SPAIN: The European Commission has sent a letter of formal notice to Spain saying it has failed to correctly transpose Directive 2012/34/EU establishing a single European railway area.
The Commission said on May 17 that it believes that Spain’s regulatory framework is in breach of provisions of the directive concerning the powers and resources of the regulatory body, management independence of the infrastructure manager — in particular the setting of infrastructure charges — and the independence of the railway undertaking from the state. Shortcomings have also been identified in the allocation of infrastructure capacity and in the infrastructure charging system.
Spain has two months to reply to the arguments set out by the Commission, which may then decide to send a reasoned opinion ahead of possible legal action.
