Input:
28.2.2011
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
L 55/1
REGULATION (EU) No 181/2011 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 16 February 2011
concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 91(1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),
After consulting the Committee of the Regions,
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 24 January 2011 (2),
Whereas:
(1)
Action by the Union in the field of bus and coach transport should aim, among other things, at ensuring a high level of protection for passengers, that is comparable with other modes of transport, wherever they travel. Moreover, full account should be taken of the requirements of consumer protection in general.
(2)
Since the bus or coach passenger is the weaker party to the transport contract, all passengers should be granted a minimum level of protection.
(3)
Union measures to improve passengers’ rights in the bus and coach transport sector should take account of the specific characteristics of this sector, which consists largely of small- and medium-sized undertakings.
(4)
Passengers and, as a minimum, persons whom the passenger had, or would have had, a legal duty to maintain should enjoy adequate protection in the event of accidents arising out of the use of the bus or coach, taking into account Directive 2009/103/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles and the enforcement of the obligation to insure against such liability (3).
(5)
In choosing the national law applicable to compensation for death, including reasonable funeral expenses, or personal injury as well as for loss of or damage to luggage due to accidents arising out of the use of the bus or coach, Regulation (EC) No 864/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (Rome II) (4) and Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I) (5) should be taken into account.
(6)
Passengers should, in addition to compensation in accordance with applicable national law in the event of death or personal injury or loss of or damage to luggage due to accidents arising out of the use of the bus or coach, be entitled to assistance with regard to their immediate practical needs following an accident. Such assistance should include, where necessary, first aid, accommodation, food, clothes and transport.
(7)
Bus and coach passenger services should benefit citizens in general. Consequently, disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, whether caused by disability, age or any other factor, should have opportunities for using bus and coach services that are comparable to those of other citizens. Disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility have the same rights as all other citizens with regard to free movement, freedom of choice and non-discrimination.
(8)
In the light of Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and in order to give disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility opportunities for bus and coach travel comparable to those of other citizens, rules for non-discrimination and assistance during their journey should be established. Those persons should therefore be accepted for carriage and not refused transport on the grounds of their disability or reduced mobility, except for reasons which are justified on the grounds of safety or of the design of vehicles or infrastructure. Within the framework of relevant legislation for the protection of workers, disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility should enjoy the right to assistance at terminals and on board vehicles. In the interest of social inclusion, the persons concerned should receive the assistance free of charge. Carriers should establish access conditions, preferably using the European standardisation system.
(9)
In deciding on the design of new terminals, and as part of major refurbishments, terminal managing bodies should endeavour to take into account the needs of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, in accordance with ‘design for all’ requirements. In any case, terminal managing bodies should designate points where such persons can notify their arrival and need for assistance.
(10)
Similarly, without prejudice to current or future legislation on technical requirements for buses and coaches, carriers should, where possible, take those needs into account when deciding on the equipment of new and newly refurbished vehicles.
(11)
Member States should endeavour to improve existing infrastructure where this is necessary to enable carriers to ensure access for disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility as well as to provide appropriate assistance.
(12)
In order to respond to the needs of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, staff should be adequately trained. With a view to facilitating the mutual recognition of national qualifications of drivers, disability awareness training could be provided as a part of the initial qualification or periodic training as referred to in Directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2003 on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers (6). In order to ensure coherence between the introduction of the training requirements and the time-limits set out in that Directive, a possibility for exemption during a limited period of time should be allowed.
(13)
Organisations representative of disabled persons or persons with reduced mobility should be consulted or involved in preparing the content of the disability-related training.
(14)
Rights of bus and coach passengers should include the receipt of information regarding the service before and during the journey. All essential information provided to bus and coach passengers should also be provided, upon request, in alternative formats accessible to disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, such as large print, plain language, Braille, electronic communications that can be accessed with adaptive technology, or audio tapes.
(15)
This Regulation should not restrict the rights of carriers to seek compensation from any person, including third parties, in accordance with the applicable national law.
(16)
Inconvenience experienced by passengers due to cancellation or significant delay of their journey should be reduced. To this end, passengers departing from terminals should be adequately looked after and informed in a way which is accessible to all passengers. Passengers should also be able to cancel their journey and have their tickets reimbursed or to continue their journey or to obtain re-routing under satisfactory conditions. If carriers fail to provide passengers with the necessary assistance, passengers should have the right to obtain financial compensation.
(17)
With the involvement of stakeholders, professional associations and associations of customers, passengers, disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, carriers should cooperate in order to adopt arrangements at national or European level. Such arrangements should aim at improving the information, care and assistance offered to passengers whenever their travel is interrupted, in particular in the event of long delays or cancellation of travel, with a particular focus on passengers with special needs due to disability, reduced mobility, illness, elderly age and pregnancy, and including accompanying passengers and passengers travelling with young children. National enforcement bodies should be informed of those arrangements.
