Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
MEPs have voiced concern about air passenger rights amid fresh talks on the issue by transport Ministers of EU Member States.
The fear, say Euro deputies, is that ministers might potentially agree to water down existing compensation rights.
Current rules guarantee reimbursement after a three-hour delay.
The EPP Group in the EU Parliament says it opposes a weakening of established air passenger rights.
Decreasing the rights to compensation for air passengers would, says its MEPs, be a step in the wrong direction.
Reimbursement after a three-hour delay has been standard for many years and should remain so, according to centre right members.
“We cannot allow the Member States to undermine the hard-won rights of air passengers. The current rules have been in place for many years. Weakening these rights would betray the trust that citizens have placed in the EU to defend their interests,” says Andrey Novakov, the European Parliament’s Chief Negotiator on air passenger rights.
The EPP Group on Thursday, when the issue is being debated by ministers, say they will oppose attempts to “water down” the current rules and believes that passenger rights should be strengthened, not weakened.
Further comment on the issue comes from Jens Gieseke, EPP Group Spokesman on Transport and Tourism.
The MEP told this site on Thursday, “Passenger rights are not a luxury, but a necessity. Weakening them would be a step backwards for consumer protection in the EU.”
“We also call on national ministers not to attempt to hide this stepping-back on passenger rights behind procedural tricks. Ministers have been sitting on the file for 12 years, while Parliament has been ready and waiting ever since. Now raising concerns about time-pressure is simply not credible. Passenger rights are of such crucial importance for European citizens that they need a proper discussion involving the European Parliament, civil society, industry and everyone concerned,” says Gieseke.
Meanwhile, the parliament’s Transport and Tourism Committee has voted to extend the EU road transport agreement with Ukraine until the end of 2025 to continue facilitating the transport of goods.
The EU-Ukraine road transport agreement concluded in June 2022 has proven to be an effective EU response to the transport sector disruptions caused by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
