The Council of Ministers adopted, on 11 March, its common positions on two draft regulations aimed at improving the rights of bus/coach and ship passengers. The second reading with the European Parliament (codecision) is therefore now officially open. It promises to be a bumpy ride.

The proposals give passengers the entitlement to assistance, reimbursement and in some cases compensation for delays or cancellation. They fill a huge gap because, in contrast with air and rail travel, there are currently no such rules to protect passengers when they travel by coach or ship. The future regulations also lay down rules on assistance for disabled and reduced-mobility passengers. For coach and bus transport, it sets up rules on the company’s liability in case of injury or death of passengers or loss of luggage in the event of accidents, an area already covered by existing legislation in maritime transport.

With its derogations and exceptions, the Council has in some cases drastically reduced the initial scope of both proposals (see details in Europolitics3884 for coaches and buses and in Europolitics3836 for ships) and a solution will have to be worked out with Parliament. As usual, the EP is much more ambitious than the member states. Things should be easier for maritime transport than for coach and bus transport but Parliament is insistent on adopting the two proposals as a package, even it means taking road transport hostage.