Press Release: Commission asks the Netherlands to fully implement legislation opening international rail freight

The European Commission on 14 December 2004 was launching legal proceedings against the Netherlands which failed to communicate national measures for implementing the three directives of the 2001 rail infrastructure package. The aim of this legislation is to enable the opening of the market for international rail freight and to have more efficient and on-time cross-border operations. The Commission planned to continue to strive for a European level playing field in this area, calling on railways to compete more effectively with road transport.