Decision No 1/2026 of the Joint Committee established under the Protocol to the Agreement on the international occasional carriage of passengers by coach and bus (Interbus Agreement) regarding the international regular and special regular carriage of passengers by coach and bus of 2 June 2026 establishing its Rules of Procedure [2026/2080]

Official Journal EN of the European Union L series 2026/2080 16.9.2026 Decision No 1/2026 of the Joint Committee established under the Protocol to the Agreement on the international occasional carriage of passengers by coach and bus (Interbus Agreement) regarding the international regular and special regular carriage of passengers by coach and bus of 2 June 2026 establishing its Rules of Procedure [2026/2080] THE JOINT COMMITTEE, Having regard to the Protocol on the international regular and special regular carriage of passengers by coach and bus(1)to the Agreement on the international occasional carriage of passengers by coach and bus (Interbus Agreement)(2), and in particular Article 18 thereof.

Whereas:

(1) Article 18(1) of the Protocol on the international regular and special regular carriage of passengers by coach and bus (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Protocol’) establishes a Joint Committee made up of representatives of the Contracting Parties in order to facilitate the management of the Protocol.

(2) In accordance with Article 18(2) of the Protocol, Articles 23 and 24 of the Interbus Agreement on the international occasional carriage of passengers by coach and bus (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Interbus Agreement’) should apply mutatis mutandisto the Joint Committee established under the Protocol.

(3) The Joint Committee established under the Protocol should therefore adopt its Rules of Procedure, pursuant to Article 18(2) of the Protocol and Article 23(3) of the Interbus Agreement. The Rules of Procedure of the Joint Committee established under the Protocol should correspond, with the necessary adaptations, to the Rules of Procedure of the Joint Committee established under the Interbus Agreement(3),

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1 The Rules of Procedure of the Joint Committee, as set out in the Annex to this Decision, are hereby adopted.

Article 2 This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Done at Brussels, 2 June 2026.

For the Joint Committee:

The Chairperson The Secretary Jean-Louis COLSON Luca TASSONI

(1) OJ L 122, 5.5.2023, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 321, 26.11.2002, p. 13.

(3) OJ L 8, 12.1.2012, p. 38.

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2026/2080/oj 1/5EN OJ L, 16.9.2026 ANNEX Rules of Procedure of the Joint Committee established under the Protocol to the Agreement on the international occasional carriage of passengers by coach and bus (Interbus Agreement) regarding the international regular and special regular carriage of passengers by coach and bus Article 1 Name of Joint Committee The Joint Committee established under Article 18 of the Protocol to the Agreement on the international occasional carriage of passengers by coach and bus (Interbus Agreement) regarding the international regular and special regular carriage of passengers by coach and bus (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Protocol’) shall hereinafter be referred to as ‘the Committee’.

Article 2 Chairpersonship

1. The Committee shall be chaired by the head of the Union delegation, or where necessary his/her deputy, both of which shall be representatives of the European Commission (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Commission’), on behalf of the European Union.

2. The Chairperson shall direct the work of the Committee.

Article 3 Delegations

1. The Contracting Parties for which the Protocol has entered into force (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Parties’) shall appoint their representatives to the Committee. The Union delegation shall be made up of representatives of the Commission, assisted by representatives of the Member States.

2. Each Party shall appoint the head and, where necessary, deputy head of its delegation.

3. Each Party may appoint new representatives to the Committee. The Secretary of the Committee shall be informed forthwith in writing of any such changes.

4. Representatives of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union may take part as observers in the meetings of the Committee. The Chairperson, with the agreement of the other heads of delegation, may invite persons who are not members of delegations to attend a meeting of the Committee in order to provide information on specific subjects.

5. At least one week before the meeting, the Parties shall notify the Secretary of the Committee of the composition of their delegation.

Article 4 Secretariat

1. A representative of the Commission shall provide the Secretariat for the Committee. The Secretary shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Committee and shall carry out his/her duties until a new Secretary is appointed. The Chairperson shall notify the name and details of the Secretary to the other Parties.

2. The Secretary shall be responsible for communication between the delegations, including the transmission of documents, and shall supervise secretarial duties.

2/5 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2026/2080/ojEN OJ L, 16.9.2026 Article 5 Meetings of the Committee

1. The Committee shall meet at the request of at least one Party. It shall be convened by the Chairperson.

2. The Chairperson shall send the notice of the meeting, together with the draft agenda and the meeting documents, to the heads of the other delegations at least 15 working days before the beginning of the meeting.

