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Verband der öffentlichen Wirtschaft und Gemeinwirtschaft Österreichs

vöwg

The VÖWG represents Austrian public sector entities and municipal enterprises to support services of general interest.

Lobbying Activity

The VÖWG urges practical guidance over new energy AI rules

5 Nov 2025
Topic — EU consultation on digital technologies and artificial intelligence roadmap for energy.
Message — The association calls for practical EU guidance instead of new sector-specific regulations. They demand harmonized data standards and the protection of grid capacity from speculation.12
Why — Public utilities would avoid costly administrative burdens while speeding up digital deployment.3
Impact — Speculative data center operators would lose the ability to reserve unused grid capacity.4
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VÖWG demands digital relief for municipal and public enterprises

14 Oct 2025
Topic — The European Commission's initiative to simplify existing digital single market legal frameworks.
Message — The association requests clear boundaries between digital laws to reduce administrative effort. They also demand that municipal enterprises receive the same relief as small businesses.12
Why — Public enterprises would gain more funding and lower administrative compliance costs.34
Impact — Dominant market players lose if regulations remain to prevent their unfair advantage.5
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Austrian Public Sector Body Urges Simpler EU State Aid Rules

6 Oct 2025
Topic — General revision of rules exempting certain state aid from prior Commission approval.
Message — The VÖWG requests simplified procedures and pragmatic thresholds for smaller organizations. They advocate for municipal companies to be classified as SMEs to access better funding. Additionally, they want higher support rates for public and social services.123
Why — Municipal companies would qualify for SME-specific aid and face lower administrative burdens.4
Impact — Private small businesses would lose their current competitive advantage over public-owned enterprises.5
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Austrian public sector association demands equal data access rights

18 Jul 2025
Topic — The European Commission is consulting on a strategy to streamline data rules.
Message — Public companies must be recognized as system-relevant actors needing active access to data. They demand binding protection for critical data and a simplified regulatory framework.123
Why — Regulatory simplification and standardization would provide noticeable administrative relief for public entities.45
Impact — Foreign platform providers would lose the ability to access sensitive European infrastructure data.6
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VÖWG urges sovereign European cloud for critical infrastructure

3 Jul 2025
Topic — The consultation addresses the EU’s gap in cloud and AI infrastructure capacity.
Message — VÖWG calls for sovereign European cloud infrastructure to ensure digital resilience. They propose mandatory requirements for the public sector to use sovereign cloud services. The association demands legal frameworks preventing third-country access to sensitive European data.12
Why — Members would gain higher security and legal certainty for sensitive infrastructure data.3
Impact — Non-European cloud providers would lose contracts for sensitive European public sector applications.4
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VÖWG urges simpler procurement rules and "Buy European" priority

7 Mar 2025
Topic — Evaluation of EU directives governing public procurement and concession contracts award.
Message — VÖWG calls for a "Buy European" principle and doubling procurement thresholds to account for inflation. They demand maintaining the water supply exemption and avoiding new mandatory sustainability criteria.123
Why — Higher thresholds and fewer mandatory criteria would reduce administrative burdens for public entities.45
Impact — Non-European suppliers would face barriers due to the proposed "Buy European" priority rules.6
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Austrian public service group seeks simpler GDPR rules

8 Feb 2024
Topic — This consultation evaluates the application of the GDPR six years after its implementation.
Message — The organization requests exemptions for pseudonymized data and clearer definitions for excessive access requests. They also propose adding operational necessity as a legal basis for processing public service data.123
Why — This would reduce administrative costs and protect utilities from simplifying complex technical records.4
Impact — Data subjects would receive less accessible information and face limits on frequent access requests.5
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Austrian public health group opposes extending drug patent periods

6 Nov 2023
Topic — Revision of EU pharmaceutical laws to improve medicine affordability and supply security.
Message — VÖWG argues against extending drug exclusivity and suggests shortening it instead. They want to block transferable vouchers to prevent skyrocketing healthcare costs. The group also demands stricter definitions for rare diseases to stop industry tactics.123
Why — This would reduce the financial pressure on public health systems and hospitals.4
Impact — Pharmaceutical firms would lose profits from extended monopolies and niche market statuses.5
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Response to Adjusting size criteria for inflation in the Accounting Directive to define micro, small and medium-sized enterprises

