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➤ GBTA meets with European Parliament Vice President Jan-Christoph Oetjen, a leading MEP working on Passenger Rights
On 22 February 2024, Ben Park, Chair of the GBTA Europe Advisory Board, met with Vice President of the European Parliament Jan-Christoph Oetjen (Renew Europe, Germany) as part of a group of stakeholders to discuss the European Commission’s proposals to review the EU’s Passenger Rights framework. Ben welcomed the proposals and emphasised the differences between leisure and business travel, underlining the fact that the customer and the passenger are often not the same in business travel. Because of this, he asked Mr. Oetjen to consider introducing in the new laws a provision for fully automated refunds in the event of cancellations via the same method of payment that was used for the booking, which would greatly facilitate the work of business travel departments. He further asked for the EU to do more to increase the offer of multimodal trips, which have a great potential
in terms of reducing emissions and increasing efficiency.
Since the passenger rights review was only recently introduced and the current European Parliament is nearing the end of its mandate with the election scheduled for June, we expect the next Parliament to start the more substantial work on these proposals. Hear more from Ben below:
Why it matters: The revision of the EU’s passenger rights regulation provides an opportunity to facilitate procedures linked to business travel, including refunds, and could serve to make multimodal travel easier. GBTA will keep liaising with key MEPs both before and after the election to make sure business travellers are considered in the EU’s revision of its passenger rights framework.
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➤ GBTA in Brussels to launch its EU policy document ahead of EU elections.
On 25-26 March, several members of GBTA’s board will be meeting in Brussels to discuss our strategy for the coming months and meet with key EU policymakers and stakeholders to present those asks and learn about the EU’s priorities for business travel during the next mandate.
GBTA will shortly launch a policy document with our main policy suggestions for the next mandate of the European Parliament and Commission (2024-2029), chief of which be better protecting passenger rights, continuing to promote the transition to sustainable travel options, and modernising the travel distribution systems.
Why it matters: Following several meetings with key EU policymakers to understand the EU’s priorities for business travel GBTA will define its strategy for the years to come, and will launch its policy document ahead of the European Parliament election.
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➤ Transition Pathway for Tourism event with the European Commission
GBTA has been invited to attend an online event organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship & SMEs (DG GROW) celebrating the second anniversary of the Transition Pathway for Tourism. In February 2022, the European Commission published the Transition Pathway for Tourism, a strategy co-created with stakeholders laying down concrete actions for the travel and tourism sector to take in the coming decades to become more environmentally friendly and more digitalised. GBTA contributed to this co-creation process by submitting its pledge together with many other organisations and companies in the travel industry. This anniversary event aims to take stock of the progress achieved since the publication of the Transition Pathway, showcase good examples of stakeholder commitments and pledges, facilitate exchanges and networking and, finally, reflect on future developments in the tourism ecosystem.
Why it matters: For GBTA, this event is a good opportunity to take stock of achievements from other stakeholders in sustainability and digitisation, identify best practices, and understand how the European Commission intends to leverage the Transition Pathway in the next parliamentary term.
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Key Developments
➤ Latest news on CountEmissionsEU
What is new: On 4 March 2024, the European Parliament’s committees for transport and environment approved their version of the CountEmissionsEU proposal. This regulation will provide a harmonised methodology for the accounting of emissions from transport services in the EU. The report passed with a 58-19 majority. MEPs accepted the methodology proposed by the Commission, based on a well-to-wheel approach they also asked the Commission to present, two years after the entry into force of the regulation, a new methodology of calculating GHG emissions of all transport modes based on a life-cycle analysis. This would mean going beyond emissions from the provision of transport services that the current proposal focuses on and including emissions from vehicle production, maintenance, and disposal.
In addition, they request the Commission to develop a free-of-charge public calculation tool and to grant free access to the European GHG emissions calculation standard to reduce the burden on companies wishing to calculate their emissions, in particular SMEs. Finally, they suggest Member States should introduce financial incentives to stimulate the use of direct measurements of GHG emissions instead of estimates or default values. More information here.
Why it matters: The establishment of a harmonised framework for calculating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector would make it easier for travel providers to ensure that the right data on emissions is provided, and a common calculation methodology is in place, paving the way for effective decarbonisation of the business travel sector; currently hindered by the fragmented methodologies.
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➤ The EU reaches a fragile compromise on a watered-down Single European Sky after more than a decade of negotiations.
On 6 March 2024, the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council and the European Parliament reached a deal on the reform of the Single European Sky (SES2+). The new rules open the way to improving the climate and environmental performance of airspace management, notably through the extension of binding targets for terminal services in the environmental and climate area and the modulation of charges to incentivise the improvement of environmental performance by airspace users. A Performance Review Board (PRB) is set up to advise the Commission on the implementation of the Performance and Charging Schemes. However, it will have no regulatory powers and it will not be able to set EU-wide efficiency targets for air navigation service providers, in contrast with the original Commission proposal which did give it these powers. The deal has been strongly criticised by the airlines sector
as they argue it do not go far enough to reduce delays or improve air travel capacity. The European Commission has not yet endorsed the agreement and there are suggestions they may exercise their power to withdraw the legislative text and restart the process. Moreover, several countries, including France and Italy are still dissatisfied with the compromise text, particularly the PRB’s prerogatives and the Commission’s power to issue secondary legislation. This may still delay a final deal on the SES 2+. More information here.
