Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-11-24-Speech-2-491"
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"en.20091124.38.2-491"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that many answers to the requests made during this debate were given at the conference on railway safety held on 8 September, which I convened immediately after the accidents in Viareggio and the Netherlands, precisely to give a signal regarding the strong commitment on the part of the Commission and the European institutions to take action in the very sensitive sector of railway safety.
As you know, representatives of all the institutions, Parliament and the Council were invited to the conference. All the issues at the heart of this evening’s debate were examined, starting with the issue of the agencies and the European Railway Agency.
I share the position of Mr Milana, because during the conference itself, I proposed that greater powers be given to the European Railway Agency. I am therefore in full agreement. However, we need to change the rules of the game and I undertake, for as long as I remain Commissioner for Transport, to move towards the European Railway Agency being able to function along the same lines as the European Maritime Safety Agency or the European Aviation Safety Agency.
Another subject that we dealt with during that day of work, in which relatives of the victims also participated, is the liability of operators in the transport chain and thus, the question of the rights of those who are involved in rail accidents. With regard to passengers’ rights in the rail sector, there is legislation that will enter into force on 3 December this year.
The Commission is also looking at aspects relating to victims other than passengers, namely those who are not passengers but are victims of accidents such as the Viareggio accident, caused by an explosion or a train derailment, and it is assessing what responses might be given to this problem.
The Commission has thus taken strong action in the rail safety sector, which it considers to be a priority, including in relation to the certification of staff. The EU has already adopted Directive 2007/59/EC on the certification of train drivers, and the European driving licence for train drivers already exists: it will enter into force on 3 December this year.
With regard to the social aspects that have been raised, there is the social dialogue committee which, in 2005, discussed an agreement on working time for international traffic.
With regard to maintenance and more environmentally friendly rail transport systems, I believe that we need equipment to be modernised and effective maintenance. As I confirmed in my reply to the question, I believe that the ERTMS system is an important project from the technological viewpoint, in which the European Commission has invested with a view to making all transport in the rail sector safer. I believe that this is an important element which should not be forgotten."@en1
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