5 Oct 2023

Wir danken der Europäischen Kommission für die Möglichkeit, zum Entwurf des Vorschlags zur Änderung der Schwellenwerte in der Richtlinie 2013/34/EU Stellung zu nehmen und verweisen auf unser beigefügtes Feedback. Der Verband der öffentlichen Wirtschaft und Gemeinwirtschaft Österreichs (VÖWG) vertritt die Interessen zentraler Akteure der öffentlichen Wirtschaft, insbesondere im Bereich der Daseinsvorsorge. Der VÖWG repräsentiert somit 120 Unternehmen und Einrichtungen, die im Eigentum, unter Beteiligung oder im Auftrag der Gebietskörperschaften Leistungen von öffentlichem Interesse erbringen. Dazu gehören auch Organisationen, die als kleine und mittlere Unternehmen oder Unternehmensgruppen (KMU) agieren.
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Response to Revision of the specifications for EU-wide Multimodal Travel Information Services (Delegated Regulation 2017/1926)

27 Jun 2023

Der Verband der öffentlichen Wirtschaft und Gemeinwirtschaft Österreichs (VÖWG) übermittelt Ihnen im Anhang die Stellungnahme zur Änderung der delegierten Verordnung (EU) 2017/1926 zur Ergänzung der Richtlinie 2010/40/EU des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates im Hinblick auf die Bereitstellung von EU-weiten multimodalen Reiseinformationsdiensten. Resümee der im Anhang befindlichen Stellungnahme: Wir fordern aus Perspektive öffentlicher Verkehrsunternehmen vehement, dass die grundsätzlichen begrüßenswerten Harmonisierungsziele im Rahmen der MMTIS in der konkreten Umsetzung praktikabel sind und keine außerordentlichen Kosten und Aufwendungen für die operativ tätigen Unternehmen entstehen. Die Delegierten Verordnung für die Bereitstellung von EU-weiten multimodalen Reiseinformations-diensten (MMTIS) ist zwar ein wertvoller Bestandteil der Attraktivierung des öffentlichen Verkehrs für Reisende und zur Erreichung der Klima- und Energieziele, jedoch dürfen technische und finanzielle Barrieren den operativen Betrieb von Verkehrsdienstleistern nicht beeinträchtigen. Vor diesem Hintergrund bitten wir als Interessensvertretung, dass die Stellungnahmen unserer Mitgliedsunternehmen im Verkehrsbereich vonseiten der Kommission berücksichtigt werden.
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Austrian public services group urges inclusion of waste incineration

3 May 2023
Topic — Establishing criteria for economic activities that contribute to circular economy and pollution prevention objectives.
Message — The group wants burning non-hazardous waste for energy to be considered a sustainable activity. They also request that traffic management and toll systems count as green infrastructure investments.12
Why — Recognition would allow municipal companies to access green financing for essential public services.3
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Austrian public sector group opposes strict 30-day payment limit

17 Mar 2023
Topic — Revision of EU rules to combat late payments in business transactions.
Message — The association advocates for a practicable proposal that adequately considers business practices. A strict 30-day limit is impossible and would hinder essential infrastructure projects.12
Why — This prevents the impossibility of managing complex infrastructure projects within 30-day deadlines.3
Impact — Smaller economic operators remain subject to excessively long payment terms imposed by debtors.4
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Response to Fitness check of how the Polluter Pays Principle is applied to the environment