(18)
This Regulation should not affect the rights of passengers established by Council Directive 90/314/EEC of 13 June 1990 on package travel, package holidays and package tours (7). This Regulation should not apply in cases where a package tour is cancelled for reasons other than cancellation of the bus or coach transport service.
(19)
Passengers should be fully informed of their rights under this Regulation, so that they can effectively exercise those rights.
(20)
Passengers should be able to exercise their rights by means of appropriate complaint procedures implemented by carriers or, as the case may be, by submission of complaints to the body or bodies designated to that end by the relevant Member State.
(21)
Member States should ensure compliance with this Regulation and designate a competent body or bodies to carry out supervision and enforcement tasks. This does not affect the rights of passengers to seek legal redress from courts under national law.
(22)
Taking into account the procedures established by Member States for the submission of complaints, a complaint concerning assistance should preferably be addressed to the body or bodies designated for the enforcement of this Regulation in the Member State where the boarding point or alighting point is situated.
(23)
Member States should promote the use of public transport and the use of integrated information and integrated tickets in order to optimise the use and interoperability of the various transport modes and operators.
(24)
Member States should lay down penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation and ensure that those penalties are applied. Those penalties should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
(25)
Since the objective of this Regulation, namely to ensure an equivalent level of protection of and assistance to passengers in bus and coach transport throughout the Member States, cannot sufficiently be achieved by the Member States and can therefore by reason of the scale and effects of the action, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.
(26)
This Regulation should be without prejudice to Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (8).
(27)
The enforcement of this Regulation should be based on Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection law (the Regulation on consumer protection cooperation) (9). That Regulation should therefore be amended accordingly.
(28)
This Regulation respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised in particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, as referred to in Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union, bearing in mind also Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin (10) and Council Directive 2004/113/EC of 13 December 2004 implementing the principle of equal treatment between men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services (11),
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Subject matter
This Regulation establishes rules for bus and coach transport as regards the following:
(a)
non-discrimination between passengers with regard to transport conditions offered by carriers;
(b)
rights of passengers in the event of accidents arising out of the use of the bus or coach resulting in death or personal injury or loss of or damage to luggage;
(c)
non-discrimination and mandatory assistance for disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility;
(d)
rights of passengers in cases of cancellation or delay;
(e)
minimum information to be provided to passengers;
(f)
handling of complaints;
(g)
general rules on enforcement.
Article 2
Scope
1.   This Regulation shall apply to passengers travelling with regular services for non-specified categories of passengers where the boarding or the alighting point of the passengers is situated in the territory of a Member State and where the scheduled distance of the service is 250 km or more.
2.   As regards the services referred to in paragraph 1 but where the scheduled distance of the service is shorter than 250 km, Article 4(2), Article 9, Article 10(1), point (b) of Article 16(1), Article 16(2), Article 17(1) and (2), and Articles 24 to 28 shall apply.
3.   In addition, with the exception of Articles 9 to 16, Article 17(3), and Chapters IV, V and VI, this Regulation shall apply to passengers travelling with occasional services where the initial boarding point or the final alighting point of the passenger is situated in the territory of a Member State.
4.   With the exception of Article 4(2), Article 9, Article 10(1), point (b) of Article 16(1), Article 16(2), Article 17(1) and (2), and Articles 24 to 28, Member States may, on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis, exempt domestic regular services from the application of this Regulation. Such exemptions may be granted as from the date of application of this Regulation for a period no longer than 4 years, which may be renewed once.
5.   For a maximum period of 4 years from the date of application of this Regulation, Member States may, on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis, exempt from the application of this Regulation particular regular services because a significant part of such regular services, including at least one scheduled stop, is operated outside the Union. Such exemptions may be renewed once.
6.   Member States shall inform the Commission of exemptions of different types of services granted pursuant to paragraphs 4 and 5. The Commission shall take appropriate action if such an exemption is deemed not to be in accordance with the provisions of this Article. By 2 March 2018, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on exemptions granted pursuant to paragraphs 4 and 5.
7.   Nothing in this Regulation shall be understood as conflicting with or introducing additional requirements to those in current legislation on technical requirements for buses or coaches or infrastructure or equipment at bus stops and terminals.
8.   This Regulation shall not affect the rights of passengers under Directive 90/314/EEC and shall not apply in case where a package tour referred to in that Directive is cancelled for reasons other than cancellation of a regular service.
