Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken at the 26th session of the OTIF Revision Committee as regards certain amendments to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF)

Background and further information:

The Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) develops uniform legal regimes for international rail transport in three major areas of activity: technical interoperability, dangerous goods and railway contract law.

The COTIF Convention is OTIF’s founding legal text. It governs the running of the organisation, its objectives, attributions, relations with the Member States and its activities in general. There are 46 countries party to the COTIF Convention, including all EU Member States except Cyprus and Malta.

The COTIF Convention comprises two parts: the Convention itself, and seven Appendices that establish uniform railway law, i.e. technical functional requirements and model contracts for the carriage of passengers and goods.

This proposal concerns the decision establishing the position to be taken on the Union's behalf at the 26th session of the Revision Committee of COTIF99 in Berne, Switzerland, 27 February – 1 March 2018.