While the first meeting of the Conciliation Committee on air passenger rights proved to be fairly constructive (see EUROPE 13853/15), the interinstitutional negotiations for the committee’s second meeting got off to a tense start on Tuesday 19 May.
Certain questions, such as the thresholds and amounts of compensation or the definition of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ justifying non-reimbursement, are still unresolved. The main stumbling block concerns compensation for air passengers.
The systematisation of pre-filled forms, agreed by the co-legislators in April, could lead to an increase in requests for reimbursement, because more passengers will be aware of the existing means of claiming compensation following a cancelled or delayed flight. According to our information, the EU Council is therefore calling for a balanced solution, guaranteeing compensation for all passengers that remains economically sustainable for the airlines, which are already under pressure from rising fuel prices.
This approach reflects the discussions between the permanent representatives of the Member States last week (see EUROPE 13868/14), underlining the need to strengthen passenger rights while guaranteeing legal certainty and preserving the operational and financial viability of the aviation sector.
The European Parliament, for its part, believes it has made enough compromises, but has not managed to change the position of the Member States. MEPs therefore want to maintain existing levels of compensation for travellers.
On Monday, the text’s rapporteur, Andrey Novakov (EPP, Bulgarian), told the press that Parliament was not afraid of a ‘no deal’ and would maintain a firm stance right to the end, favouring the status quo over an agreement that would revise passenger rights downwards in relation to the existing framework, even if the conciliation procedure failed.
From the EU Council’s point of view, this position is difficult to accept. If an agreement is not reached by 15 June, the new rights introduced by the text, on pre-filled forms, for example, will not come into force.
At the time of going to press, interinstitutional negotiations were still underway. (Original version in French by Juliette Verdes)