kom (2013) 0130 - Bilag 12: Henvendelse af 16/5-25 fra Forbrugerrådet Tænk til transportministeren vedr. forhandlinger om flypassagerers rettigheder

Europaudvalget 2024-25
KOM (2013) 0130 Bilag 12
Offentligt

Committee on Transport and Tourism

The Chairwoman

TRAN/D/2024/ 12288

Minister Dariusz Klimczak

Minister of Infrastructure

ul. Chałubińskiego 4/6

00-928 Warszawa

[email protected]

Subject:

Air Passengers’ Rights Revision

Dear Minister,

I am writing regarding the passenger rights package, and in particular the revision of the Air

Passenger Rights Regulation (2013/0072(COD)). First of all, I would like to thank the Polish

Presidency for its ongoing efforts to reach a common position in the Council on this important

file. In particular as this file has been blocked in the Council for far too long, I very much thank

you for the Presidency’s commitment and imminent success towards breaking the deadlock,

in order to quickly start negotiations with Parliament.

However, to our great surprise, Parliament has been informed that the Council may intend to

launch the highly unusual procedure to close the first reading of this file in the coming weeks,

rather than sticking to the usual practice of pursuing the adoption of a General Approach.

Despite the fact that the Treaty provides for this possibility, Council has not closed a first

reading on any piece of EU legislation for the last ten years for very good reasons. The TRAN

Committee views this possible course of action with serious concern.

European Parliament had adopted its first reading position on this file back in February 2014,

in line with the customary practice of finalising mandates before the end of a legislative term

when files remain unresolved. This procedural step, standard across numerous files, was

never intended to preclude or pre-empt future negotiations and it does not put any procedural

pressure on Council. From the outset, it has been expected that this file would be negotiated

in an early second reading, within a mutually agreed timeframe.

From Parliament’s perspective, Council’s possible plans to take the unusual step of closing the

first reading at this stage would not only be unjustified but also counterproductive and politically

highly sensitive. Such a move would place undue pressure on negotiations concerning a highly

significant file and could undermine the overall coherence and quality of the broader Passenger

Rights Package, with consequences for citizens and industry and major media attention.

From a procedural standpoint, launching the first reading now would impose strict and

compressed deadlines for concluding the second and third readings, leaving very limited time

for thorough negotiations to find the best compromises and making it virtually impossible to

maintain a coherent approach across the three interlinked proposals in the package. The

TRAN Committee is currently working to establish mandates for two additional files—the

Enforcement

Regulation

(2023/0437(COD))

and

the

Multimodal

Regulation

(2023/0436(COD))—both of which were published by the Commission in November 2023. This

is especially pertinent in relation to the Enforcement proposal, given that Article 16 of the Air

Passenger Rights revision directly refers to the enforcement framework for air transport. As a

kom (2013) 0130 - Bilag 12: Henvendelse af 16/5-25 fra Forbrugerrådet Tænk til transportministeren vedr. forhandlinger om flypassagerers rettigheder

result, Council’s possible decision to close the first reading would most likely lead to lower

quality legislation for EU citizens and industries, while refraining from such a move would allow

both of our institutions to deliver the best possible results, as per our usual practice across all

policy fields.

Parliament is fully committed to the principle of mutual sincere cooperation as laid out in Article

13 of the Treaty on European Union, the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making

and in the Joint Declaration on Practical Arrangements for the Codecision Procedure, as well

as to the principles of transparency, accountability, and efficiency, and intends to advance this

legislative package in that spirit. We would warmly welcome the Polish Presidency’s support

in pursuing this shared approach.

Parliament is confident that a constructive and coordinated solution can be found between our

institutions to ensure that the ongoing negotiations result in a coherent and balanced legislative

package. I would therefore be grateful for your reassurance that Polish Presidency does not

intend to take the very unusual, and in our view institutionally and politically highly problematic

step of closing Council’s first reading on the Air Passenger Rights Regulation. I am sincerely

convinced that together with you we can uphold our partnership approach between our two

institutions and deliver the best possible legislation together, during your Presidency and

beyond.

I thank you for the excellent cooperation of the Polish Presidency with our Committee so far

and remain at your full disposal for any further inquiry.

Yours sincerely,

Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi

Cc.: Mr Apostolos Tzizikostas, Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism