The CER General Assembly in Paris on 3 May 2011 decided unanimously to continue the election procedure for the new Executive Director until the next CER General Assembly to take place on 12 September 2011.

The CER General Assembly acknowledged and appreciated the qualifications and experience of the presented candidates. The General Assembly decided that the candidates presented today will remain on the list of candidates for 12 September 2011. The Assembly also decided to set the deadline for potential additional candidates to 15 July 2011. The final decision on the new CER Executive Director will be taken on 12 September 2011.

The list of criteria for the selection of candidates adopted by the General Assembly on 10 February 2011 was confirmed. The new CER Executive Director will take over from Johannes Ludewig as of

1 January 2012.

The CER General Assembly also welcomed the new European Commission White Paper on Transport and adopted a resolution supporting the challenging objectives set by the European Commission as well as the list of measures outlined in the White Paper. The CER General Assembly expressed its will to support the European Commission in achieving these objectives. The adopted resolution will be sent to European Commission Vice President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, and to all European transport ministers.

Last but not least, the CER General Assembly also underlined the importance of the ongoing discussions in the European Parliament and Council on the European Commission proposal to recast the First Railway Package. The CER position paper from December 2010 was re-confirmed.

The CER General Assembly also welcomed the 'Fachverband der Schienenbahnen’, an association of Austrian railway and public transport companies, as the 79th member of CER.