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PARALLEL TEXTS
Non garantendo l’indipendenza del gestore dell’infrastruttura ferroviaria, l’Italia non rispetta il diritto dell’Unione
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-127_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-127_it.htm
Data documento: 03-10-2013
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Italy has failed to comply with EU law by not ensuring the independence of the railway infrastructure manager
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Non garantendo l’indipendenza del gestore dell’infrastruttura ferroviaria, l’Italia non rispetta il diritto dell’Unione
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2 |
However, the Commission has failed to establish that the regulatory body is not independent
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La Commissione non ha invece dimostrato la mancanza d’indipendenza dell’organismo di regolamentazione
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The liberalisation of the railway sector in the EU is aimed at requiring Member States to ensure that undertakings operating in that sector enjoy equitable and non-discriminatory access to the rail network.
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La liberalizzazione del trasporto ferroviario nell’Unione europea mira ad obbligare gli Stati membri a garantire alle imprese di tale settore un accesso equo e non discriminatorio alla rete ferroviaria.
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The exercise of functions regarded as essential (the granting of licences to railway undertakings giving them access to the rail network, the allocation of train paths and the determination of the charges to be paid by transport undertakings for use of the network) may no longer be performed by the Member States’ railway undertakings that have traditionally done so but must be entrusted to independent managers.
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L'esercizio di funzioni considerate essenziali (il rilascio alle imprese ferroviarie di licenze che conferiscono loro l’accesso alla rete ferroviaria, l’assegnazione delle linee ferroviarie e la determinazione dei diritti che devono essere versati dalle imprese di trasporto per l’utilizzo della rete) non può più essere assicurato dalle imprese ferroviarie storiche, ma deve essere affidato a gestori indipendenti.
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5 |
The present case forms part of a series of actions for failure to fulfil obligations brought by the Commission against a number of Member States for failure to comply with their obligations.
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La presente causa si inserisce in una serie di ricorsi per inadempimento promossi dalla Commissione nei confronti di vari Stati membri per il mancato rispetto dei loro obblighi.
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Italian law allocates the management of ‘essential functions’ amongst Rete Ferroviaria Italiana SpA (‘RFI’), which is the designated infrastructure manager on the basis of a concession from the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry itself.
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Il diritto italiano ripartisce la gestione delle «funzioni essenziali» tra, da un lato, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana SpA («RFI»), il gestore dell’infrastruttura sulla base di una concessione del Ministero dei Trasporti, e, dall’altro, questo stesso Ministero.
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RFI, whilst having independent legal personality, is part of the group Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (‘the FS group’), which also includes Trenitalia SpA (‘Trenitalia’), the principal railway undertaking operating on the Italian market.
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RFI, pur essendo dotata di personalità giuridica autonoma, fa parte del gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane («gruppo FS»), che comprende altresì Trenitalia SpA, la principale impresa ferroviaria italiana.
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RFI is responsible for the calculation of the charges for network access for each operator and for the collection of those charges on the basis of the charges set by the Minister.
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RFI è incaricata del calcolo dei diritti di accesso alla rete per ogni operatore e della loro riscossione, sulla base delle tariffe fissate dal Ministro.
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The Ufficio per la Regolazione dei Servizi Ferroviari (Office for the regulation of railway services, ‘the URSF’) is the regulatory body, which has organisational and accounting autonomy within the limits of the economic and financial resources allocated to it.
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L’Ufficio per la Regolazione dei Servizi Ferroviari («URSF») costituisce l’organismo di regolamentazione, dotato di autonomia organizzativa e contabile nei limiti delle risorse economico-finanziarie assegnategli.
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By its action the Commission has argued, first of all, that the Italian rules do not ensure managerial independence of the infrastructure manager.
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Con il suo ricorso, la Commissione ha fatto valere, anzitutto, che la normativa italiana non garantisce l’indipendenza di gestione del gestore dell’infrastruttura.
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Under European Union law, the Member States are to establish a framework for levying charges, whilst respecting the management independence of the infrastructure manager, who must determine the charge for the use of the infrastructure and also collect it.
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Il diritto dell’Unione, infatti, conferisce agli Stati membri il compito di istituire un quadro per l’imposizione dei diritti nel rispetto dell’indipendenza gestionale del gestore dell’infrastruttura, cui spetta determinare i diritti per l’utilizzo dell’infrastruttura e provvedere alla loro riscossione.
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However, in reserving for itself the power to set charges, Italy deprives the manager of an essential management tool, in the Commission’s submission.
