The establishment of cooperation agreements with the national safety authorities of neighbouring countries stems from the directives of the European Parliament and the Council on railway safety and interoperability of the railway system in the EU following the introduction of the 4th railway package.
These framework cooperation agreements will facilitate the movement of railway vehicles by railway undertakings when entering the border areas of neighbouring countries without the need for individual arrangements.
If a railway undertaking has been issued with a single safety certificate for one of the states of a contracting party or is currently applying for one, it must also apply for an extension of its area of operation to the border sections listed in the agreement. Although the application for extension is made in the standard way via the One-Stop Shop portal, the authorisation is dealt with only by national rail authorities according to the terms of the signed agreements. Single safety certificates issued before the agreement came into force apply in accordance with the conditions at the time of their issue and any application for extension will only serve as their supplement.
This simplification applies by analogy to the authorisation of railway vehicles which enter the listed border sections.
Based on the agreements, neighbouring countries also plan joint supervision activities and cooperate in the exchange of information on safety and traffic.
