Renew Europe will defend passenger rights in conciliation after yesterday's trilogue negotiations with the Council on the Air Passenger Rights Regulation ended in deadlock.
“We cannot allow air passenger rights to be curtailed by the member states. Particularly regarding the compensation period of three hours, we cannot accept a deterioration for passengers.”,
said Renew shadow rapporteur Jan-Christoph Oetjen (FDP, Germany) and added "It is a genuine disappointment that the EU Member States were unwilling to agree on a compromise for robust air passenger rights.”
The Council proved unwilling to compromise on any points during yesterday's negotiations. Renew Europe remains ready to negotiate and stands united with the Parliament to protect passenger rights throughout the conciliation procedure.
“The Council was also unwilling to accommodate our proposal for a standardised free piece of hand luggage. It is inevitable that we now have to go into the conciliation process for the first time in years.", Oetjen added.
Jan-Christoph OetjenRenew Europe MEP, Germany, Freie Demokratische Partei
Our position remains clear: passengers must receive compensation for delays exceeding three hours and should be protected from charges for essential services like check-in, family seating, and booking corrections and we will defend it in the final steps of negotiations. With millions of passengers affected by flight delays each year across the EU, weakening these protections would leave travelers without recourse when airlines fail to deliver.
Last month, the European Parliament voted unanimously to maintain the three-hour compensation threshold. The Council, however, has pushed for a weaker five to six-hour threshold. Negotiations now move to conciliation -the final stage before the reform either succeeds or fails. Renew Europe will not compromise on the rights of millions of European passengers.