OPINION OF THE COMMISSION  pursuant to Article 294, paragraph 7, point (c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, on the European Parliament's amendment to the Council's position regarding the  proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  AND OF THE COUNCIL  concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004
Date: 2010-09-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: bus, carriage of passengers, consumer protection, public transport, single market, transport policy, transport safety

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 6.9.2010 
COM(2010) 469 final 

2008/0237 (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

pursuant to Article 294, paragraph 7, point (c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the 
European Union, 
on the European Parliament's amendment 
to the Council's position regarding the  
proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
AND OF THE COUNCIL 

concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport and amending 
Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 

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2008/0237 (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

pursuant to 294, paragraph 7, point (c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the 
European Union 
on the European Parliament's amendments 
to the Council's common position regarding the  
proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
AND OF THE COUNCIL 

concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport and amending 
Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Date on which the proposal was sent to Parliament and the Council: 

5 December 2008  

Date of Parliament's opinion at first reading: 

23 April 2009 

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee: 

16 July 2009   

Date of unanimous adoption of the Council position: 

11 March 2010 

Date of Parliament's opinion at second reading: 

6 July 2010 

2. 

PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSAL 

The legislative proposal aims at establishing sets of rights for passengers using bus and coach 
on both domestic and cross-border routes. Rights include minimum rules on information for 
all passengers before and during their journey, liability in case of road accidents, assistance 
and compensation in the event of interruptions of journeys, measures in the event of delays 
and specific assistance for persons with reduced mobility. Like in existing legislation for the 
air  and  rail  sectors,  the  proposal  foresees  independent  national  bodies  for  settlement  of 
disputes.  

3. 

OPINION  OF  THE  COMMISSION  ON  THE  AMENDMENTS  BY  THE  EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

3.1  Summary of the Commission's position 

The  European  Parliament  adopted  50  amendments.  The  Commission  can  accept  5 
amendments  as  they  stand  (11,  20,  33,  37,  38),  3  amendments  in  principle  which 
would simply delete some provisions in the Council Position (15, 16and 50) and 39 
amendments with redrafting (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 

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24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51). The 
Commission rejects amendment 21, 35 and 36. 

The Commission welcomes the efforts made by the EP to enhance the provisions that 
are  capable  of  lifting  up  the  level  of  protection  of  the  Passenger  compared  to  the 
Council Position. On many issues the amendments voted by the EP deviate from the 
Council Position. However, the Commission is convinced that a compromise can be 
found in conciliation. 

3.2  Parliament's amendments at second reading 

3.2.1 Amendments Accepted 

The Commission accepts amendments 11, 20, 33, 37, 38. 

The amendments provide clarifications in recitals (recital 17), definitions (of 'carrier', 
Art  3  g)  and  provisions  on  delays  (Art  14  (1)  b  point  I,  Art  19  (1)  and  19  (1)  a), 
which improve either the quality of the legal text or constitutes improvements in the 
level of passenger protection. 

3.2.2 Amendments accepted subject to rewording or in principle 

Scope 

The  Commission  accepts  the  amendments  related  to  the  scope  of  the  Draft 
Regulation  (Art  2)  which  compared  to  the  Council  Position  limit  the  possibility  of 
Member  States  to  exempt  passenger  rights  for  certain  types  of  services  such  as 
domestic services and local services (i.e. urban, suburban and regional services) and 
which limit the duration in time of such exemptions as they improve the protection of 
passengers.  However,  in  order  to  ensure  clarity,  coherence  and  legal  certainty  the 
following amendments would require redrafting: 1, 13, 14, 17, and 18.  

The Commission can accept Amendments 15 and 16 (deletion of the possibility for 
Member States to exempt from the scope domestic as well as international services if 
a significant part is provided outside the EU) in order to ensure a wide application of 
this  passenger  rights  legislation.  However,  in  view  of  reaching  a  compromise  with 
the  Council  the  Commission  acknowledges  that  a  wider  scope  of  application  can 
probably  only  be  achieved  through  a  more  flexible  approach,  i.e.  the  possible 
exemption  of  the  abovementioned  services  but  through  a  longer  list  of  non-
exemptible articles in Art 2(5) than the limited one proposed by the Council. 

