(Ordinary legislative procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Council position at first reading (10579/1/2015 – C8‑0416/2015),

–  having regard to the reasoned opinions submitted, within the framework of Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, by the Lithuanian Parliament and the Swedish Parliament, asserting that the draft legislative act does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity,

–  having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 11 July 2013(1),

–  having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 7 October 2013(2),

–  having regard to its position at first reading(3) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2013)0030),

–  having regard to Article 294(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 76 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A8-0071/2016),

1.  Approves the Council position at first reading;

2.  Takes note of the Commission statement annexed to this resolution;

3.  Notes that the act is adopted in accordance with the Council position;

4.  Suggests that the act be cited as 'the Bilbao Barandica-Matīss directive on the interoperability of the rail system within the European Union (recast)'(4);

5.  Instructs its President to sign the act with the President of the Council, in accordance with Article 297(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

6.  Instructs its Secretary-General to sign the act, once it has been verified that all the procedures have been duly completed, and, in agreement with the Secretary-General of the Council, to arrange for its publication, together with the Commission statement thereon, in the Official Journal of the European Union;

7.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

(1) OJ C 327, 12.11.2013, p. 122. (2) OJ C 356, 5.12.2013, p. 92. (3) Texts adopted of 26.2.2014, P7_TA(2014)0149. (4) Izaskun Bilbao Barandica and Anrijs Matīss led the negotiations on the act on behalf of Parliament and the Council respectively.

Statement by the Commission on explanatory documents

The Commission recalls that the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission acknowledged in their Joint Political Declaration of 27 October 2011 on explanatory documents that the information Member States supply to the Commission as regards the transposition of directives in national law 'must be clear and precise' in order to facilitate the achievement by the Commission of its task overseeing the application of Union law. In the present case, explanatory documents could have been useful to this end. The Commission regrets that the final text does not contain provisions to this effect.