The European Commission welcomed the European Court of Justice (ECJ)'s judgments which confirmed that Hungary and Spain have failed to comply with their obligations under EU law in the field of rail transport. On the other hand, Austrian and German rail transport legislation complies with EU law ruled in favour of the European. Although the Commission respects the Court's interpretation of the current law, it remains convinced that a more effective separation between an infrastructure manager and other rail operations is essential to ensure non-discriminatory access for all operators to the rail tracks, and thus to stimulate growth in the rail sector.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) confirmed that Hungary and Spain have failed to comply with their obligations under EU law in the field of rail transport. The European Commission welcomed the ECJ's judgment because, according to this European institution, the Court clearly established that track access charges must be set independently by the infrastructure manager, and not by the State, and also that the infrastructure manager may only charge direct costs for the use of the tracks. In June 2012, the Council reached a provisional agreement on single European railway area directive.

However, with regard to the ECJ's judgment for Austria and Germany, the Court followed the Advocate General in finding that these member states had complied with existing rail legislation as regards the level of independence required for an infrastructure manager in a holding company structure. While the Commission underlined to respect the Court's interpretation of the current law, it remains convinced that a more effective separation between an infrastructure manager and other rail operations is essential to ensure non-discriminatory access for all operators to the rail tracks, and thus to stimulate growth in the rail sector.

These ECJ's judgments form part of a series of actions for failure to fulfil obligations brought by the Commission against a number of member states for failure to comply with their obligations under directives governing the functioning of the railway sector. As a result of the liberalisation of the railway sector in the EU, member states are required to ensure that undertakings operating in that sector enjoy equitable and non-discriminatory access to the rail network. In that context, the exercise of functions regarded as essential may no longer be performed by the member states’ railway undertakings that have traditionally done so but must be entrusted to independent managers. Those functions comprise, essentially, the granting of licences to railway undertakings giving them access to the rail network, the allocation of train paths and the determination of the charges to be paid by transport undertakings for use of the network.