| Author (Corporate) | Council of the European Union |
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| Series Title | Official Journal of the European Union |
| Series Details | L268, 26.10.2018 |
| Publication Date | 26/10/2018 |
| Content Type | Legislation |
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Summary: On 31 August 2018 the European Commission presented a proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the Union in connection with the envisaged adoption of a new Convention on the facilitation of border crossing procedures for passengers, luggage and load-luggage carried in international traffic by rail. The Council of the European Union adopted a Decision on 28 September 2018. Further information: The draft Convention on the facilitation of border crossing procedures for passengers, luggage and load-luggage carried in international traffic by rail was initiated by the Organization for Cooperation between Railways (OSJD), of which 9 EU Member States are members, and transmitted to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) by the Government of the Russian Federation. A Convention with a similar scope is already in force – the 1952 International Convention to facilitate the crossing of frontiers for passengers and baggage carried by rail, to which 8 EU Member States are contracting parties. Due to various legal and procedural difficulties, it was not feasible to amend this Convention in order to modernise it. Moreover, member countries of the OSJD supported the idea of drafting a new convention in this field, rather than acceding to the outdated 1952 Convention. The draft Convention covers three major Union policy areas: railways, customs and the Union acquis on border management. It aims at expediting and simplifying border controls of passenger trains. The main new elements in the draft Convention are joint coordinated controls at borders, instead of two or more consecutive controls on either side of the border; controls on moving trains, where the schedules and stops of the trains so permit and agreeing details of the cooperation by means of bilateral agreements or multilateral arrangements. The present proposal relates to the Union policy area of border management. The aspect of two other Union policy areas, railways and customs, are covered by a separate proposal. |
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| Subject Categories | Mobility and Transport, Politics and International Relations |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
