With the 4th Railway Package, the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) was given a prominent role as single authorisation entity and ERTMS system authority in Europe including tasks like certification, authorisation and further harmonization of the interoperability and safety framework.
The alarming cut in the operational budget of ERA – voted in the European Year of Rail no less – threatens however the current and future performance of ERA and consequently puts the competitiveness of the railway sector in jeopardy.
Even though UIP in an open public consultation called for an amended ERA fees & charges scheme to avoid putting the weight of a full cost recovery on the back of the applicants for ERA services, which would prove detrimental for the entire sector’s competitiveness for the years to come, the Member States representatives in the RISC nevertheless approved the proposed increase.
As applicants for ERA services are now confronted with an unprecedented increase of 80% in the hourly rate from €130 to €235 while ERA remains underfunded, UIP in a joint letter with other railway actors to the European Institutions, advocates clearly for the need of a sufficient budget of ERA.
UIP opposes an approach which only shifts the problem onto the shoulders of the sector, placing additional burden on the railway actors by increasing their costs whilst endangering their competitiveness.
Together with the other sector representatives, UIP urgently calls for:
- an appropriate ERA budget fit to fulfil its role
- an improved vehicle authorization process and efficiency in the delivery time of authorisations
- free use of the One-Stop-Shop IT tool