EC Refers Bulgaria to Court over EU Railway Law

Bulgaria in EU | January 26, 2012, Thursday // 17:12|  views

The EC has resorted to legal action against Bulgaria due to its failure to fully implement the first railway package. Photo by BGNES

The European Commission has said it will alert the European Court of Justice about Bulgaria's failure to ensure the proper implementation of "first railway package" legislation.

The irregularities concern the implementation of provisions on charges which railway undertakings have to pay for access to the infrastructure, the EC press office said in a statement on Thursday.

The main objective of the three directives of the first railway package is to create a basis for market opening and competition in rail services.

"First railway package" legislation provides that infrastructure managers must be independent from railway undertakings, railway track access charges must be non-discriminatory and a regulator must be set up to address obstacles to competition in access to rail infrastructure.

The EC statement reminds that Member States were to implement the three directives by 15 March 2003, while the deadline for Bulgaria was January 01, 2007, the date of its EU accession.

Member States were also required to inform the EC of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions enacted at national level in order to comply with the European rules.

In its January 26 press release, the EC says that, following analyses of the the replies of the Bulgarian authorities, it has decided to refer Bulgaria to the Court of Justice due to its failure to implement EU rules properly.

The referral to the European Court of Justice is the third step of the infringement procedure and starts the litigation phase.

The Court of Justice will now have to decide on the issue raised by the Commission in its referral.

If the Court finds that Bulgaria has violated EU law, the country will be required to take the necessary measures to comply with the judgment.

Incorrect transposition of the first railway package directives obstructs access to the market due to the lack of transparent conditions.

This prevents the establishment of a fully functioning internal market for rail services in Europe.

The EU rules on track access charges aim to encourage an optimal use of the rail infrastructure by offering attractive access conditions for railway operators.

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Tags: railway track access charges, European Commision, infringement procedure, EU law, EU accession, eu member state, rail tracks, competition

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