7 Dec 2022

Das primärrechtlich verankerte Verursacherprinzip ist ein essenzielles und notwendiges Kernstück der EU-Umweltpolitik, das auch weiterhin Bestand haben muss. In seiner grundlegenden Konzeption soll das Verursacherprinzip einen Anreiz zur Vermeidung von Umweltverschmutzungen an der Quelle liefern, indem die Verursacher für die Kosten von Maßnahmen zur Vermeidung, Bekämpfung und Beseitigung von Umweltverschmutzungen aufkommen. Wie bereits aus dem Bericht des Europäischen Rechnungshofes (12/2021) hervorgeht, weist die Umsetzung im europäischen Sekundärrecht sowie in nationalen Regelungen allerdings gravierende Lücken auf. In diesem Sinn begrüßen wir die Durchführung einer Eignungsprüfung des Verursacherprinzips sowie anschließende Maßnahmen zur umfassenderen, konsistenteren und insbesondere effektiveren Umsetzung. Aus unserer Sicht muss das Verursacherprinzip dabei jedenfalls in Zusammenhang mit den weiteren leitenden Prinzipien in der Umweltpolitik gesehen werden. Zu diesen Prinzipien zählen essenziell das Vorsichtsprinzip, der Grundsatz, dass vorbeugende Maßnahmen ergriffen werden müssen, sowie das Prinzip, dass Umweltschäden an der Quelle beseitigt werden müssen. Kritisch zu hinterfragen ist insbesondere, inwiefern das Verursacherprinzip tatsächlich, einer Marktlogik folgend, zu geringerem Einsatz von Schadstoffen führt. Für einen effektiven Rückgang von Schadstoffbelastungen, insbesondere in der Wasser- und in der Abfallwirtschaft, ist es unseres Erachtens vielmehr unabdingbar, dass Umsetzungsformen dieser Prinzipien, wie beispielsweise die Erweiterte Herstellerverantwortung, ganzheitlich konzipiert werden, und weit über die Finanzierung von End-of-Pipe-Lösungen hinausgehen. Derzeit zeigt sich nicht nur eine Dominanz von End-of-Pipe-Lösungen gegenüber Ansätzen zur Beseitigung bzw. Vermeidung an der Quelle, sondern es werden Schadstoffe und Spurenstoffe in ihrem breiten Spektrum auch unzureichend erfasst. So wird z.B. im aktuell vorliegenden Vorschlag zur Überarbeitung der kommunalen Abwasserrichtlinie im Rahmen einer erweiterten Herstellerverantwortung die Kostenübernahme für die Beseitigung von Schadstoffbelastungen durch Pharmazeutika und Kosmetikprodukten vorgesehen. Schadstoffe aus anderen Quellen bleiben dabei jedoch zum einen weiterhin unberücksichtigt. Zum anderen bleibt die Kostenübernahme für die Beseitigung von anderen Spurenstoffe wie z.B. PFAS dabei weiterhin unberücksichtigt bzw. werden die Kosten für die Beseitigung von Nitratbelastungen, wie sie etwa durch intensive Landwirtschaft verursacht werden, nach wie vor auf die Kläranlagenbetreiber und somit in weiterer Folge in der Regel auf die öffentliche Hand ausgelagert. Zudem wird weder in der REACH-Verordnung, noch in der Industrie-Emissions-Richtlinie oder in der Richtlinie zu Sustainable Use of Pesticides (ausreichend) auf das Verursacherprinzip eingegangen. In diesem Sinn muss im Rahmen der Eignungsprüfung und daran anschließenden Maßnahmen zur Verbesserung des Verursacherprinzips dafür Sorge getragen werden, dass dieses tatsächlich umfassend und in engem Zusammenhang mit anderen Prinzipien zum Umwelt- und Gesundheitsschutz umgesetzt wird.
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Response to Developing social economy framework conditions

29 Sept 2022

Als Verband der öffentlichen Wirtschaft und Gemeinwirtschaft Österreich (VÖWG) begrüßen wir die Initiative zur Verbesserung der Rahmenbedingungen für die Entwicklung und Konvergenz einer nachhaltigen Sozialwirtschaft in der Europäischen Union. Hier wollen wir insbesondere die zentrale Rolle eines investiven Sozialstaats für die Entwicklung der Sozialwirtschaft, aber auch für eine nachhaltige Wirtschaftsentwicklung im Allgemeinen hervorheben. Eine Studie des WIFO (2018) über den Zusammenhang von Sozialstaat und Standortqualität zeigt, dass Österreich in der Berücksichtigung sozialer und ökologischer Ziele und Effekte im europäischen Spitzenfeld liegt. Hohe Sozialstandards mit effizienter Mittelverwendung, kaufkraftstärkende Umverteilungsmaßnahmen der öffentlichen Hand und investive sozialstaatliche Maßnahmen schaffen eine besonders hohe Standortqualität. Eine Verstärkung der investiven Ausgaben kann dies noch verbessern. Siehe: https://www.wifo.ac.at/jart/prj3/wifo/resources/person_dokument/person_dokument.jart?publikationsid=61006&mime_type=application/pdf Eine weiterer Aspekt betrifft die Nachhaltigkeit der öffentlichen Finanzen. Öffentliche Investitionen im Bereich sozialer Dienstleistungen sind unumgänglich für eine nachhaltige Budgetkonsolidierung, so die Ergebnisse folgender Studie: • Hinsichtlich der Steigerung von Beschäftigung hat der Ausbau sozialer Dienstleistungen höhere Effekte als jede andere Form des Einsatzes öffentlicher Mittel. • Das Beschäftigungsziel von europaweit 75% in der Altersgruppe 20-64Jahre braucht eine entsprechende Erhöhung der Frauenbeschäftigung, dafür braucht es eine Beseitigung der Erwerbsbarrieren durch die Entlastung von unbezahlter Familienarbeit. • Das ist auch eine zentrale Voraussetzung um den demografischen Wandel – auf ökonomisch sinnvolle und sozial verträgliche Weise – zu bewältigen und die Finanzierbarkeit der Pensionssysteme sicherzustellen. • Fehlt soziale Infrastruktur, führt dies zu Verwerfungen am (regionalen) Arbeitsmarkt bis hin zu Abwanderung insbesondere qualifizierter Arbeitskräfte, deren Vorhandensein für Standortentscheidungen von Unternehmen ein gewichtiger Faktor ist. Für weitere Informationen, siehe: https://www.arbeiterkammer.at/service/studien/sozialpolitik/studien/Investiver_Sozialstaat.html
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Response to Proposal for a Council Recommendation on long-term care