Article 3
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
(a)
‘regular services’ means services which provide for the carriage of passengers by bus or coach at specified intervals along specified routes, passengers being picked up and set down at predetermined stopping points;
(b)
‘occasional services’ means services which do not fall within the definition of regular services and the main characteristic of which is the carriage by bus or coach of groups of passengers constituted on the initiative of the customer or the carrier himself;
(c)
‘transport contract’ means a contract of carriage between a carrier and a passenger for the provision of one or more regular or occasional services;
(d)
‘ticket’ means a valid document or other evidence of a transport contract;
(e)
‘carrier’ means a natural or legal person, other than a tour operator, travel agent or ticket vendor, offering transport by regular or occasional services to the general public;
(f)
‘performing carrier’ means a natural or legal person other than the carrier, who actually performs the carriage wholly or partially;
(g)
‘ticket vendor’ means any intermediary concluding transport contracts on behalf of a carrier;
(h)
‘travel agent’ means any intermediary acting on behalf of a passenger for the conclusion of transport contracts;
(i)
‘tour operator’ means an organiser or retailer, other than the carrier, within the meaning of Article 2(2) and (3) of Directive 90/314/EEC;
(j)
‘disabled person’ or ‘person with reduced mobility’ means any person whose mobility when using transport is reduced as a result of any physical disability (sensory or locomotory, permanent or temporary), intellectual disability or impairment, or any other cause of disability, or as a result of age, and whose situation needs appropriate attention and adaptation to his particular needs of the services made available to all passengers;
(k)
‘access conditions’ means relevant standards, guidelines and information on the accessibility of buses and/or of designated terminals including their facilities for disabled persons or persons with reduced mobility;
(l)
‘reservation’ means a booking of a seat on board a bus or coach for a regular service at a specific departure time;
(m)
‘terminal’ means a staffed terminal where according to the specified route a regular service is scheduled to stop for passengers to board or alight, equipped with facilities such as a check-in counter, waiting room or ticket office;
(n)
‘bus stop’ means any point other than a terminal where according to the specified route a regular service is scheduled to stop for passengers to board or alight;
(o)
‘terminal managing body’ means an organisational entity in a Member State responsible for the management of a designated terminal;
(p)
‘cancellation’ means the non-operation of a regular service which was previously scheduled;
(q)
‘delay’ means a difference between the time the regular service was scheduled to depart in accordance with the published timetable and the time of its actual departure.
Article 4
Tickets and non-discriminatory contract conditions
1.   Carriers shall issue a ticket to the passenger, unless other documents give entitlement to transport. A ticket may be issued in an electronic format.
2.   Without prejudice to social tariffs, the contract conditions and tariffs applied by carriers shall be offered to the general public without any direct or indirect discrimination based on the nationality of the final customer or on the place of establishment of the carriers, or ticket vendors within the Union.
Article 5
Other performing parties
1.   If the performance of the obligations under this Regulation has been entrusted to a performing carrier, ticket vendor or any other person, the carrier, travel agent, tour operator or terminal managing body, who has entrusted such obligations, shall nevertheless be liable for the acts and omissions of that performing party.
2.   In addition, the party to whom the performance of an obligation has been entrusted by the carrier, travel agent, tour operator or terminal managing body shall be subject to the provisions of this Regulation with regard to the obligation entrusted.
Article 6
Exclusion of waiver
1.   Obligations to passengers pursuant to this Regulation shall not be limited or waived, in particular by a derogation or restrictive clause in the transport contract.
2.   Carriers may offer contract conditions that are more favourable for the passenger than the conditions laid down in this Regulation.
CHAPTER II
COMPENSATION AND ASSISTANCE IN THE EVENT OF ACCIDENTS
Article 7
Death or personal injury to passengers and loss of or damage to luggage
1.   Passengers shall, in accordance with applicable national law, be entitled to compensation for death, including reasonable funeral expenses, or personal injury as well as to loss of or damage to luggage due to accidents arising out of the use of the bus or coach. In case of death of a passenger, this right shall as a minimum apply to persons whom the passenger had, or would have had, a legal duty to maintain.
2.   The amount of compensation shall be calculated in accordance with applicable national law. Any maximum limit provided by national law to the compensation for death and personal injury or loss of or damage to luggage shall on each distinct occasion not be less than:
(a)
EUR 220 000 per passenger;
(b)
EUR 1 200 per item of luggage. In the event of damage to wheelchairs, other mobility equipment or assistive devices the amount of compensation shall always be equal to the cost of replacement or repair of the equipment lost or damaged.
Article 8
Immediate practical needs of passengers
In the event of an accident arising out of the use of the bus or coach, the carrier shall provide reasonable and proportionate assistance with regard to the passengers’ immediate practical needs following the accident. Such assistance shall include, where necessary, accommodation, food, clothes, transport and the facilitation of first aid. Any assistance provided shall not constitute recognition of liability.
For each passenger, the carrier may limit the total cost of accommodation to EUR 80 per night and for a maximum of 2 nights.
