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PARALLEL TEXTS
La Francia è venuta meno agli obblighi ad essa derivanti dal diritto dell’Unione in materia di trasporto ferroviario
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-49_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-49_it.htm
Data documento: 18-04-2013
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France has breached its obligations under EU law in the area of rail transport
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La Francia è venuta meno agli obblighi ad essa derivanti dal diritto dell’Unione in materia di trasporto ferroviario
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On 29 December 2010, the Commission brought proceedings before the Court of Justice for a declaration that France had failed to fulfil certain obligations under EU law in the area of rail transport.
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Il 29 dicembre 2010, la Commissione ha presentato alla Corte di giustizia un ricorso per inadempimento con il quale ha censurato la Francia per essere venuta meno a taluni obblighi derivanti dal diritto dell’Unione in materia di trasporto ferroviario.
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That action is one of a series of similar proceedings brought by the Commission against a number of Member States for non-compliance with their obligations under the relevant directives.
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Tale ricorso rientra in una serie di cause analoghe proposte dalla Commissione nei confronti di diversi Stati membri per l’inadempimento dei loro obblighi derivanti dalle direttive in materia.
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The Commission alleged, first, that France did not make provision for the separation of SNCF, the entity providing rail transport services, from RFF, the organisation responsible for managing the infrastructure in particular as regards the performance of functions deemed essential, which included the allocation of train paths (Directive 91/440/EEC).
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La Commissione contesta alla Francia, in primo luogo, di non aver previsto la separazione degli enti che assicurano la gestione dei servizi ferroviari (nella fattispecie, la Société nationale des chemins de fer français, «SNCF») da quelli incaricati della gestione dell’infrastruttura (Réseau ferré de France, «RFF»), segnatamente per quanto riguarda l’esercizio delle funzioni considerate essenziali, tra cui la ripartizione delle linee ferroviarie (direttiva 91/440/CE2).
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It claimed that the SNCF, through the Direction des circulations ferroviaires (‘DCF’), which at the time was not independent of SNCF, remained in charge of the allocation of train paths.
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Orbene, la SNCF, attraverso la Direction des Circulations Ferroviaires («DCF»), che all’epoca non era indipendente dalla SNCF, continuerebbe ad essere incaricata dell’assegnazione delle linee ferroviarie.
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The Commission alleged, second, that French legislation did not fully transpose the requirements for setting up a performance scheme relating to the charges made for access to the railway infrastructure.
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La Commissione fa valere, in secondo luogo, che la normativa francese non recepisce integralmente i requisiti relativi all’istituzione di un sistema di miglioramento delle prestazioni circa l’imposizione dei diritti di accesso all’infrastruttura ferroviaria.
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Furthermore, French legislation did not make sufficient provision for incentives to reduce the costs of providing infrastructure and the level of access charges (Directive 2001/14/EC).
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Inoltre, non prevederebbe sufficienti incentivi a ridurre i costi di fornitura dell’infrastruttura e il livello dei diritti di accesso (direttiva 2001/14/CE).
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France considered that it has now fully transposed Directive 91/440 on the development of the Community’s railways as a result of the adoption of new legislation in 2011.
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La Francia ritiene di aver ormai portato pienamente a compimento il recepimento della direttiva 91/440 relativa allo sviluppo delle ferrovie comunitarie mediante l’adozione, nel 2011, di una nuova normativa.
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However, in its judgment today, the Court of Justice points out that the existence of the breach in question must be determined by reference to the legislative situation prevailing in France at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion (that is, 9 December 2009) sent by the Commission to France during the pre-litigation procedure.
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Tuttavia, nella sua sentenza odierna, la Corte ricorda che l’esistenza di questo inadempimento deve essere valutata in relazione alla situazione della normativa francese quale si presentava alla scadenza del termine stabilito nel parere motivato inviato dalla Commissione alla Francia durate il procedimento precontenzioso (vale a dire il 9 dicembre 2009).
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Therefore, amendments made to French legislation after that date cannot be taken into consideration for the purposes of examining the merits of this action.
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Di conseguenza, le modifiche apportate alla normativa francese successive a detta data non possono essere prese in considerazione nell’ambito dell’esame della fondatezza del presente ricorso.
