THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/796 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union Agency for Railways and repealing Regulation (EC) No 881/2004, and in particular Article 80 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
The revenue of the European Union Agency for Railways (‘the Agency’) consists of a contribution from the Union and the fees and charges paid by applicants for the processing of applications for certificates, authorisations and decisions for approval, handling of appeals and other services provided by the Agency in accordance with Article 64 of Regulation (EU) 2016/796.
(2)
The fees and charges payable to the Agency should be set in a transparent, fair and uniform manner, in particular with the objective of simplification. They should not result in the imposition of unnecessary financial burden on enterprises and should not jeopardise the competitiveness of the European railway sector.
(3)
The calculation of fees and charges should take account of the cost of staff and external experts involved in the processing of applications, where relevant. Account should equally be taken of the costs of supporting services and activities related to the processing of applications, as well as any other operational costs in order to provide those services. These costs should be related and proportionate to the relevant activities and they should be non-discriminatory.
(4)
The fees and charges levied by the Agency should cover the full costs of the services rendered by the Agency.
(5)
The time spent by the Agency to provide those services should be invoiced at an hourly rate, until the maturity of the system allows for a regime of fixed rates. The fees and charges of the Agency should be set at such a level as to avoid a deficit or a significant accumulation of surplus, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/796.
(6)
The amounts payable should not depend on where the applicant is established, or the language used for the application. Therefore, the travel and translation costs incurred in relation to the part of the application processed by the Agency should be aggregated and divided among all applications.
(7)
Fees and charges should be established to meet the specific needs of small and medium-sized enterprises. Undertakings should have the possibility to split payment into several instalments if needed.
(8)
Applicants have been secured the right to appeal within the Regulation (EU) 2016/796 and should be able to seek relief and exercise this right against decisions of the Agency. The payment of the fees and charges for an appeal against decisions of the Agency should therefore not be a prerequisite for an appeal to be admissible. Fees and charges should only be levied for the processing of appeals in cases where the appeal is dismissed.
(9)
In line with good project management, the applicant should have the possibility to request an estimate. The applicant should be informed, as far as possible, of the likely amount to be paid and the way in which payment should be made. Time limits for the payment of fees and charges should be established.
(10)
Information on the fees and charges established in this Regulation should be publicly available. Any future revisions of the fees levied by the Agency should be based on a transparent evaluation of the costs of the Agency and the relevant costs resulting from the tasks carried out by the NSAs.
(11)
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee in line with Article 81 of Regulation (EU) 2016/796,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: