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2008 discharge: European Railway Agency ERA

2009/2126(DEC)

PURPOSE: presentation of the final accounts of the European Railway Agency (ERA) for the financial year 2008.

CONTENT: this document sets out a detailed account of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for 2008. It indicates that the Agency’s final budget amounted to EUR 18 million (compared to EUR 16.6 million for 2007).

As regards the staffing policy, the Agency (which is located in two cities: its administrative seat is in Valenciennes whereas its meetings have to be held in Lille) officially set out 116 posts in its establishment plan. 106 posts are currently occupied + 7 other posts totalling 113 posts assigned to operational and administrative duties.

The activities carried out in 2008 are as follows:

Address recommendations to the Commission

  • Recommendation on common safety methods to be used in the framework of common safety targets,
  • Recommendation on the revision of Annex I to Directive 2004/49/EC,
  • The first biennial report on the safety performance of the railways of the European Union,
  • Recommendation on a common format for train drivers licences and registers,
  • Recommendation on harmonised requirements for Part B Safety Certificates,
  • Recommendation on the conventional rail technical specifications for interoperability (TSI) infrastructure,
  • Recommendation on the conventional rail TSI energy,
  • Recommendation on the certification of maintenance workshops,
  • Recommendation on the system requirement specification for baseline 3 of the European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) specification.

Give opinions on

  • Draft TSI on locomotives and passenger rolling stock,
  • First draft of the recommendation on Section 1 of Annex VII of Directive 2008/57/EC (cross acceptance checklist),
  • Setting-up of the register of documents on interoperability.

Publications and reports

  • Intermediate report on the TSI telematic applications for passengers,
  • Feasibility study on the interoperability of the 1 520 mm rail system,
  • Evaluation of the notification of the lists of national technical rules,
  • Draft report on the way national safety rules are published and made available,
  • Draft report on impact assessment and recommendations concerning the requirement for derailment detection proposed by the Committee on dangerous goods.

Events: biennial safety conference.

The complete version of the final accounts may be found at the following address: http://www.era.europa.eu