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As regards the merits of the case, the Court finds that, on that date, French legislation did not comply with the criterion that the function of allocating rail paths must be performed independently.
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Quanto al merito, la Corte constata che, a tale data, la normativa francese non rispettava il criterio di indipendenza della funzione di ripartizione delle linee ferroviarie.
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The Court points out that Directive 91/440 instigated the liberalisation of rail transport so as to ensure equitable and non-discriminatory access for railway undertakings to the rail network infrastructure.
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A tal proposito, la Corte ricorda che la direttiva 91/440 ha avviato la liberalizzazione del trasporto ferroviario al fine di garantire un accesso equo e non discriminatorio delle imprese ferroviarie all’infrastruttura della rete ferroviaria.
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In order to guarantee that access, the Directive requires Member States to take the measures necessary to ensure that ‘the essential functions’ are entrusted to bodies or firms that do not themselves provide any rail transport services, and that this must be shown to have been achieved, regardless of the organisational structures envisaged.
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Per garantire un siffatto accesso, la direttiva stabilisce che gli Stati membri devono adottare le misure necessarie per assicurare che le “funzioni essenziali” siano attribuite a enti o società che non prestano a loro volta servizi di trasporto ferroviario e, indipendentemente dalle strutture organizzative, è necessario provare che tale obiettivo è stato realizzato.
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According to Directive 91/440, essential functions include, inter alia, decision-making related to path allocation, including the definition and assessment of their availability and the allocation of individual train paths.
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Sono considerate funzioni essenziali, secondo la direttiva 91/440, segnatamente, l’adozione delle decisioni sulla ripartizione delle linee ferroviarie, comprese la definizione e la valutazione della disponibilità, nonché l’assegnazione di singole linee ferroviarie.
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Consequently, a railway undertaking may not be entrusted with conducting the technical implementation studies necessary for scrutinising applications for train paths which must be carried out before a decision is taken and for the last-minute allocation of train paths, because those studies form part of the definition and assessment of the availability of train paths and the last-minute allocation of train paths constitutes an allocation of individual train paths for the purposes of Directive 91/440.
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Di conseguenza, ad un’impresa ferroviaria non può essere affidata la realizzazione di studi tecnici di esecuzione, necessari all’istruzione delle domande di assegnazione di linee ferroviarie (effettuata a monte della decisione) e all’assegnazione delle linee ferroviarie dell’ultimo minuto, dato che tali studi contribuiscono alla definizione e alla valutazione della disponibilità delle linee ferroviarie e che la loro assegnazione dell’ultimo minuto costituisce un’assegnazione di singole linee ferroviarie ai sensi della direttiva 91/440.
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Therefore, those functions must, in accordance with Directive 2001/144, be entrusted to a body that is independent in its legal form, organisation and decision-making functions.
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Tali funzioni devono essere quindi affidate, conformemente alla direttiva 2001/144 ad un organismo indipendente sul piano giuridico, organizzativo e decisionale.
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Although it is supervised by RFF, DCF does not have separate legal personality from SNCF and forms an integral part of its structure, a fact which was not disputed by France.
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Orbene, la DCF, benché sia soggetta alla supervisione della RFF, non è dotata di una personalità giuridica distinta da quella della SNCF nella quale è integrata, (circostanza, questa, non contestata dalla Francia).
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Consequently, since the criterion of legal independence was not fulfilled, there was no need to examine the criteria of organisational and decision-making independence, as all three criteria must be met.
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Di conseguenza, poiché il criterio di indipendenza giuridica non è soddisfatto, non occorre esaminare i criteri di indipendenza organizzativa e decisionale, trattandosi di tre criteri cumulativi.
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Similarly, the Court finds that French legislation does not provide for a performance scheme as required under Directive 2001/14.
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Parimenti, la Corte dichiara che la normativa francese non contiene un sistema di miglioramento delle prestazioni conforme alla direttiva 2001/14
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It follows from the above directive that the Member States must include in infrastructure charging schemes a performance scheme the purpose of which is to encourage both railway undertakings and the infrastructure manager to improve network performance.
