Press Release: Railway safety: Commission refers Austria to the Court of Justice

On 28 March 2014, the European Commission decided to refer Austria to the European Court of Justice for failing to bring national rules into line with a European directive on rail safety. Directive 2004/49/EC aims to improve safety for the European Union's railways and to improve access to the market for rail transport services. The directive requires Member States to establish a safety authority, to establish accident and incident investigation bodies, and to define common principles for the management, regulation and supervision of railway safety. In failing to transpose and implement the directive, Austria was denying the safety authority the right to revise safety certificates or authorisations following changes to the regulatory framework. Austria was also failing to ensure proper investigation of accidents and incidents – specifically those which under slightly different conditions might have led to serious accidents – by the independent investigation body. This potentially puts rail passengers at risk and hinders the creation of fair competition in the market.

• Primary Source

European Commission: RAPID: MEMO/14/241: March infringements package: main decisions http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-14-241_en.pdf

European Commission: RAPID: MEMO/12/12: Infringements: Frequently Asked Questions http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-12-12_en.pdf

European Commission: Secretariat-General: Application of EU law: Infringements of EU law http://ec.europa.eu/eu_law/infringements/infringements_en.htm

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