services, etc. are all preserved in CAI; this is further evidenced by the presence of a sustainable development-related mechanism to address differences, to which is added the State-to-State dispute settlement mechanism that provides for an efficient and transparent mechanism for avoiding and settling disputes between the parties in relation to violation complaints.
EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement
On 4 February 2021 DG TAXUD drafted the “Guidance on the Rules of Origin” [8] of EVFTA, then endorsed by the Customs Expert Group – Origin Section (“CEG-ORI”)
The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement aims to remove customs duties, red tape and other obstacles that European firms face when exporting to Vietnam, makes it easier to trade in key goods like electronics, food products and pharmaceuticals, opens up Vietnam’s market for EU services exports, for example in transport and telecoms.
For what concerns the provisions on the proof of origin, exporters from the EU can self-declare that their product originates in the EU by providing a statement on origin that can be made out by any exporter registered in the Registered Exporter System, provided that the total value of the consignment does not exceed €6,000. The proof of origin applicable for goods originating in Vietnam are in turn a movement certificate EUR.1 or an origin declaration made out by any exporter for consignments the total value of which is to be determined in the national legislation of Vietnam and shall not exceed €6,000.
The guidance document further provides provisions on submission and validity of certificates of origin of products, on the verification of origin, on the claiming of preferential tariff treatment after importation and on transport rules.
This article is for information purposes only and is not, and cannot be intended as, a professional opinion on the topics dealt with. For further information please contact your counsel.
[1] https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/rail/packages/2013_en.
[2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021DC0005&qid=1610645842386.
[3] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1100 on rail market monitoring (“the RMMS Regulation”).
[4] https://ec.europa.eu/transport/facts-fundings/statistics/pocketbook-2020_en.
[5] https://www.era.europa.eu/library/corporate-publications_en.
[6] http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/transport/data/database.
[7] While Regulations (EC) No 443/2009 and (EU) No 510/2011 were initially listed in the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland as EU legislation applicable in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland, the EU-UK Joint Committee has decided, in Decision No 3/2020 of the Joint Committee of 17 December 2020, to remove these legal acts from Annex 2 of the Protocol. Hence, neither these Regulations nor their repealing legislation applies in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland after the end of the transition period.
[8] https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/sites/taxation/files/evfta-guidance.pdf.