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Per contro, secondo la Commissione, riservandosi il potere di fissare il livello dei diritti di accesso alla rete, l’Italia priverebbe il gestore di uno strumento essenziale di gestione.
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In its judgment today, the Court observes, firstly, that one of the objectives pursued by European Union law is to ensure the management independence of the infrastructure manager through the charging system.
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Nella sua odierna sentenza, la Corte rammenta, anzitutto, che il diritto dell’Unione persegue l’obiettivo di assicurare l’indipendenza di gestione del gestore dell’infrastruttura ferroviaria, attraverso il sistema di determinazione dei diritti di utilizzo.
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The charging and capacity-allocation schemes should encourage railway infrastructure managers to optimise use of the infrastructure within the framework established by the Member States.
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I sistemi di determinazione dei diritti di utilizzo e di assegnazione della capacità devono incoraggiare i gestori ad ottimizzare l’utilizzo dell’infrastruttura nell’ambito stabilito dagli Stati membri.
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Their role cannot therefore be confined to calculating the amount of the charge in each individual case, applying a formula established in advance by ministerial order.
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Il ruolo dei gestori non può quindi limitarsi a calcolare l’importo del diritto in ciascun caso concreto, applicando una formula fissata in precedenza mediante decreto ministeriale.
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On the contrary, they must be given a degree of flexibility in setting the amount of charges.
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Al contrario, essi devono disporre di un certo grado di flessibilità nella fissazione dell’importo dei diritti.
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The Court notes that the Italian rules provide that the manager is bound by the calculation of the charge, which is fixed in collaboration with the Minister.
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La Corte rileva che la normativa italiana prevede che la determinazione dei diritti, fissata di concerto con il Ministro, vincoli il gestore.
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Although the Minister merely ensures compliance with legal requirements, the check of lawfulness should be carried out by the regulatory body, in this case the URSF.
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Sebbene il Ministro eserciti un mero controllo di legittimità, detto controllo dovrebbe tuttavia spettare all’organismo di regolamentazione, nel caso di specie all’URSF.
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The Court infers therefrom that the Italian legislation does not ensure the infrastructure manager’s independence.
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La Corte ne trae la conclusione che la legge italiana non consente di assicurare l’indipendenza del gestore dell’infrastruttura.
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By its second plea, the Commission complains that the Italian legislation does not comply with the requirement of independence of the regulatory body, because the URSF consists of officials of the Ministry and the Ministry continues to have influence over the FS group, which owns Trenitalia.
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Con la sua seconda censura, la Commissione addebita alla normativa italiana di non rispettare l’indipendenza dell’organismo di regolamentazione, in quanto l’URSF è costituito da funzionari del Ministero e quest’ultimo continua ad esercitare un’influenza sul gruppo FS, che detiene Trenitalia.
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The Court holds, however, that by its successive legislative interventions the Italian authorities have had an influence over the constitution of the regulatory body and have gradually redefined its organisational and accounting independence.
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La Corte osserva, in senso contrario, che, con i loro interventi legislativi successivi, le autorità italiane hanno inciso sulla costituzione dell’organismo di regolamentazione e hanno ridefinito progressivamente la sua autonomia organizzativa e contabile
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It also observes that, under the Directive, the regulatory body may be the ministry responsible for transport.
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Essa ricorda inoltre che, secondo la direttiva, l’organismo di regolamentazione può essere il Ministero dei Trasporti.
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Accordingly the Commission may not rely solely on the fact that the URSF is part of that ministry in order to conclude that it is not independent.
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La Commissione non può dunque far leva sulla sola circostanza che l’URSF appartiene a tale Ministero per concludere che esso non è indipendente.
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The Court concludes that the Commission has failed to adduce the evidence necessary to establish that the regulatory body is not independent.
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La Corte ne trae la conclusione che la Commissione non ha fornito gli elementi necessari per dimostrare la mancanza di indipendenza dell’organismo di regolamentazione.
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NOTE:
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IMPORTANTE:
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An action for failure to fulfil obligations directed against a Member State which has failed to comply with its obligations under European Union law may be brought by the Commission or by another Member State.
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La Commissione o un altro Stato membro possono proporre un ricorso per inadempimento diretto contro uno Stato membro che è venuto meno ai propri obblighi derivanti dal diritto dell’Unione.
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If the Court of Justice finds that there has been a failure to fulfil obligations, the Member State concerned must comply with the Court’s judgment without delay.
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Qualora la Corte di giustizia accerti l’inadempimento, lo Stato membro interessato deve conformarsi alla sentenza senza indugio.
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Where the Commission considers that the Member State has not complied with the judgment, it may bring a further action seeking financial penalties.
