Transport in Europe provides for the movement needs of over 700 million people and associated freight.
Type approval or certificate of conformity is granted to a product that meets a minimum set of regulatory, technical and safety requirements. Generally, type approval is required before a product is allowed to be sold in a particular country, so the requirements for a given product will vary around the world. Processes and certifications known as type approval in English are often called homologation, or some cognate expression, in other European languages.
Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2014, commonly known as MiFID 2, is a legal act of the European Union (EU). Together with Regulation No 600/2014 it provides a legal framework for securities markets, investment intermediaries, in addition to trading venues. The directive provides harmonised regulation for investment services of the member states of the European Economic Area — the EU member states plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Its main objectives are to increase competition and investor protection, as well as level the playing field for market participants in investment services. It repeals Directive 2004/39/EC.
Rail transport in Europe is characterized by the diversity of technological standards, operating concepts, and infrastructures. Common features are the widespread deployment of standard-gauge rail, high operational safety and a high share of electrification. Electrified railway networks operate at a plethora of different voltages AC and DC varying from 750 to 25,000 volts, and signaling systems vary from country to country, complicating cross-border traffic.
The Capital Requirements Directives (CRD) for the financial services industry have introduced a supervisory framework in the European Union which reflects the Basel II and Basel III rules on capital measurement and capital standards.
The CLP Regulation is a European Union regulation from 2008, which aligns the European Union system of classification, labelling and packaging of chemical substances and mixtures to the Globally Harmonised System (GHS). It is expected to facilitate global trade and the harmonised communication of hazard information of chemicals and to promote regulatory efficiency. It complements the 2006 Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation and replaces an older system contained in the Dangerous Substances Directive (67/548/EEC) and the Dangerous Preparations Directive (1999/45/EC).
Transport in the European Union is a shared competence of the Union and its member states. The European Commission includes a Commissioner for Transport, currently Adina Ioana Vălean. Since 2012, the commission also includes a Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport which develops EU policies in the transport sector and manages funding for Trans-European Networks and technological development and innovation, worth €850 million yearly for the period 2000–2006.
The Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2, Directive (EU) 2015/2366, which replaced the Payment Services Directive (PSD), Directive 2007/64/EC) is an EU Directive, administered by the European Commission (Directorate General Internal Market) to regulate payment services and payment service providers throughout the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). The PSD's purpose was to increase pan-European competition and participation in the payments industry also from non-banks, and to provide for a level playing field by harmonizing consumer protection and the rights and obligations for payment providers and users. The key objectives of the PSD2 directive are creating a more integrated European payments market, making payments more secure and protecting consumers.
The Telecoms Package was the review of the European Union Telecommunications Framework from 2007 – 2009. The objective of the review was to update the EU Telecoms Framework of 2002 and to create a common set of regulations for the telecoms industry across all 27 EU member states. The review consisted of a package of directives addressing the regulation of service provision, access, interconnection, users' contractual rights and users' privacy, as well as a regulation creating a new European regulatory body (BEREC).
The Trans-European conventional rail network, together with the Trans-European high-speed rail network, make up the Trans-European Rail network, which in turn is one of a number of the European Union's Trans-European transport networks (TEN-T). It was defined by the Council Directive 2001/16/EC of 19 March 2001.
The Single European Railway Directive 20122012/34/EU is an EU Directive that regulates railway networks in European Union law. This recast the "First Railway Directive" or "Package" from 1991, and allows open access operations on railway lines by companies other than those that own the rail infrastructure. The legislation was extended by further directives to include cross border transit of freight.
The Second Railway Package is a group of European Union legislation which promote common standards and open access, working towards an integrated European railway area.
The European Union's Third Energy Package is a legislative package for an internal gas and electricity market in the European Union. Its purpose is to further open up the gas and electricity markets in the European Union. The package was proposed by the European Commission in September 2007, and adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union in July 2009. It entered into force on 3 September 2009.
The fourth railway package is a set of changes to rail transport regulation in the European Union law. It covers standards and authorisation for rolling stock; workforce skills; independent management of infrastructure; and the liberalisation of domestic passenger services in an attempt to reduce European rail subsidies.
The European Union Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM) legislation is intended to ensure that Persons with Reduced Mobility (whether disabled, elderly or otherwise) traveling via public transport, whether by air, land or sea, should have equal access to travel as compared to travelers with unrestricted mobility. Travel providers are compelled to provide and install sufficient access facilities to enable Passenger with Reduced Mobility to enjoy similar access to other passengers (where feasible and with certain safety exemptions).
Many countries offer subsidies to their railways because of the social and economic benefits that it brings. The economic benefits can greatly assist in funding the rail network. Those countries usually also fund or subsidize road construction, and therefore effectively also subsidize road transport. Rail subsidies vary in both size and how they are distributed, with some countries funding the infrastructure and others funding trains and their operators, while others have a mixture of both. Subsidies can be used for either investment in upgrades and new lines, or to keep lines running that create economic growth.
EuroSpec, abbreviation for European Specification for Railway Vehicles, is an initiative of several European railway companies with the aim to develop common, explicit technical specifications for train systems and components. The work program includes doors, parking noise, TCMS, seating comfort and the revision of published specifications. The jointly developed specifications support and facilitate the process of purchasing trains. These specifications are not in the competitive domain. The continued application of the EuroSpec methodology and the developed specifications support the standardisation of trains and lead to higher quality, support the development of vehicle platforms and provide significant cost savings. As a basis for developing their specifications, EuroSpec partners have developed a "Requirement Management" manual to ensure the necessary consistency between the specifications and their quality. The work started in 2011.
The functional requirements for rail vehicles of the EuroSpec specifications are used in procurement in addition to the technical specifications for interoperability, the EN standards and the national notified technical rules (NNTR).
The EuroSpec consortium does not prepare "European Standards" or "International Standards" within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012. EuroSpec specifications should therefore be classified as a "technical specification". They are increasingly used as input for European Standards and Regulations.
The Rail Passenger Rights Regulation 2007 (EC) No 1371/2007 gives railway passengers basic rights in EU law to refunds and minimum levels of service. It has mandatory application, without implementing legislation. Before this many countries, such as the United Kingdom, had no rights set in law for rail passengers. The Regulation creates minimum rights which every member state law, and every rail undertaking, may improve upon.
