EU IMPOSES RAIL PRIVATISATION

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: january 2017 :: RMTnews 14 To little fanfare the European Parliament quietly voted to adopt the final wording for the market pillar of the Fourth Railway Package last month, concluding almost five years of intense corporate lobbying for European Commission proposals for mass privatisation. The so-called market pillar demands ‘free market’ mechanisms to be imposed on all railways across the EU and a formal implementation timetable will be released soon. The European Commission first introduced rail directive 91/440/EEC on July 29 1991 demanding the separation of infrastructure undertakings and operations, open access for international undertakings and the introduction of track access charges. John Major’s Tory government adopted the directive wholesale when it privatised British Rail. The Railways Regulation 1992 was introduced under Section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 in order to comply with the directive. The final version the market pillar of the Fourth Railway Package revises Regulation 1370/2007 on the award of public service contracts. This demands the opening of the market for all domestic rail passenger services. Competitive tendering will be imposed for public service contracts by December 2023, with exceptions permitted under specific circumstances and direct award contracts required to include performance and quality targets. Open access operators will be able to compete on domestic routes from December 14 2020, although restrictions designed to ensure the continuity of subsidies will be permitted subject to ‘objective economic EU IMPOSES RAIL PRIVATISATION EU parliament finally rubberstamps European Commission demands for wholesale ‘liberalisation’ of European railways