Mauro Moretti re-elected as CER Chairman; Commissioner Andor addresses CER General Assembly

Mauro Moretti, CEO of the Italian railways FS, was unanimously re-elected as Chairman of the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) on 9 February. Meeting in Brussels, the CER General Assembly also confirmed the newly composed CER Management Committee.

Mauro Moretti re-elected as CER Chairman

CER Chairman Mauro Moretti, who had been acting in this position since January 2009, and the CER Management Committee take office for a two-year term ending in December 2014. The members of the new CER Management Committee are Roger Cobbe (Board Member, ATOC), Vladimir Ľupták (Director General, ZSR), Jan Sundling (Chairman of the Board, ASTOC), Maria Wasiak (CEO, PKP), Marc Descheemaecker (CEO, SNCB), Jérôme Gallot (CEO, Veolia Transdev), Rüdiger Grube (CEO, DB), Christian Kern (CEO, ÖBB), Bert Meerstadt (President Executive Board, NS), Andreas Meyer (CEO, SBB), Guillaume Pepy (President, SNCF), Kaido Simmermann (Chairman of the Mangement Board and Managing Director, EVR), Ion Stoichescu (Director General, CFR), and Ferenc Szarvas (CEO, MAV).

After thanking the delegates of the General Assembly for their renewed confidence in his work, Mauro Moretti stated “the priorities of my mandate are: Completion of the EU rail market; TEN–T revision and Structural Funds 2014–2020; Financial Architecture and PSO; Sustainable transport policy; European High Speed Network”.

Commissioner László Andor joins signing ceremony of European Charter for social initiatives

In the framework of the General Assembly, European Commissioner László Andor, responsible for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, joined the official signing ceremony of the “European Charter for the development of social and societal initiatives in train stations”. He addressed the audience stating that “railway companies’ efforts to help find better solutions for socially excluded or homeless people around the stations are a good example of corporate social responsibility. The Charter and its ethos fit well with the Commission’s approach to social inclusion: mobilising all actors and encouraging innovative solutions. I congratulate the new signatories to the Charter, and I am glad that the Commission was able to support the success of this initiative [through two social experimentation projects, ‘Hope in Stations’ and ‘Work in Stations’].”

Representatives of the following seven CER members signed the Charter: ČD (Czech Republic), CFR SA (Romania), CP (Portugal), DSB (Denmark), NRIC (Bulgaria), NSB (Norway) and SŽ (Slovenia). This makes in total 12 companies who have signed the charter. The original signatories are: CFL (Luxembourg), FS (Italy), PKP (Poland), SNCB (Belgium), and SNCF (France).

Supported by the European Commission, the signatory companies agree to share the values of their social commitment and to meet periodically to share opinions and experiences. The programme of the network’s activities is based on a desire to work together to develop successful social policies regarding homeless people who take shelter in stations.

Chairman Mauro Moretti commented “the rescue activities for homeless in stations are particularly active during these days of snow and cold weather, insuring, as the emergency requires, all services and assistance as stated in the European Charter of Solidarity.“

CER Executive Director Libor Lochman said “CER members are taking their social responsibilities seriously. Railways are in direct contact with the social reality of the places where they develop their activities. This Charter facilitates the collaboration and exchange among the signatories to help socially excluded or homeless people around stations. The goal of this social intervention is to offer these people a second chance to rebuild their lives, both socially and economically. We are proud that the European Commission acknowledges our efforts.”