Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council, 03/12/2014, 3 December 2014

General approach on SES II+ package agreed in the Council

Meeting in Brussels on 3 December, EU transport ministers adopted a general approach on the two proposals in the Single European Sky II+ package. They also discussed the 4th railway package and adopted a general approach on the repeal of a related obsolete regulation.

SES II+

The two proposals of the SES II+ package aim to  speed up the implementation  of the Single European Sky (SES) and to  amend rules for the European Aviation Safety Agency.

The draft regulation on the implementation of SES is a 'recast' proposal, which brings the four existing SES regulations together under one legislative act and revises them.

Under the Council's agreed text, the Single European Sky will comprise a  coherent pan-European network of routes. European airspace, network management and air traffic management systems will become progressively more integrated.

The proposed EASA amendments are intended to bring the current scope of the EASA regulation into line with the SES legislation and to include the SES interoperability concepts. 

4th railway package

The Council adopted a general approach on a proposal to repeal the regulation on the  normalisation of accounts of railway undertakings. The regulation has become obsolete and incompatible with EU legislation.

Ministers also looked at progress on two other proposals to improve rail services in the EU under the  governance and market opening pillar  of the 4th railway package.

Other topics on the agenda

The Council also adopted  conclusions on transport infrastructure  and the trans-European network (TENT). The conclusions will contribute to the mid-term review of the Europe 2020 growth strategy.

Ministers also discussed a number of other issues, including:

• the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F)
• EASA's annual safety conference, in particular on the subject of unmanned aircraft
• the impact of the Russian embargo  on the Lithuanian road haulage sector

The incoming Latvian Presidency of the Council also presented its work for transport issues.