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178 16[2006/2007]4 ULR EUROPEAN CURRENT SURVEY

Rail transport

European Commission acts against The European Commission has decided to pursue infringement proceedings against 13 EU
13 Member States for their failure to Member States that have failed to notify the Commission of the implementation of two key
notify implementation of the Second Directives of the Second Railway Package into their domestic legislation. These two Directives
Railway Package aim to ensure high levels of safety and interoperability for rail business across Europe. The
(IP/06/1383) 12 October 2006 13 countries failing to notify the Commission of their transposition of the Directives are
Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal,
Sweden, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic. The Commission indicated that if any of these
Member States fails to respond to the Commission’s reasoned opinion (by notifying its
transposition measures), the Commission may decide to take the case before the ECJ.

European Commission approves a The European Commission has authorised a prolongation of an aid scheme to support the
prolongation of UK aid encouraging movement of intermodal containers by rail in the United Kingdom. The aid promotes the
movement of intermodal containers transfer of traffic flows from road to rail. The grant will provide continued support for the
by rail deep-sea, short sea and domestic intermodal container businesses that currently use rail.
(IP/06/1387) 13 October 2006 Any company, whether or not owned or controlled by UK nationals, can apply for revenue
support under the scheme if it is acting as an operator or contractor of an eligible rail
service. The allocated budget is £20 million (€29 million) a year and the total amount of the
budget is £60 million (€87 million). The notified scheme is limited to a three-year period
starting on 1 April 2007. Before the end of this period, an evaluation report will be submitted
to the Commission to assess the prolongation of the scheme.

EESC meets with the Polish State A delegation of the European Economic and Social Committee (‘EESC’) met with the
Secretary for Transport to push ‘Rail Polish State Secretary for Transport and underlined the need for immediate investment in
Baltica’ and the restructuring of Poland’s rail infrastructure, that is, using the financial allocations
(CES/06/112) 23 November 2006 from the 2007–2013 budget for investing in protecting unique biotopes and nature, diverting
transport loads from road to rail, creating sustainable low-cost transport facilities, and
making structural changes. The EESC delegation also called for immediate and urgent action
to combat rapidly increasing transit traffic in the Podlaskie region. The EESC believes that
investment in rail infrastructure, the ‘Rail Baltica’, is the best solution to ease huge traffic
problems in the region. This option has been shown to be economically viable, sustainable
and environmentally friendly. More than this, Rail Baltica can obtain the optimal degree of
support from the EU Cohesion Fund, as well as the TEN-Transport fund budget.

European Commission approves The European Commission has cleared the acquisition of the activities of the French
proposed acquisition by Thales of telecommunications group Alcatel in rail signalling and supervision, and in systems integration,
Alcatel’s rail and systems integration by the French company Thales. Thales is active in the integration of critical information
activities systems for the defence, aeronautics and transport industries and for public administrations.
(IP/06/1520) 7 November 2006 Alcatel’s ‘Divisions Transport et Systèmes’ are active in signalling and supervision for the rail
industry and in the integration of information systems for railways, airports and the oil and
gas industry. The Commission’s examination of the proposed transaction showed that there
are only limited horizontal overlaps between Thales and the relevant divisions of Alcatel
and that the combined company would continue to face several strong and effective
competitors with significant market shares. The proposed concentration was thus not likely
to have a negative impact on competition in any relevant market.

Maritime transport
EIB loan for Rotterdam’s Delta The European Investment Bank (‘EIB’) has granted a €100 million loan to the Rotterdam
Terminal Port Authority for the construction of a barge feeder terminal and for the expansion of a
(BEI/06/112) 25 October 2006 container terminal located in the west of the Maasvlakte area. This project will increase the
container handling capacity of the Port of Rotterdam and should further strengthen
Rotterdam’s position as Europe’s biggest cargo and container port, and thereby improve
links within the EU and with the rest of the world. In addition, the barge feeder terminal will
strengthen the multimodal nature of traffic flows from the port, thereby reducing traffic
problems and the concomitant environmental pollution in the wider Rotterdam area.

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