3. A Party may request the Chairperson to shorten the period of notice referred to in paragraph 2 to take account of the urgency of a particular matter.

4. Unless otherwise decided by the heads of delegation, the meetings of the Committee shall not be public.

5. The Committee shall meet in Brussels, unless the Parties agree to meet elsewhere or remotely.

Article 6 Agenda

1. The Chairperson, assisted by the Secretary, shall draw up the draft agenda for each meeting and shall fix the date and venue of the meeting after consulting the heads of the other delegations. The Chairperson shall send the provisional agenda to the other heads of delegation at least 15 working days before the beginning of the meeting. The agenda shall be accompanied by all the necessary working documents.

2. The period of notice laid down in paragraph 1 shall not apply to urgent meetings convened in accordance with Article 5(3).

3. Each Party may propose one or more items to be added to the provisional agenda at the latest 24 hours before the beginning of the meeting. Requests to have items added to the agenda shall be sent in writing to the Chairperson, indicating the reason thereto.

4. At the beginning of the meeting, the Committee shall adopt the agenda. The Committee may decide to add to the agenda any item that is not contained in the provisional agenda.

Article 7 Adoption of acts

1. The decisions of the Committee shall be adopted by unanimous vote of the parties represented, in accordance with Article 23(5) and (6) of the Interbus Agreement. The recommendations, and in particular those referred to in Article 24(2)(g) of the Interbus Agreement, applicable mutatis mutandis to the Committee, shall be taken by consensus between the delegations of the parties represented. The decisions and recommendations shall bear the title ‘Decision’ or ‘Recommendation’ followed by a serial number, the date of their adoption and an indication of their content.

2. The decisions and recommendations of the Committee shall bear the signature of the Chairperson and the Secretary.

They shall be sent by the Secretary to the other heads of delegation.

3. Each Party may decide to publish any act adopted by the Committee.

4. The acts of the Committee may be adopted by written procedure where this has been agreed by the heads of delegation. The Chairperson shall submit the draft act to the other heads of delegation who shall indicate in reply whether or not they accept the draft, whether they propose amendments to the draft or whether they require more time to consider it. If the draft is adopted, the Chairperson shall finalise the decision or recommendation in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 above.

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2026/2080/oj 3/5EN OJ L, 16.9.2026

5. The recommendations and decisions shall be drawn up in English, French and German, these texts being equally authentic. Each Party shall be responsible for the correct translation of decisions and recommendations into its official language or languages. Translation into other Union languages shall be carried out by the Commission.

Article 8 Minutes

1. The Secretary shall draw up, under the responsibility of the Chairperson, draft minutes of each meeting of the Committee within 15 working days following the meeting.

2. The minutes, as a general rule, shall indicate in respect of each item on the agenda: — details of the documents submitted to the Committee, — statements which a Party has asked to be recorded, — decisions taken, recommendations made, and conclusions adopted.

3. The draft minutes shall be submitted to the Committee for approval in accordance with the written procedure referred to in Article 7(4). If this procedure is not completed, the minutes shall be adopted by the Committee at its next meeting.

4. Once adopted by the Committee, the minutes shall be signed by the Chairperson and the Secretary and kept by the Secretary. A copy shall be sent by the Secretary to the other heads of delegation.

Article 9 Confidentiality Notwithstanding the provision on the publication of acts laid down in Article 7(3), the deliberations of the meetings and the documents of the Committee shall be governed by professional secrecy.

Article 10 Expenses

1. Each Party shall bear the expenses it incurs in taking part in the meetings of the Committee.

2. The Committee shall decide on the reimbursement of expenses connected with missions assigned to persons called in by the Chairperson in accordance with Article 3(4).

Article 11 Correspondence All correspondence with or from the Chairperson of the Committee shall be sent to the Secretary of the Committee. The Secretary shall send a copy of all correspondence relating to the Protocol to all delegations.

4/5 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2026/2080/ojEN OJ L, 16.9.2026 Article 12 Languages The languages used in meetings of the Committee and in documents shall be decided by the Committee. There shall be no obligation on the Party hosting the meeting to provide interpretation for other languages.

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2026/2080/oj 5/5