On Monday 11 November, the EU Council’s Working Party on Aviation discussed air passenger rights, ahead of the Transport Council meeting scheduled for Thursday 5 December.
According to a European source contacted by Agence Europe on Wednesday 13 November, the group examined a working document prepared by the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council. “A majority of delegations supported organising a policy debate and resuming work on the European Commission’s 2013 proposal”, explained the source (see EUROPE 10979/26). According to this source, “Many delegations pointed out that the interpretation of the directive by the Court of Justice of the EU does not take account of political considerations, such as the impact on connectivity, and believe that legislators should depart from the case law and not simply codify it in new legislation”. One delegation asked for more time to examine the presidency’s document.
In July, the European Commission published updated interpretative guidelines on air passenger rights. These guidelines aimed to improve compliance with regulations and promote consistent application by national authorities (see EUROPE 13458/16).
A second discussion within the working party will take place on Wednesday 20 November. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)