Official Journal of the European Communities 283 No L 1568 Official Journal of the European Communities 28.6.69 REGULATION (EEC) No 1192/69 OF THE COUNCIL of 26 June 1969 on common rules for the normalisation of the accounts of railway undertakings THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard tc the Treaty establishing the European Economi: Community, and in particular Articles 75 and 94 thereof; Having regard to the Council Decision of 13 May 1965 on the harmonisation of certain provisions affecting competiticn in transport by rail, road and inland waterway; Having regard to the proposal from the Commission; Having regard to the Opinion of the Assembly?; Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee; Whereas one of the objectives of the common transport policy is to eliminate disparities which arise by reason of the imposition of financial burdens on, or the grant of benefits to, railway undertakings by public authorities, a1d which are consequently liable to cause substantial distortion in the conditions of competition; Whereas it is appropriate for that purpose to take such action as will ensure the elimination of the effects of such financial burdens or benefits with a view to achieving equality of treatment for all modes of transport; wherezs for certain classes of financial burden or benefit, such action may consist in their early termination; whereas, in respect of other classes, such action must be carried out as part of a process of normalisztion of the accounts of railway undertakings, a feature of such normalisation being the payment of compensation in respect of the effects of such financial burdens or benefits; Whereas a final settlzment of the position as regards certain of the classes of financial burden or benefit to OJ No 88, 24.5.1965, p. 1500/65. O] No C 135, 14.12.1968, p. 34. 0] No C 118, 11.11.1968, p. 7. © 1D = be covered by normalisation will have to be made in conjunction with the progressive harmonisation of the rules governing financial relations between railway undertakings and States as laid down in Article 8 of the Council Decision of 13 May 1965 on the harmonisation of certain provisions affecting competition in transport by rail, road and inland waterway; whereas, for those classes of burden or benefit, it is therefore appropriate, pending a final settlement, to leave to each State the right to decide in each individual case whether normalisation should take place; whereas, if normalisation is decided on, it should be carried out in accordance with the common rules laid down in this Regulation, in particular as regards the methods for calculating financial compensation; Whereas, before any steps can be taken in pursuance of the normalisation of accounts to pay any compensation due as a result of that normalisation, it is necessary to determine the financial burdens borne or benefits enjoyed by railway undertakings by comparison with their position if they operated under the same conditions as other transport undertakings; Whereas, in order to make such determination, the cases to which normalisation should be applied must be defined; whereas all existing cases in the Member States should be covered, with the exception, on the one hand, of public service obligations, within the meaning of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1191/694 of 26 June 1969 on action by Member States concerning the obligations inherent in the concept of a public service in transport by rail, road and inland waterway and, on the other hand, of disparities in the infrastructure and taxation burdens under the rules governing the three modes of transport—disparities which will in due course be eliminated under the measures proposed with regard to infrastructure charging and in conjunction with the adjustment of the general and specific taxation systems for transport; O] No L 156, 28.6.1969, p. 1.