2012/1 session of the ASECAP Steering Committee in Copenhagen, Denmark, held on March 05th, 2012
President Mr. Klaus Schierhackl emphasized recent success of the Association in closely participating in the EU Institutions and other organizations (such as the ITS Advisory Group; the Association is the sole member of the EETS Regulatory committee outside the 27 member states; it is also a member of ERTRAC, chair of DG INFSO i-mobility forum, etc.). For the purpose of developing relevant ASECAP activities, the President insisted on all members’ active participation in all the ASECAP committees (Steering Committee, COMEX, COPER boards, task forces, etc.). For the first time, the session was unofficially attended by the representatives of associate members.
Upon the adoption of the minutes, the discussion on the agreed ASECAP points/actions presented in the matrix and stated in the ASECAP 2012 Work Plan followed.
COPER chairs were invited to focus on the “hot” issues under their responsibility in order to draw up an indicative plan based on which the COMEX and the Steering Committee would subsequently decide on. The attendees agreed on establishment of the ASECAP Pool of Experts, which is to contribute actively to the work within the permanent ASECAP Domains of Interest identified in the new ASECAP By-Laws. All members promised to appoint their own representatives for each of the domains.
Secretary General pointed to possible informal meetings with CER (Community of European Railways) representatives, which is currently undergoing an internal re-structuring, in order to initiate direct cooperation.
Mr. Stephane Verwilghen from the ASECAP Secretariat would be responsible for the activities in DOPER IV related to benchmarking and the exchange of information on transport statistics/analysis.
In the Secretary General’s report it was underlined that significant success was achieved through the active presence of ASECAP within the great spectrum of the EU domains of ASECAP interest, including the following: ASECAP was accepted as one of the 25 members of the high-level European ITS Advisory-Group; an active member of ERTRAC; one of the 3 chairs – together with the EC – in the i-mobility forum; an essential partner of the European Commission in the field of deployment-oriented land transport research and innovation; major stakeholder participating in the formal Toll Committee’s discussions on the deployment of EETS.
CESARE IV Project Leader informed the Steering Committee that, despite the positive audit already carried out, the European Commission decided to re-examine and audit itself the CESARE IV project, 4 years after its closure.
The work undertaken by COPER I was presented in relation to recent developments in the EETS domain, as well as the new legislative initiatives from the European Commission on the award of concessions contracts and public procurement. The draft paper outlining the ASECAP position to be defended at the Toll Committee meeting on March 19, 2012 was endorsed by the Steering Committee. The document confirms ASECAP’s readiness to commit to further actions provided the European Commission itself assures a clear framework requiring commitments from all stakeholders and especially the states.
Referring to the initiative from CEN regarding standardisation of the exchange of information between service providers and toll chargers, the Steering Committee confirmed that any initiative related to EETS should always happen within the applicable legal framework that attributes clear roles to all the participating stakeholders.
Regarding concessions and public procurement, discussions that were ongoing in the European Parliament (IMCO Committee) were presented on related draft Directives proposed by the European Commission in December 2011. The document welcomes the Commission’s proposals in general, and expresses specific comments and amendments.
In order to approach the EU legislator on the specific concerns of ASECAP members, the Steering Committee endorsed the paper in general and the members of the Steering Committee are invited to submit their comments, if any, before March 9th. AISCAT and ASETA welcomed the document and highlighted their main preoccupations and strategy, also encouraging other members to promote the ASECAP interests at stake vis-à-vis the European Parliament.
COPER II chairman Mr. Maurizio Rotondo referred to the 5th annual ASECAP Road Safety Event that was taking place the next day with the active participation of the three key EU institutions (European Commission, European Parliament, Council/Presidency).
Since no new initiatives from the EU were to be reported (due in particular to a recent re-shuffle within the Commission), the COPER II chairman informed the Steering Committee that work would shortly start on the internal COPER II priority of single tube tunnel operation, for which ASFINAG had offered to take the lead.
The work of COPER III was presented by Mr. Marko Jandrisits, indicating 5 key topics: ASECAP’s work on ITS, ITS Directives, Easy Way system, i-Mobility forum (former e-safety forum), SATIE project through supporting the development of the European Large Scale Action (ELSA) for ICT in transport, and the Amsterdam Group, with a retrospective on priorities in their developments.
The “tour de table” involving all members (and henceforth also associate members) allowed for an exchange of information and Q&A between the members about the situation in their countries, touching upon a wide range of topics (Annex 4.)
The Secretariat also composed the final versions of relevant texts which would be formally adopted by the General Assembly in May 2012 in an extraordinary session, pursuant to the provisions of the new Bylaws and regulation. It was indicated that Mr. Andreas Arnaoutis expressed reservations on the last paragraph of Article 5.1.1.
In a letter he sent to all the members, President Klaus Schierhackl asked for names of candidates for the posts of the first and second vice presidents and the 2 elected voting members of COMEX. He proposed that the Steering Committee (in its session 2012/2 in Turin in May) should formally elect Mr. Jean Mesqui as first Vice-President of ASECAP, Mr. Øyvind Halleraker as second Vice-President of ASECAP, Mr. Tom Fanning and Mr. Massimo Schintu as the two elected voting COMEX members. The Steering Committee expressed no reservations on this proposal.
Congratulated for his very cost-efficient work displayed in 2010, the Secretary-General presented the draft accounts for 2011, which were adopted by the SC, and which would be sent to the auditor who would prepare his report for the General Assembly. Additionally, the accounts for the year 2011 were approved.
The Steering Committee marked its agreement with the draft agenda for the ASECAP General Assembly in Turin, provided that a point in the agenda is added, related to the extraordinary part-session in order to ratify the election of the Vice-Presidents and the two elected voting COMEX members pursuant to the formal requirements laid down in the revised By-Laws.
As regards the benchmarking proposals (ASFA - DARS), presentations about the measuring of customer satisfaction on their networks were held, attached in Annexes 8.a. and 8.b. Secretary-General underlined that it would be good if the states established high-level “user committees” following the example of France which appeared to offer clear added value for the acceptance of tolls and tariff increases by the users.
AISCAT Association presented the state of play regarding the 2012 ASECAP Study and Information Days organized in Turin in full cooperation with the ASECAP Secretariat and MCI as conference organizers. It was agreed to include EasyWay in the panel of Plenary Session n° 4 on the deployment of ITS.
Since 2010, the ASECAP Days are organized through new modalities which specially focus on the related costs, so it was indicated that the 2014 ASECAP Days might be hosted by the UK or France.
As regards the host of the 2013 ASECAP Days, HUKA, TEO and Toll Collect examined the idea to host the 2013 event. The candidates, or any other candidate, were requested to confirm their application as soon as possible.