28 Mar 2022

Als Verband der öffentlichen Wirtschaft und Gemeinwirtschaft Österreichs vertreten wir zentrale Anbieter von Pflege- und Betreuungsdiensten in Österreich. Aus zahlreichen schriftlichen Stellungnahmen, Erfahrungsberichten, sowie Forschungsberichten unserer Mitglieder im Pflegesektor haben wir die zentralen Forderungen und Herausforderungen hier zusammengestellt. Diese werden durch einen Lagebericht, das "Strategiekonzept Pflege und Betreuung 2030" der Stadt Wien und ein "Policy Brief" der Arbeiterkammer dazu, zusammengefügt im Anhang, gestützt und ergänzt. Zentrale Forderungen und Herausforderungen: A. Förderung der Unabhängigkeit und Selbstständigkeit - Verbesserung des Informationsangebot, um sicherzustellen dass Entscheidungen über die zukünftige Pflegeversorgung von den Betroffenen selbstständig und unabhängig getroffen werden können - Rehabilitations- und Remobilisationmaßnahmen stellen sicher, dass Menschen mit Pflege- und Betreuungsbedarf möglichst lange im gewohnten Umfeld verbleiben können. B. Zugang zu flexiblen, durchlässigen, inklusiven Pflege- und Betreuungsangeboten - Individueller Bedarf soll darüber entscheiden, welche Leistung (mobil, teilstationär, stationär) jemand erhält - Flexibles und zielgerichtetes Angebot, angepasst an die aktuelle Bedarfslage und Bedarfsgruppe, sowie längerfristig, an demographische Entwicklungen - Aus- und Aufbau alternativer Wohnformen für Menschen mit Pflege- und Betreuungsbedarf. C. Entlastung und zielgerichtete Unterstützung für pflegende und betreuende Angehörige - Gezielte Entlastungsangebote (Entlastungspflege, Urlaubspflege) für pflegende Angehörige, sowie die Ausweitung der bestehenden Angebote (z. B. längere Öffnungszeiten von Tageszentren, Versorgung mit mobilen Diensten auch in der Nacht) - Gezielte Maßnahmen zur Arbeitsmarktintegration und Förderung der beruflichen Chancen für Frauen, die noch immer den Hauptteil der Angehörigenpflege leisten D. Die größten Herausforderungen betreffen das Personal und die Finanzierbarkeit: 1. Personal Zunehmend wird es für Träger der Betreuungseinrichtungen schwieriger, Personal zu finden. Ein systemkritischer Punkt wurde bereits überschritten. Dabei befinden sich genug Personen in Ausbildung. Viele ausgebildete Pädagoginnen und Pädagogen üben jedoch danach den Beruf nicht aus oder steigen nach kurzer Zeit wieder aus. In dem Zusammenhang wird insbesondere auf die schwierigen Arbeitsbedingungen verwiesen, siehe Anhang „Improving Conditions for Health Professionals and Live-in Care Workers“(AK Europa: Policy Brief 4/2020). Geforderte Maßnahmen: - bessere Arbeitsbedingungen (z.B. kleinere Gruppen, günstigere Personalschlüssel, mehr Zeit für die pädagogische Arbeit, gut ausgestattete Arbeitsplätze) - evidenzbasierte Personalbedarfsberechnung und verbindliche Kriterien für die Personaleinsatzplanung - existenzsichernde finanzielle Entschädigung aller Auszubildenden sowie Quereinsteiger*innen - Gezielte Personalbildung und Rekrutierung - Bessere Entlohnung 2. Finanzierung Über 80 Prozent der Ausgaben im Kinderbetreuungsbereich werden von Städten und Gemeinden getragen. Der laufende Zuschussbedarf der Gemeinden hat sich seit 2007 mehr als verdoppelt. Diese Mittel müssen daher durch allgemeine Steuermittel gedeckt werden, welche mit ebenfalls dynamischen Ausgabensteigerungen in den Bereichen Soziales und Gesundheit konkurrieren. Gleichzeitig sinkt der Ausgabendeckungsgrad kontinuierlich. Geforderte Maßnahmen: - Angemessene finanzielle Ausstattung und Investitionen - Vertiefung der Nutzung digitaler Angebote, um Pflegeleistungen effizienter, zielgerichteter und kostengünstiger erbringen zu können - Eine Pflegeversicherung erscheint vor dem Hintergrund der bestehenden Erfahrungen anderer Länder als nicht zielführend 3. Außerdem wichtig sind Sprachförderung, Reformen im Ausbildungssystem, eine Verbesserung des Übergangs zwischen elementarer Bildung und Schulsystem, und die Attraktivierung des Berufsfeldes Kindergartenpädagogik.
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Response to Evaluation and revision of the Weights and Dimensions Directive

