Brussels, 29/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission called on the French government on Tuesday 28 July to investigate whether the Disneyland Paris theme park has a discriminatory pricing policy based on where visitors come from, in breach of EU law.
According to the British daily The Financial Times, a French national pays €1,346 for a premium package, while a British national pays €1,870 and a German €2,447. In similar vein, British visitors would pay, on average, 15% more for a day ticket than French visitors. In addition, French visitors can take advantage of various offers, such as family reductions, annual packages and reduced-rate monthly payment options.
“Let us be clear: for a company to set different prices or rates for goods and services for different markets is not, in itself, illegal. However, what is in breach of Article 20 of the services directive is a lack of transparency on how the rates are determined and not allowing consumers to go onto other web sites or to go physically to other markets, to have access to these goods and services”, explained Lucia Caudet, Commission spokesperson on the internal market (our translation).
Article 20 of the services directive (2006/123/EC) says that member states must ensure that “the recipient is not made subject to discriminatory requirements based on his nationality or place of residence”. The directive makes clear, however, that differentiated pricing is allowed, as long as it is “directly justified by objective criteria”.
The Commission now awaits information from Disneyland Paris to better understand the price-setting process. Disneyland Paris has defended its pricing policy and says that charges for direct orders, for example, for a standard package not part of a promotional package, are the same no matter the market. However, the park says it is entitled to offer promotional packages tailored to suit the different countries in order to attract new customers and based on objective criteria, such as the dates of school holidays, reports French daily La Tribune. (Pascal Hansens)