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Dalla direttiva citata deriva che gli Stati membri devono includere nei sistemi di imposizione dei diritti di utilizzo dell’infrastruttura un sistema di miglioramento delle prestazioni diretto a incentivare sia le imprese ferroviarie sia il gestore dell’infrastruttura a migliorare le prestazioni della rete.
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Incentives must be introduced by the Member States, which remain free to choose the specific measures, provided such measures constitute a coherent and transparent whole which may be described as a ‘performance scheme’.
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Gli Stati membri devono attuare incentivi e dispongono di una libertà di scelta delle misure concrete da adottare, purché queste costituiscano un insieme coerente e trasparente che possa essere qualificato come «sistema di prestazioni».
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The French rail network statement containing all the information necessary for exercising the rights of access to that network for 2011 and 2012 provides only for a specific charge to be levied on the fee for reserving freight paths, provided the total length is greater than 300 km and the speed is greater than 70 km/h.
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Ora, il prospetto informativo della rete ferroviaria francese contenente tutte le informazioni necessarie all’esercizio dei diritti di accesso a tale rete per il 2011 e il 2012 prevede solo un’imposizione specifica applicabile ai diritti di prenotazione delle linee ferroviarie per il traffico merci a condizione che la lunghezza totale sia superiore a 300 km e che la velocità sia superiore a 70 km/h.
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Therefore, that scheme does not form a coherent and transparent whole which can be described as a genuine performance scheme within the meaning of the directive in question.
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Detto sistema non forma pertanto un insieme coerente e trasparente che possa essere qualificato come sistema effettivo di miglioramento delle prestazioni ai sensi della direttiva.
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Similarly, it is true that the RFF general terms and conditions contain provisions for compensating the infrastructure manager for non-use of a train path, responsibility for which may be attributed to the railway undertaking, and for compensating the railway undertaking as a result of the withdrawal of train paths for which the manager is responsible.
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Parimenti, le condizioni generali della RFF contengono, certo, disposizioni relative al risarcimento del gestore dell’infrastruttura in caso di mancato utilizzo di una linea ferroviaria per causa imputabile all’impresa ferroviaria e al risarcimento dell’impresa ferroviaria in seguito alla soppressione di linee ferroviarie per fatto dovuto al gestore.
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Those provisions do not, however, constitute a performance scheme within the meaning of the directive, as they contain only clauses determining liability in the event of damage, and make provision only for the consequences, in terms of compensation, in the event of the withdrawal of train paths by RFF.
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Tali disposizioni non costituiscono tuttavia un sistema di miglioramento delle prestazioni ai sensi della direttiva, poiché contengono solo semplici clausole di responsabilità in caso di danni e prevedono solo le conseguenze risarcitorie in caso di soppressione delle linee ferroviarie da parte della RFF.
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Finally, the introduction, on an experimental basis, of a specific performance scheme mechanism as provided for by the performance contract is solely the responsibility of RFF.
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Infine, l’istituzione in via sperimentale di un meccanismo specifico di miglioramento delle prestazioni previsto dal «contratto di performance» è unicamente a carico della RFF.
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Therefore, that contract does not constitute a performance scheme that is likely to provide the infrastructure manager and the railway undertakings with incentives.
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Pertanto, tale contratto non costituisce un sistema di miglioramento delle prestazioni tale da incentivare il gestore dell’infrastruttura e le imprese ferroviarie.
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Moreover, the provisions of the performance contract are limited to the freight network, whereas the directive provides that the basic principles of the performance scheme are to apply to the entire network.
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Inoltre, le disposizioni del contratto di performance sono limitate alla rete per il traffico merci, mentre la direttiva prevede che i principi di base del sistema di miglioramento delle prestazioni si applichino a tutta la rete.
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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
France has breached its obligations under EU law in the area of rail
transport
On 29 December 2010, the Commission brought proceedings before the
Court of Justice for a declaration that France had failed to fulfil certain
obligations under EU law in the area of rail transport.
That action is one of a series of similar proceedings brought by the
Commission against a number of Member States for non-compliance with their
obligations under the relevant directives.
The Commission alleged, first, that France did not make provision for
the separation of SNCF, the entity providing rail transport services, from RFF,
the organisation responsible for managing the infrastructure in particular as
regards the performance of functions deemed essential, which included the
allocation of train paths (Directive 91/440/EEC).