18 Feb 2022

Der Verband der öffentlichen Wirtschaft und Gemeinwirtschaft (VÖWG) bedankt sich für die Möglichkeit einer ersten Einschätzung zur geplanten Überarbeitung der Richtlinie 96/53/EG über Gewichte und Abmessungen durch die Europäische Kommission (EK). Grundsätzlich wird eine Anhebung der Abmessungen für Straßenfahrzeuge, sowie eine Erhöhung des höchstzulässigen Gesamtgewichtes kritisch gesehen. Im Anhang finden Sie nähere Ausführungen.
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Response to Improving the working conditions of platform workers

10 Feb 2022

Dear Sir or Madam, attached you will find comments made by the Association of Public Services and Enterprises Austria (VÖWG) on the proposal for a directive on improving the working conditions of platform workers. With kind regards, Philipp Ma (VÖWG)
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Response to Multimodal Digital Mobility Services

2 Nov 2021

The Association of public services and enterprises Austria (VÖWG) thanks the European Commission for the possibility to give feedback on this consultation. VÖWG supports the initiative of the European Commission on Multimodal digital mobility services: The three objectives (to provide certainty and transparency for business-to-business commercial agreements for services reselling mobility products; to prevent harmful market effects and to ensure that MDMS enhance the efficiency and sustainability of the transport system) are essential for a further development of those mobility services and to make the mobility sector fit for 55. Multimodal digital mobility services and the combination of public transport with this new and sustainable mobility services are essential to reach a higher modal split and the objectives of the Green Deal and the Fit for 55 package. • Provide certainty and transparency for business-to-business commercial agreements for services re-selling mobility products: We support this initiative, and we believe that even minimum requirements for interoperability of ticketing-related APIs should be established under two conditions: o 1st the obligation for these requirements must apply to all actors and not only to public transport operators. Such a provision could help public transport operators to easily integrate third mobility providers into their app, i.e. for a fair competition all should have the same obligations o 2nd it is still at the discretion of the service provider if and which tickets he wants to sell via this API. Public transport operators must have the right to only agree on selling a smaller portfolio of products and not the whole panoply. • Prevent harmful market effects Public transport operators (PTO) have increasingly developed into mobility designers in their attempt to facilitate and integrate more transport modes within one mobility platform. They have long-standing experience in city- and transport-planning and are capable of integrating new services in all of their digital communication-, marketing- and sales-channels. We believe that being a public transport operator and a digital service provider does not lead to discrimination if the right measures are in place. Thus, we strongly support a fair level playing field in which every service provider has to integrate the same information about other transport providers. It is important that this is done in a non-discriminatory manner and the principle of reciprocity applies. • Ensure that MDMS enhance the efficiency and sustainability of the transport system. It is pivotal to show the passengers how they are contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions, when using public transport and soft modes. At the same time, local and regional platforms should gradually integrate (bottom-up) as this is in the interests of customers. Any standards arising from this trend are to be welcomed and developments in this direction are already beginning to take place.
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Response to Policy framework on biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics