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La Commissione, qualora ritenga che lo Stato membro non si sia conformato alla sentenza, può proporre un altro ricorso chiedendo sanzioni pecuniarie.
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However, if measures transposing a directive have not been notified to the Commission, the Court of Justice can, on a proposal from the Commission, impose penalties at the stage of the initial judgment.
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Tuttavia, in caso di mancata comunicazione delle misure di attuazione di una direttiva alla Commissione, su domanda di quest’ultima, la Corte di giustizia può infliggere sanzioni pecuniarie, al momento della prima sentenza.
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LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
Italy has failed to comply with EU law by not ensuring the independence of
the railway infrastructure manager
However, the Commission has failed to establish that the
regulatory body is not independent
The liberalisation of the railway sector in the EU is aimed at
requiring Member States to ensure that undertakings operating in that sector
enjoy equitable and non-discriminatory access to the rail network.
The exercise of functions regarded as essential (the granting of
licences to railway undertakings giving them access to the rail network, the
allocation of train paths and the determination of the charges to be paid by
transport undertakings for use of the network) may no longer be performed by the
Member States’ railway undertakings that have traditionally done so but must be
entrusted to independent managers.
The present case forms part of a series of actions for failure to
fulfil obligations brought by the Commission against a number of Member States
for failure to comply with their obligations.
Italian law allocates the management of ‘essential functions’ amongst
Rete Ferroviaria Italiana SpA (‘RFI’), which is the designated infrastructure
manager on the basis of a concession from the Ministry of Transport, and the
Ministry itself.
RFI, whilst having independent legal personality, is part of the group
Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (‘the FS group’), which also includes Trenitalia
SpA (‘Trenitalia’)the principal railway undertaking operating on the Italian
market.
RFI is responsible for the calculation of the charges for network
access for each operator and for the collection of those charges on the basis of
the charges set by the Minister.
The Ufficio per la Regolazione dei Servizi Ferroviari (Office for the
regulation of railway services, ‘the URSF’) is the regulatory body, which has
organisational and accounting autonomy within the limits of the economic and
financial resources allocated to it.
By its action the Commission has argued, first of all, that the Italian
rules do not ensure managerial independence of the infrastructure manager.
Under European Union law, the Member States are to establish a
framework for levying charges, whilst respecting the management independence of
the infrastructure manager, who must determine the charge for the use of the
infrastructure and also collect it.
However, in reserving for itself the power to set charges, Italy
deprives the manager of an essential management tool, in the Commission’s
submission.
its judgment today, the Court observes, firstly, that one of the
objectives pursued by European Union law is to ensure the management
independence of the infrastructure manager through the charging system.
The charging and capacity-allocation schemes should encourage railway
infrastructure managers to optimise use of the infrastructure within the
framework established by the Member States.
Their role cannot therefore be confined to calculating the amount of
the charge in each individual case, applying a formula established in advance by
ministerial order.
On the contrary, they must be given a degree of flexibility in setting
the amount of charges.
The Court notes that the Italian rules provide that the manager is
bound by the calculation of the charge, which is fixed in collaboration with the
Minister.
Although the Minister merely ensures compliance with legal
requirements, the check of lawfulness should be carried out by the regulatory
body, in this case the URSF.
The Court infers therefrom that the Italian legislation does not ensure
the infrastructure manager’s independence.
By its second plea, the Commission complains that the Italian
legislation does not comply with the requirement of independence of the
regulatory body, because the URSF consists of officials of the Ministry and the
Ministry continues to have influence over the FS group, which owns Trenitalia.
The Court holds, however, that by its successive legislative
interventions the Italian authorities have had an influence over the
constitution of the regulatory body and have gradually redefined its
organisational and accounting independence.
It also observes that, under the Directive, the regulatory body may be
the ministry responsible for transport.
Accordingly the Commission may not rely solely on the fact that the
URSF is part of that ministry in order to conclude that it is not independent.
The Court concludes that the Commission has failed to adduce the
evidence necessary to establish that the regulatory body is not independent.
NOTE:
An action for failure to fulfil obligations directed against a Member
State which has failed to comply with its obligations under European Union law
may be brought by the Commission or by another Member State.
If the Court of Justice finds that there has been a failure to fulfil
obligations, the Member State concerned must comply with the Court’s judgment
without delay.
Where the Commission considers that the Member State has not complied
with the judgment, it may bring a further action seeking financial penalties.
However, if measures transposing a directive have not been notified to
the Commission, the Court of Justice can, on a proposal from the Commission,
impose penalties at the stage of the initial judgment. |