During the examination of the draft report by Bogusław Liberadzki (S&D, Poland) (see EUROPE 11974), MEPs meeting at the European Parliament transport committee on Monday 19 March, expressed differences about railway passenger rights.
It should be recalled that this draft report is part of the European Commission proposal of 28 September last. This aims to harmonise and strengthen the rules for railway passengers in European Union territory (see EUROPE 11872).
During his speech, Mr Liberadzki expressed his determination to “strike the right balance” by obtaining “a good solution for railway companies and customers”. According to the latter, the revision of the rules included in regulation 1371/2007 should also take into account the differences experienced by the regions in the Union.
His draft report received a mixed welcome from MEPs at the transport committee.
Renaud Muselier (EPP, France) was therefore anxious to introduce stricter rules on financial compensation enjoyed by passengers in the event of delays or exceptional circumstances that can exempt railway companies from their responsibilities. Matthijs van Miltenburg (ALDE, Netherlands), regretted that the rapporteur had taken “a step backwards” on certain points in the European Commission's proposal, particularly with regard to the derogations that allow the member states not to respect certain obligations. Christine Revault d’Allonnes Bonnefoy (S&D, France) regretted that the rapporteur wanted to exclude the regulation on regional suburban railway transport from the directive’s scope of application.
Jacqueline Foster (ECR, United Kingdom), however, welcomed the work undertaken by the rapporteur and his “very balanced" approach. She did, nevertheless, suggest a few precisions regarding exceptional circumstances. Michael Cramer (Greens/EFA, Germany) also called for a more robust regulation that provided better protection to customers and added that the draft report by Mr Liberadzki “considerably improves the Commission’s proposal”.
The great majority of MEPs also expressed a wish for particular attention to be paid to passengers with reduced mobility.
The difficulties do not appear insurmountable, however, and the MEPs appeared eager to reach the necessary compromises. The MEPs now have to submit their amendments on 27 March. Their aim is to vote on the report on 20 June next. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)