27 Oct 2021

In principle, VÖWG welcomes the European Commission's intention to reduce the environmental impact of plastics by switching to bio-based and biodegradable plastics and sees it as an important step in terms of reducing microplastics. Furthermore, we agree that using biological feedstocks instead of fossil fuels can be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly than fossil equivalents. However, bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics must not be collected with other separately collected bio-waste. Furthermore, composting of these plastics must not be equated with recycling in the sense of composting. The reason for this is that bioplastics do not bring any profit or benefit to compost production. They do not contribute any process or material benefit and furthermore the material as well as energetic value remains unused. Therefore, the general disposal of products made of biodegradable plastics in composting is strictly rejected. The best way to recycle bioplastics is to reuse them as plastics (material recycling) or to incinerate them using the energy efficiently generated during incineration. A major disadvantage of composting bioplastics is also that the bio-oxidation energy generated cannot be used. The only exception should be commercially available bags certified according to EN 13432, which serve as pre-collection devices for the separate collection of biogenic household waste. These must be uniformly labelled and recognizable as such. Due to their user-friendliness, they help to increase the amount of separately collected biogenic waste and thus also reduce the volume of residual waste.
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Response to Short-term rental initiative

13 Oct 2021

The growing number of accommodations provided by and through short-term rental platforms bears opportunities as well as risks. The original principle of peer-to-peer rentals seemed to convey the “live like a local” feeling to visitors, to bring purchasing power beyond touristic hotspots (where most of the traditional accommodation providers are concentrated) and to lower the average price per night compared to traditional accommodation providers. Years later cities have been and increasingly are facing problems attributed to STRs. The commercialisation of housing has become an increasingly significant problem, as offering one’s own accommodation on a STR platform often is the more profitable choice. This leads to a temporary as well as permanent extraction of housing stock from the market, which in turn has direct and indirect effects such as the increase of rents, subsequently triggering and sometimes even accelerating gentrification processes. Furthermore, loss in tax revenues and lack of adequate data hinders public administrations to efficiently allocate public resources to fulfil respective national needs. As of now, many hosts, albeit in a commercial or occasional capacity, often fail to declare and pay required taxes. With the current state of data quality, cities and municipalities often cannot retrace how high the actual loss of tax revenue is. Additionally, there are plenty of legal complications or even violations under Austrian Law, when it comes to the regulation of STR. Obligation to register (under the Registration Law), statistical data (Federal Statistics Law), prohibition of STR (under the Non-Profit Housing Act), prohibition of subletting in regulations of housing associations, special regulation in offering rooms in the private sector (under Trade Law) are only a few, that are to mention. This situation could have serious implications on consumer protection (as the individual demanding short-term rentals via a platform) as well, as they might conclude contracts that might not entirely be subject to a profound legal basis. Very successful platforms in the EU are leading to an increasing outflow (via commissions) of value creation from the local/regional/EU-wide value creation cycle. In other words, monopoly-like provider structures in some cases are leading to a constantly increasing outflow of value added, which has not yet been scientifically analysed, so that no reliable figures are available in this regard. Those problems can be expected to be further aggravated in post-pandemic times. Therefore, any planned initiative should introduce a clear framework that helps cities and municipalities get access to necessary resources (e.g. access to adequate data, local tax revenue), provides a degree of legal certainty for both guests and hosts (e.g. registration schemes, minimum security standards, compliance with existing national rental law) and provides a level-playing field between traditional accommodation providers (e.g. hotels) and short-term rentals.
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Response to New EU urban mobility framework

25 May 2021

The Association of public services and enterprises Austria (VÖWG) thanks the European Commission for the opportunity to give feedback on the roadmap on a ‘New EU Urban Mobility Framework’. In general, this consultation gives a valuable overview of the issues and potential for improvement in respect to urban mobility. We believe that it is indispensable to make urban mobility more sustainable, especially in view of the ambitious European climate targets. However, the addressed measures proposed by the European Commission are not sufficient to support cities in their respective decarbonisation strategies. In the attachment we would like to draw attention to the some problematic aspects of the roadmap.
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Response to Revision of the NIS Directive

18 Mar 2021

The feedback can be found in the attachment.
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Response to EU strategy for sustainable textiles

1 Feb 2021

Please find our feedback in the attachment.
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Response to Evaluation of the Sewage Sludge Directive 86/278/EEC

24 Aug 2020

Please find the contribution in the attachment.
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Response to A new Circular Economy Action Plan

