Brussels, 29/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 24 July, the Committee of Permanent Representatives from EU member states (Coreper) approved the agreement obtained by conciliation between the Council and the European Parliament on the draft directive on maritime passenger rights (EUROPE 9994). Parliament will also give its opinion on the text during its next plenary session in Strasbourg (5-9 July).
The Council-Parliament compromise stipulates that the directive will apply to all boats transporting more than 12 passengers (boats that have fewer than three crew members, make journeys of less than 500 metres, are used for sightseeing tours or other cruises, as well as historic boats, are expected to be excluded from the directive's field of application, as sought by the Council). Passengers will have the right to meals, drinks, and free light refreshments in the event of travel cancellations or starting delays of more than 90 minutes. If necessary, the carrier would have to provide passengers with accommodation. The compromise, however, explains that the transporter would be able to limit the cost of accommodation to €80 per night, per passenger and for a maximum of three nights (the Council wanted to limit the cost of accommodation to €120 per passenger, irrespective of the number of nights, whereas the Parliament called for a €120 per night limit. If a journey is cancelled or the delay is longer than 90 minutes, passengers must immediately be provided with the choice of alternative travel arrangements in similar conditions or a refund on the ticket. Passengers will also have the right to compensation of 25% of the price of the ticket in the event of arriving late, if the delay is more than an hour in a three hour journey (two hours in a journey lasting longer than four hours, three hours if the journey is longer than eight hours and six hours if the journey is longer than 24 hours). Compensation will be double (50% of the ticket price) if the delay is twice as long. The carrier can introduce a minimum ticket price threshold, which will not be compensated (€6) and will be exempt from obligations if the delay or journey cancellation is due to exceptional circumstances or adverse weather conditions. It will be up to carriers to prove that this is the case. They will also keep the right to refuse embarkation to people of reduced mobility for safety reasons or if the boat has not been adapted but in these circumstances, they will also have to “make every possible effort” to propose that the person in question is provided with alternative travel arrangements. People with reduced mobility will have the right to free assistance but must inform the operator of their needs 48 hours before the journey begins. The text is expected to enter into force 24 months after its date of publication. An agreement, however, will be difficult to obtain on the proposal governing bus and coach passenger rights. On Friday 20 June, Coreper rejected the final amendments proposed by Parliament, which still wants the directive to be applied to local, urban and regional transport services. The text will be sent back to the conciliation services. (A.By./transl.fl)