Why it matters: The SES deal affects GBTA’s members as it attempts to improve the performance, organisation and management of European airspace and the provision of the air navigation services. However, the lack of major changes in the existing legislation may mean a very reduced impact on the European airspace. In addition, a possible withdrawal decision from the European Commission could restart the whole legislative process from scratch.
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➤ Spain considers a ban on short-haul domestic flights
The parties supporting the Spanish government (PSOE and Sumar) have reached an agreement in Congress to reduce domestic flights on routes that have a rail alternative of less than two and a half hours and are not connected to airports that link with international routes. However, parliamentarians recognise that the necessary railway infrastructure to support this alternative has not yet been developed. Although it has not been specified which routes would be affected, more than air routes spanning across the country could be impacted. The European Regions Airlines Association also raised flags over the risk that suspended domestic routes could be replaced by longer, more polluting flights, in addition to the emissions due to increased road
or rail travel. The exact date this measure would enter into force has not been communicated yet.
Why it matters: This new policy emulates a similar decision which was taken by the French government in May 2023 banning any commercial air travel for journeys that are possible in less than two-and-a-half hours by train. Although in the long term this decision may support a modal shift and bolster investments in rail services across Spain, in the short term, it may reduce options for business travellers.
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➤ Latest on the European Elections
Von der Leyen confirmed as the EPP’s candidate for re-election as head of the European Commission
The European People’s Party (EPP) confirmed on 7 March Ursula von der Leyen as its lead candidate for June’s European elections, clearing the path for her second term at the European Commission’s helm. The centre-right party approved her re-election bid in a secret ballot of EPP delegates, lawmakers, and leaders - including the likes of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar - as the party gathered in Bucharest to gear up towards June’s crunch election. The EPP group is comfortably ahead in the polls and is tipped to remain the European Parliament's biggest faction, making von der Leyen a firm favourite to clinch the role of European Commission President. In her acceptance speech on Thursday, she promised peace, prosperity, and security for Europeans, vowing to continue to firmly back Ukraine, bolster Europe's economic competitiveness,
safeguard the rule of law, and crack down on irregular migration.
Von der Leyen was unexpectedly chosen for the role in 2019 after French President Emmanuel Macron picked her as a suitable candidate, despite not having run in the election. The move cast doubt over the credibility of the lead candidate process, which has time and again been bypassed by EU leaders. She will require the backing of EU national leaders and the newly elected European Parliament to secure the role. Several EPP delegates claimed this procedure would be a mere “formality” and that she would cruise unchallenged to the top job.
EPP election manifesto here.
Nicolas Schmit, current EU Labour Commissioner, elected as the Socialists’ candidate.
On 2 March, European Socialists elected Nicolas Schmit as their lead candidate ahead of the June European elections at the Party of European Socialists (PES) congress in Italy. During his speech at the congress, Schmit reiterated his defence of European values and said combatting the shift to the right in Europe is one of his main goals. He also spoke in favour of the Green Deal, which has been increasingly questioned by the EPP in recent months but said it should come with measures that protect people against precariousness. Schmit was Labour Minister in the Luxembourg government for several years before becoming the European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights in 2019. However, Schmit remains relatively low-profile, something that has caused concerns as the left continues to suffer and polls predict a far-right surge in the next European Parliament. He is unlikely to
be a serious challenger to the incumbent President of the Commission.
Socialists’ election manifesto here.
Europe’s liberals to launch common platform on 20 March; call to move away from further green regulation
Ahead of Renew Europe’s grand electoral launch on 20 March, a leaked version of their manifesto focuses on competitiveness, defence, and the need to shift from creating new green legislation to implementing the existing laws and give the industry breathing space. The manifesto lacks specific policy proposals, instead agreeing on the lowest common denominators and leaving some ambiguity for future flexibility on specific files. The common priorities focus on boosting Europe’s competitiveness, to face off against competition from China and the US, while looking inward by embracing a ‘Made in Europe’ strategy. On the Green Deal, echoing the ‘regulatory pause’ called for by French President Emmanuel Macron, the manifesto places a strong emphasis on the need to move away from further regulation and ensure that the implementation of Green Deal files does not hamper
Europe’s businesses.
Context:
The European Parliament election scheduled for June 6-9, 2024, will shape the EU's political course for the next five years. Ahead of this significant vote, here's a breakdown of the essentials shaping what could be a defining moment for the bloc.
What's happening?
Citizens in the EU's 27 member states will participate in the European Parliament election. The Parliament hosts 720 members and distributes seats based on the principle of "degressive proportionality," granting smaller states a larger representation. For instance, Germany holds the highest seats at 96, while Malta possesses merely six. Elections to the European Parliament are based on national lists, whereby citizens vote for national parties. Winning candidates from these parties form parliamentary groups with similar political ideologies across EU states. For instance, the European Parliament's Socialist and Democrats (S&D) group consists of members from various parties like Germany’s Social Democratic Party, France’s Socialist Party, and Italy’s Democratic Party.
Why do the EU elections matter?
As one of the EU's legislative bodies alongside the Council of the European Union (representing Member States governments), the European Parliament plays a pivotal role in shaping EU law. It shares equal power with the Council in the co-decision procedure, impacting about 84 policy areas, including the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), environmental policy, and internal security policies. Additionally, the Parliament's approval is critical for EU treaty reforms, determining the EU's financial priorities through budget approval, and electing the European Commission President and confirming the College of Commissioners.
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