20 Jan 2020

We welcome the ambitious plans of the European Commission towards a circular economy; in this context we would like to point out following topics: Sustainable product policy: We welcome the initiative from the European Commission towards a “sustainable products” policy. We underline, that not only reuse but recycling is only possible if products are designed in a way to ensure their recyclability and sortability. Therefore recyclability should be verified before a product is put on the market in order to avoid treatment bottlenecks (e.g. carbon fibre, wind turbines). This must not only be transparent for the consumer, but must also address automatic sorting processes. Collection and Recycling: In densely populated areas (large cities) the contribution of separate collection can be rather low compared to rural areas. As a consequence, in cities the share of recyclables in mixed residual waste is still rather high. The sorting technology to separate recyclables out of mixed residual waste made considerable progress in recent years, which leads to higher sorting depth and quality of recyclables out of the mixed waste stream. The quality/purity of these recyclables is comparable to the quality/purity of recyclables collected separately. Therefore in order to accelerate the transition towards a circular economy the European Commission should ensure that also recycable waste, which has undergone a pretreatment (including sorting) and meets specific quality criteria, should be equated with separate collected waste. This should also include multistream collection, since in many cases the recyclability is not affected. As well as the collection and sorting of single use plastic beverage bottles out of residual waste, as long as its output is of comparable quality to that achieved through separate collection (contribution to the separate collection target for plastic bottles of the Single-Use-Plastics Directive). Furthermore analyses and studies have shown, that besides of metals, other incineration residuals (e.g. glass, minerals) can be recycled. Therefore, all recyclables separated from incineration residues (metals, glass, minerals, …) should contribute to the recycling targets. Closing the loop for biowaste: From our point of view a well-functioning internal market for secondary raw material is essential in order to close the loops. However, regarding a closed loop for biowaste, not only recycling, but also the production of renewable energy (bio methane as a product and supply into the gas grid) has to be considered and included in the definition of recycling. Biowaste sorted out from residual waste and delivered to recycling or to the production of biomethane should therefore be accounted to the recycling target. Responsibility of the municipality: Last but not least we want to point out the importance of the municipalities in order to ensure environmentally sound and efficient waste management systems. They are committed to sustainable and integrated waste management (no cherry-picking on lucrative waste streams) that minimizes the impact of waste on the environment and promotes resource efficiency, taking into account local conditions and social responsibilities. The role of local authorities as well as their responsibilities must be taken into account in the adoption of new waste policy and/or legislation.
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Response to Alignment of railway technical specifications for interoperability and EU register of vehicle types with the 4th package

16 Jan 2019

(Alignment of railway technical specifications for interoperability and EU register of vehicle types with the 4th package) Comments referred to Annex - Ares (2018)6527974/1: Page 25 As normative document for 6.2.2.4 the draft document determines EN12082:2007. But EU12082 was reissued with crucial changes in 2017. Therefore we propose the adaptation according to EN12082:2017. This should be the normative document for 6.2.2.4. (https://standards.cen.eu/dyn/www/f?p=204:110:0::::FSP_PROJECT:41164&cs=146E9302ED776B204BFB1E35269AAD576)
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Response to Amendment of Operation TSI to align with the 4th Railway Package, close open points and reduce national rules

16 Jan 2019

The draft regarding the Annex to the Commission Implementing Regulation on the technical specification for interoperability relating to the operation and traffic management subsystem of the rail system within the European Union and repealing Decision 2012/757/EU does not give sufficient language rules for employees in the sector. According to the draft, there would be no uniform language level for the railways, as is taken for granted in comparable modes of transport such as aviation. A uniform language level at level B1 in English is required for all safety-relevant personnel to ensure safety, fair competition, a simplified licensing procedure and a single European railway area. There are no uniform regulations for the technical inspection of wagons throughout Europe. Rather, the focus is on the individual responsibility of the companies. This must be rejected in the interests of safety, fair competition and the single European railway area. The EC is requested to present a wagon inspection concept which ensures that a wagon technical initial inspection is carried out by a qualified vehicle service for each train. Similarly, uniform maintenance intervals must be established throughout Europe in the same way as for road traffic. This will ensure smooth operation (common level to minimise infrastructure transitions, clear safety requirements, reduced effort in taking over trains and rolling stock, etc.) and increased safety. The draft refers several times (e.g. in the chapter „Traffic Management") to the special importance of passengers. However, reference should not only be made to the requirements in the field of telematics, but also to the requirements of the TSI-MOB (Commission Regulation EU 1300/2014). The TSI-MOB derives additional requirements for railway operations, in particular with regard to passenger safety, passenger information and in the event of exceptional occurrences. Similarly, one of the main causes of serious accidents on the railways (accidents at railway crossings) is excluded from the proposal in the chapters on accidents (e. g. 4.2.3.6.) which is not effective. The draft makes statements regarding the requirements (qualification, mental and physical aptitude) for the employees. However, the provisions relate only to a few activities in the railway sector. Since the rail sector is a composite product of many occupational profiles, more comprehensive regulations for all safety-relevant personnel must be adopted here. The Austrian Regulation (Eisenbahn-Eignungs- und Prüfungsverordnung - EisbEPV, BGBl. II Nr. 31/2013) can be used as an example. We ask for an EU-wide safety initiative and point out that rail freight transport can only survive if EU-wide regulations and controls are carried out at the roadside and true-cost pricing is established between the modes of transport. In the interest of safety, it is necessary to record driving, rest and working times as well as other times of the workers on the train. The vehicles must be equipped accordingly. The draft shall be amended accordingly. Art. 4.2.2.1.3.2 As only 10% of all international freight trains start and end on RFCs, a reference to RFCs does not make sense. We therefore propose to amend this sentence as follows. „From 1 January 2025, freight trains equipped with two reflective plates shall be accepted in the whole European Union rail network.“ Art. 4.2.2.5.1, B This proposal does not include a definition of the electronic format. We propose to delete the addition of the electronic format. Art. 4.2.2.5.1, C The definition of the „holder of the technical file“ is missing. Art. 4.7.2 This formulation is too unclear. Some of the data is not available for RUs. It is unclear whether lubricants, batteries and mineral wool are also included by this paragraph. Dynamic tests on railway bridges: Please find further statements about dynamic tests on railway bridges in the attached document.
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Response to Amendment of the specifications for the register of infrastructure for railways