It claimed that the SNCF, through the Direction des circulations
ferroviaires (‘DCF’), which at the time was not independent of SNCF, remained in
charge of the allocation of train paths.
The Commission alleged, second, that French legislation did not fully
transpose the requirements for setting up a performance scheme relating to the
charges made for access to the railway infrastructure.
Furthermore, French legislation did not make sufficient provision for
incentives to reduce the costs of providing infrastructure and the level of
access charges (Directive 2001/14/EC).
France considered that it has now fully transposed Directive 91/440 on
the development of the Community’s railways as a result of the adoption of new
legislation in 2011.
However, in its judgment today, the Court of Justice points out that
the existence of the breach in question must be determined by reference to the
legislative situation prevailing in France at the end of the period laid down in
the reasoned opinion (that is, 9 December 2009) sent by the Commission to France
during the pre-litigation procedure.
Therefore, amendments made to French legislation after that date cannot
be taken into consideration for the purposes of examining the merits of this
action.
As regards the merits of the case, the Court finds that, on that date,
French legislation did not comply with the criterion that the function of
allocating rail paths must be performed independently.
The Court points out that Directive 91/440 instigated the
liberalisation of rail transport so as to ensure equitable and
non-discriminatory access for railway undertakings to the rail network
infrastructure.
In order to guarantee that access, the Directive requires Member States
to take the measures necessary to ensure that ‘the essential functions’ are
entrusted to bodies or firms that do not themselves provide any rail transport
services, and that this must be shown to have been achieved, regardless of the
organisational structures envisaged.
According to Directive 91/440, essential functions include, inter alia,
decision-making related to path allocation, including the definition and
assessment of their availability and the allocation of individual train paths.
Consequently, a railway undertaking may not be entrusted with
conducting the technical implementation studies necessary for scrutinising
applications for train paths which must be carried out before a decision is
taken and for the last-minute allocation of train paths, because those studies
form part of the definition and assessment of the availability of train paths
and the last-minute allocation of train paths constitutes an allocation of
individual train paths for the purposes of Directive 91/440.
Therefore, those functions must, in accordance with Directive 2001/144,
be entrusted to a body that is independent in its legal form, organisation and
decision-making functions.
Although it is supervised by RFF, DCF does not have separate legal
personality from SNCF and forms an integral part of its structure, a fact which
was not disputed by France.
Consequently, since the criterion of legal independence was not
fulfilled, there was no need to examine the criteria of organisational and
decision-making independence, as all three criteria must be met.
Similarly, the Court finds that French legislation does not provide for
a performance scheme as required under Directive 2001/14.
It follows from the above directive that the Member States must include
in infrastructure charging schemes a performance scheme the purpose of which is
to encourage both railway undertakings and the infrastructure manager to improve
network performance.
Incentives must be introduced by the Member States, which remain free
to choose the specific measures, provided such measures constitute a coherent
and transparent whole which may be described as a ‘performance scheme’.
The French rail network statement containing all the information
necessary for exercising the rights of access to that network for 2011 and 2012
provides only for a specific charge to be levied on the fee for reserving
freight paths, provided the total length is greater than 300 km and the speed is
greater than 70 km/h.
Therefore, that scheme does not form a coherent and transparent whole
which can be described as a genuine performance scheme within the meaning of the
directive in question.
Similarly, it is true that the RFF general terms and conditions contain
provisions for compensating the infrastructure manager for non-use of a train
path, responsibility for which may be attributed to the railway undertaking, and
for compensating the railway undertaking as a result of the withdrawal of train
paths for which the manager is responsible.
Those provisions do not, however, constitute a performance scheme
within the meaning of the directive, as they contain only clauses determining
liability in the event of damage, and make provision only for the consequences,
in terms of compensation, in the event of the withdrawal of train paths by RFF.
Finally, the introduction, on an experimental basis, of a specific
performance scheme mechanism as provided for by the performance contract is
solely the responsibility of RFF.
Therefore, that contract does not constitute a performance scheme that
is likely to provide the infrastructure manager and the railway undertakings
with incentives.
Moreover, the provisions of the performance contract are limited to the
freight network, whereas the directive provides that the basic principles of the
performance scheme are to apply to the entire network.
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. |