International railway legislation, cross border rail traffic, railway safety and further cooperation were the main topics of a two-day-high-level meeting that took place on 6 and 7th February, in Belgrade, Serbia.

This event, part of the EuroMed Transport Rail Project (EUMedRail), organised by the European Union Agency for Railways in cooperation with OTIF (the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail), was hosted by the Serbian National Safety Authorities.

The meeting gathered experts from the European Commission and OTIF, participants from the IPA project and representatives from the EUMedRail project, including Algeria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia, and the EU Delegation in the Serbian Parliament in Belgrade.

The deputy Prime Minister and Serbian Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Ms Zorana Mihajlović, delivered an opening speech on the cooperation between the EU and Serbia, including the IPA project with the EU Agency for Railways, which tackles the convergence and harmonisation of the accession states legislation with the EU.

On the second day, the delegations took part in a debate on the development of OTIF specifications for infrastructure and contributed to identify EUMedRail countries specific needs. The meeting was closed by an overview of the EU state of play on OTIF Dangerous goods regulations implementation and a discussion with the Serbian National Safety Authority.

The purpose of Euromed Transport Rail Project (EUMedRail) is to improve the operations and the efficiency of the Mediterranean transport system by concentrating its efforts on regulatory reforms, training, and dialogue with the decision makers. The main project’s objective is to support the implementation of the Regional Transport Action Plan 2014-2020 actions related to rail transport, by promoting convergence with EU and international standards, facilitating interoperability, and increasing beneficiaries’ participation in the activities of the European Rail Agency.

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Press Release

European Union Agency for Railways (EUMedRail)