WRITTEN QUESTION E-3168/02

by Patricia McKenna (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(6 November 2002)

Subject: Carrier liability

Responding to a series of questions on carriers' liability raised by MEP Glyn Ford (E-1587/02 E-1594/02(1)), Commissioner Vitorino affirmed on 9 July 2002 that the European Commission has never called for fully harmonised carriers' liability legislation applied to all means of transport, as suggested in one of these questions. However, in the verbatim of the debate on a draft Directive on carriers' liability put forward by the French presidency on 13 March 2001, Commissioner Vitorino said, The draft (Directive) we are considering today is only a first step. In the long run it will be necessary to go further and look coherently at all means of transport, including freight transport. Therefore, the Commission, for its part, will assume its responsibility on this issue and we will try to prepare the ground in close cooperation with all interested parties for a more harmonised European approach. We think that we will be able to bring along a proposal covering all means of transport and build upon close cooperation with humanitarian organisations, with the carriers themselves, and, of course, with law enforcement agencies.

If this does not mean that the European Commission was calling for fully harmonised carriers liability legislation applied to all means of transport', can the European Commission explain exactly what was meant in the afore-mentioned statement by Commissioner Vitorino?

The European Commission has been holding a series of round-table discussions by experts to look into the consequences of carriers' liability legislation. Such discussions are normally held before a piece of

legislation is put before Parliament for approval and not six months after the final approval of the Directive in question. Can the Commission explain why such discussions were taking place after the approval of the relevant Council Directive, particularly given that the legislative measure is new to several Member States?

The afore-mentioned draft Directive was formally adopted on 27 June 2001 and two Member States, namely Ireland and Sweden, which do not have a law on imposing hefty fines on carriers found, willingly or unwillingly, transporting insufficiently documented passengers are now obliged to introduce one or be referred to the European Court of Justice by the European Commission for failing to transpose an EU Directive. Does it not appear to the European Commission that we are faced here with a democratic deficit and that the due process of democratic procedures has not been respected? If this is not the view of the European Commission, can it explain its position?

Although the points raised in the written questions by Mr Ford refer to the main legitimate and real concerns caused by carriers' liability legislation, the use of the future tense by the Commission in its replies appears to suggest that they have not yet been discussed by the said round-table meetings of experts. Can the Commission provide an exhaustive list of what has indeed been discussed so far?

(1) See page 2.

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(20 December 2002)

It needs to be recalled that the Commission has already given an exhaustive overview on the Commission position and activities relating to carriers liability in its answers to a series of written questions (E-0488/02 to E-0493/02(1) and E-1587/02 to E-1594/02(2)) submitted by Mr Ford. The queries raised by the Honourable Member in the present written question relate to a large extent to the same issues and reference is therefore being made to the content of the above mentioned answers.

On the detailed points raised by the Honourable Member:

- Being aware of the complexity of the issues involved, the Commission is indeed convinced that a gradual development towards a more harmonised regime of carriers liability at European level is the right way forward and it therefore welcomes the currently ongoing trilateral expert meetings on carriers liability as an important fact finding exercise.

- Council Directive 2001/51/EC of 28 June 2001 supplementing the provisions of Article 26 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985(3) was based on an initiative of the French Republic(4) and not on a Commission proposal. The Commission is not in a position to give information or to comment on preliminary consultations which may have been carried out by the French Republic before submitting its initiative.

- Council Directive 2001/51/EC was adopted according to the procedure foreseen in Article 67 of the EC Treaty (inserted into the EC Treaty by the Amsterdam Treaty). The Commission does not consider it appropriate to comment on an alleged democratic deficit of a procedure foreseen in the EC Treaty within the context of the present written question.

- Article 7 of Directive 2001/51/EC obliges Member States to take the necessary measures to comply with this Directive not later than 11 February 2003 and to inform the Commission thereof. Following the expiry of this deadline, the Commission will be obliged under Article 211 of the EC Treaty to ensure that the provisions of this Directive are correctly applied by Member States.

- Four expert meetings (focusing on a legal overview, the humanitarian dimension, codes of conduct/memoranda of understanding and technical information exchange) have been scheduled for 2002. The last of these meetings will take place in December 2002.

(1) OJ C 301 E, 5.12.2002, p. 45.

(2) See page 2.

(3) OJ L 187, 10.7.2001.

(4) OJ C 269, 20.9.2000.