Three-way co-operation agreement to promote European interoperability

10.01.2020

EUROPE: A three-way agreement for administrative co-operation to promote technical interoperability, in particular for the transport of dangerous goods, has been signed by the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility & Transport and the EU Agency for Railways.

The agreement signed on September 29 is designed to be more flexible than their previous arrangement, which was signed following the EU’s accession to to the COTIF convention. It now runs indefinitely, rather than including an expiry date.

The new agreement:

  • sets out methods for exchanging information;
  • establishes a framework for interaction between OTIF and EU rules, so as to improve joint understanding;
  • defines continuous co-operation on the various technical registers;
  • strengthens co-ordination to ensure alignment of the railway laws of OTIF and the EU;
  • refers to the Joint Co-ordinating Group of Experts to ensure consistency between the Regulation concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID) and EU law.

The parties said the agreement enshrines the interdependence and close links between OTIF and the EU. It also reflects their wish to ‘improve, promote and facilitate’ international rail transport for ‘sustainable and greener’ development.

Topics
EU
Analytics on topic
Report
05.27.2020
Report
05.27.2020
Short-term Outlook for EU Agricultural Markets in 2020
This short-term outlook edition coincides with the unfolding of the Covid-19 crisis, making the exercise exceptionally challenging. Market forecasts are based on market intelligence available at the beginning of April 2020 and reflect the Covid-19 impact to the extent possible, with all the caveats and limitations in view of the rapidly evolving situation. In addition, for the first time market outlooks are presented for EU-27, and assume a frictionless trade between the EU and the UK in 2020.
Report
05.01.2020
Report
05.01.2020
Defining the future of freight transport
The aim of the LEVITATE project is to develop a new impact assessment framework to enable policymakers to manage the introduction of connected and automated transport systems, maximise the benefits and utilise the technologies to achieve long-term visions and goals. An essential part of this work seeks to forecast societal level impacts of connected and automated transport systems (CATS). These include impacts on safety, environment, economy and society.