The European ministers for transport, meeting in Brussels on Thursday 5 December, unanimously adopted their negotiating positions (general approach) on the two regulations on passenger rights (see EUROPE 13538/7).
During the public debate, Bálint Sándor Nagy, the Hungarian Secretary of State, who chaired the EU Council, stressed the need to rapidly improve this European system (see EUROPE 13524/13). “According to the latest Eurobarometer in July, most European citizens believe that they are not sufficiently informed of their rights as passengers, and it is for this reason that the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council has decided to accelerate work on these two proposals”, he stressed. “The legislative package aims to address the gaps in the current passenger rights regulatory framework”, he added.
Application of passenger rights. This text revises the regulation and should improve the implementation and enforcement of passenger rights. “The aim is also to close any regulatory loopholes that may exist with regard to the respective obligations and responsibilities of the various transport providers”, said Mr Nagy.
In its position, the EU Council has simplified the procedure for submitting claims for reimbursement and compensation, in particular the language to be used. “Sticking to the language of reservation is the fairest solution”, Mr Nagy stressed.
The EU Council has also abolished service quality standards for bus and coach services. It prefers to wait for the current provisions to be evaluated and to amend the other sector-specific regulations instead. Apóstolos Tzitzikóstas, the new European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, regretted the “lack of ambition” and is “particularly concerned by the deletion of the provisions on service quality standards and on the monitoring activities of national enforcement bodies. Ensuring a level playing field for citizen industry within the single market requires basic rules of enforcement, while allowing Member States flexibility in their implementation”, he stressed. The Spanish minister shared the same opinion.
A definition of ‘recognised assistance dog’ has been added to clarify this concept, which has not been defined in EU legislation until now. This clarification should increase legal certainty for passengers, particularly the most vulnerable, i.e. persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility.
With regard to the rights of air passengers, the reimbursement of the full cost of a ticket booked through an intermediary has been clarified to better reflect the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), particularly with regard to intermediary fees.
To read the general approach: https://aeur.eu/f/end
Multimodal journeys. The aim of this regulation is to supplement existing rules in European legislation by ensuring that passengers enjoy a similar level of protection when moving from one mode of transport to another during a journey.
In its position, the EU Council wanted to clarify the scope of the text to make it more consistent with sectoral legislation and simpler to implement. It has therefore redefined the scope of application so that carriers and intermediaries can better identify their obligations and passengers their rights. Similarly, the reimbursement of the total cost of the ticket booked through an intermediary has been clarified to better reflect the case law of the CJEU, particularly with regard to intermediary fees.
Mr Tzitzikóstas also expressed reservations about the deletion of the obligation to provide passengers with real-time information on disruptions and delays, as well as the extension of the reimbursement deadline from 14 to 30 days.
Finally, in order to guarantee the quality of services offered to persons with disabilities or reduced mobility, carriers and terminal operators are required to establish quality standards for information and access requirements and to monitor their performance. The Spanish and Maltese ministers deplored the fact that these travellers’ companions were not entitled to full free travel. For his part, the Commissioner found it “regrettable” that the text left the establishment of single contact points to the Member States’ discretion, despite their potential to assist persons with disabilities.
To read the general approach: https://aeur.eu/f/enf
The future Presidency of the EU Council will be able to organise negotiations with the European Parliament once the latter has also approved its negotiating positions. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)