Compensation and assistance in the event of accidents 

The Commission accepts the amendments related to Compensation and assistance in 
the  event  of  accidents  that  improve  the  protection  of  passengers  compared  to  the 
Council  Position.  However,  the  following  amendments  would  require  significant 
redrafting  in  order  to  render  them  compatible  with  existing  liability  legislation  for 
motor vehicles and thus to find an agreement with the Council: 2, 3, 4, 22, 23, 24 and 
25. 

Disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility 

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The  Commission  accepts  the  amendments  related  to  disabled  persons  and  persons 
with  reduced  mobility  that  improve  the  provisions  concerning  their  accessibility  to 
bus  and  coach  services  compared  to  the  Council  Position.  However,  the  following 
amendments  require  redrafting  in  order  to  ensure  clarity,  coherence  and  legal 
certainty: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 18, 19, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34 and 51.  

Cancellation or delay 

The Commission accepts the amendments related to passenger rights in the case of 
cancellation  or  delays  of  bus  and  coach  services  that  improve  the  protection  of 
passengers for instance in terms of better conditions for compensation and assistance. 
However,  the  following  amendments  require  redrafting  in  order  to  ensure  clarity, 
coherence and legal certainty: 10, 39, 40, 41 and 42.  

The  Commission  can  accept  amendment  44  in  principle  (new  Art  22  a  setting  an 
obligation for carriers to cooperate with relevant stakeholders to be able to improve 
care for passengers). However, in view of reaching a compromise with the Council 
the  Commission  acknowledges  that  a  more  flexible  approach  to  this  cooperation 
obligation imposed to operators may be needed. 

Information 

The  Commission  accepts  the  amendments  related  to  the  provision  of  information 
about  the  transport  services  and  their  execution  as  well  as  about  the  rights  of 
passengers  that  constitute  improvements  for  travellers  compared  to  the  Council 
Position.  However,  the  following  amendments  require  redrafting  in  order  to  ensure 
clarity, coherence and legal certainty: 12, 45, and 46. 

Complaint handling and enforcement 

The Commission accepts the amendments related to the conditions of establishment 
of complaint handling mechanisms and of national enforcement bodies that enhance 
coverage  of  passenger  protection  and  facilitates  lean  administrative  structures. 
However,  the  following  amendments  require  redrafting  in  order  to  ensure  clarity, 
coherence and legal certainty: 47, 48, and 49. 

The  Commission  can  accept  amendment  50  in  principle:  Art  27(3)  extending  the 
scope of independent  complaint handling schemes  to  Art  5  to  7  of  this  Regulation. 
However,  in  view  of  reaching  a  compromise  with  the  Council  the  Commission 
acknowledges  that  a  more  flexible  approach  to  this  provision  may  be  needed  to 
ensure  legal  consistency  between  national  law  and  EU  law,  thus  excluding  Art  7 
from the scope of Art 27(3) as Art 7 refers to national liability legislation whose legal 
review  procedures  may  diverge  from  the  procedural  timelines  defined  in  this 
Regulation. 

3.2.3 Amendments rejected 

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The Commission rejects Amendment 21 (definition of tour operator in Art 3 k) as the 
deletion of the reference to 'retailer' in the definition would neither fit into the legal 
architecture of this draft Regulation nor be consistent with existing passenger rights 
legislation such as Regulations 1107/2006 and 1371/2007. 

The Commission rejects amendments 35 and 36 which aim at deleting Art 18(1) and 
(2)  which  give  Member  States  the  possibility  to  exempt  domestic  regular  services 
from  the  application  of  provisions  in  Chapter  III  of  this  Regulation,  if  they  ensure 
that the level of protection of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility is 
at  least  the  same  as  under  the  Regulation.  The  provisions  in  Art  18(1)  and  (2)  are 
useful  as  they  provide  Member  States  with  the  necessary  flexibility  to  maintain, 
where applicable, a higher level of protection at national level, whilst ensuring that at 
least the same level of protection as the one foreseen by the Regulation is achieved in 
the other Member States.  

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