8 Jan 2019

1. Article 5 Role of NREs and IMs: From 01/01/2021 the IMs will collect and insert the data in new RINF Application. It is unclear if the NRE will remain or will be cancelled and which is the role towards the IMs on data collecting and inserting. Does NRE (one per MS) remain or not from 01/01/2021? If the NRE remains (one per MS), what is its role towards the different IMs in the MS on data collecting and inserting? If the NRE is going to be cancelled, how the MSs (and EC/ERA) are aware of the IMs contact points in charge of data collecting and inserting? 2. Article 3 Data collection & Data accuracy Short term and temporary infrastructure restrictions due to maintenance works or unplanned events (storm, etc.) are not recorded in RINF. They are disclosed by the IMs to the RUs by a safety related process that cannot be replaced simply by RINF update. This process is currently national. If could be become European-wide process using RINF as reference database but this could be another project that is out of scope of current RINF. The RINF is not an operational tool: it is not in operation 24/7 with redundancies in case of failures 3. TSI OPE – RCC-RINF Apparently it is the aim to shift as many complex parameters as possible from the current approval process into the responsibility of the RUs. According to the current draft of TSI OPE, Annex D, even dynamic bridge calculations within the scope of "Route Compatibility Check (RCC)" are to be carried out to EVU´s in the future. In addition to an increased safety risk in the event of an incorrect calculation, a number of efficiency problems are also to be expected, which will subsequently lead to cost increases, such as, for example, in contrast to only one test for all lines within the scope of the previous approval, newly resulting repetitive tests within the scope of the RCC by individual RUs. During the approval process, technical documents (technical files) are created in which all tested parameters are logged. These are then handed over to another RU, for example in the event of a sale or transfer of the vehicle. The RCC, on the other hand, does not currently provide for any binding protocols/documents to be forwarded. This also creates an unnecessary constraint for repeated tests. Therefore, the RCC should include only those few simple parameters that need to be checked by RUs today before they order train paths and by infrastructure managers before train paths are allocated. In this sense, the parameters contained in the current draft TSI OPE Annex D should be revised and the overall process more clearly defined. The route compatibility check of the RUs must be clearly different from the technical compatibility check in the vehicle approval and must be a simple process without technically complex procedures. It must also be clarified which technical checks remain in the course of network access. Only after consideration of these currently 3 existing procedures and a corresponding coordination of these processes a catalogue of technical requirements including the associated processes, roles and responsibilities for the route compatibility check can be created. The final step would then be to adapt the register of railway infrastructure, which is currently not suitable for an RU to carry out the line compatibility check. 4. RINF as a future RCC tool demands a precise definition of RCC process: the roles, responsibilities, transition period and time table. 5. Validity and transition period of new and deleted Parameters is not clear defined. Is it the task of Application Guide?
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Response to Charges for the use of airport infrastructure

7 Dec 2017

On behalf of the Association of public services and enterprises Austria, please find enclosed feed back on inception impact assessment on the charges for the use of airport infrastructure.
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