CHAPTER III
RIGHTS OF DISABLED PERSONS AND PERSONS WITH REDUCED MOBILITY
Article 9
Right to transport
1.   Carriers, travel agents and tour operators shall not refuse to accept a reservation from, to issue or otherwise provide a ticket to, or to take on board, a person on the grounds of disability or of reduced mobility.
2.   Reservations and tickets shall be offered to disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility at no additional cost.
Article 10
Exceptions and special conditions
1.   Notwithstanding Article 9(1), carriers, travel agents and tour operators may refuse to accept a reservation from, to issue or otherwise provide a ticket to, or to take on board, a person on the grounds of disability or of reduced mobility:
(a)
in order to meet applicable safety requirements established by international, Union or national law, or in order to meet health and safety requirements established by the competent authorities;
(b)
where the design of the vehicle or the infrastructure, including bus stops and terminals, makes it physically impossible to take on board, alight or carry the disabled person or person with reduced mobility in a safe and operationally feasible manner.
2.   In the event of a refusal to accept a reservation or to issue or otherwise provide a ticket on the grounds referred to in paragraph 1, carriers, travel agents and tour operators shall inform the person concerned about any acceptable alternative service operated by the carrier.
3.   If a disabled person or a person with reduced mobility, who holds a reservation or has a ticket and has complied with the requirements of point (a) of Article 14(1), is nonetheless refused permission to board on the grounds of his disability or reduced mobility, that person and any accompanying person pursuant to paragraph 4 of this Article shall be offered the choice between:
(a)
the right to reimbursement, and where relevant a return service free of charge to the first point of departure, as set out in the transport contract, at the earliest opportunity; and
(b)
except where not feasible, continuation of the journey or re-routing by reasonable alternative transport services to the place of destination set out in the transport contract.
The right to reimbursement of the money paid for the ticket shall not be affected by the failure to notify in accordance with point (a) of Article 14(1).
4.   If a carrier, travel agent or tour operator refuses to accept a reservation from, to issue or otherwise provide a ticket to, or to take on board, a person on the grounds of disability or of reduced mobility for the reasons set out in paragraph 1, that person may request to be accompanied by another person of his own choosing who is capable of providing the assistance required by the disabled person or person with reduced mobility in order that the reasons set out in paragraph 1 no longer apply.
Such an accompanying person shall be transported free of charge and, where feasible, seated next to the disabled person or person with reduced mobility.
5.   When carriers, travel agents or tour operators have recourse to paragraph 1, they shall immediately inform the disabled person or person with reduced mobility of the reasons therefor, and, upon request, inform the person in question in writing within 5 working days of the request.
Article 11
Accessibility and information
1.   In cooperation with organisations representative of disabled persons or persons with reduced mobility, carriers and terminal managing bodies shall, where appropriate through their organisations, establish, or have in place, non-discriminatory access conditions for the transport of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility.
2.   The access conditions provided for in paragraph 1, including the text of international, Union or national laws establishing the safety requirements, on which these non-discriminatory access conditions are based, shall be made publicly available by carriers and terminal managing bodies physically or on the Internet, in accessible formats on request, in the same languages as those in which information is generally made available to all passengers. When providing this information particular attention shall be paid to the needs of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility.
3.   Tour operators shall make available the access conditions provided for in paragraph 1 which apply to journeys included in package travel, package holidays and package tours which they organise, sell or offer for sale.
4.   The information on access conditions referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be physically distributed at the request of the passenger.
5.   Carriers, travel agents and tour operators shall ensure that all relevant general information concerning the journey and the conditions of carriage is available in appropriate and accessible formats for disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility including, where applicable, online booking and information. The information shall be physically distributed at the request of the passenger.
Article 12
Designation of terminals
Member States shall designate bus and coach terminals where assistance for disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility shall be provided. Member States shall inform the Commission thereof. The Commission shall make available a list of the designated bus and coach terminals on the Internet.
Article 13
Right to assistance at designated terminals and on board buses and coaches
1.   Subject to the access conditions provided for in Article 11(1), carriers and terminal managing bodies shall, within their respective areas of competence, at terminals designated by Member States, provide assistance free of charge to disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, at least to the extent specified in part (a) of Annex I.
2.   Subject to the access conditions provided for in Article 11(1), carriers shall, on board buses and coaches, provide assistance free of charge to disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, at least to the extent specified in part (b) of Annex I.
Article 14
Conditions under which assistance is provided
1.   Carriers and terminal managing bodies shall cooperate in order to provide assistance to disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility on condition that:
(a)
the person’s need for such assistance is notified to carriers, terminal managing bodies, travel agents or tour operators at the latest 36 hours before the assistance is needed; and
(b)
the persons concerned present themselves at the designated point:
(i)
at the time stipulated in advance by the carrier which shall be no more than 60 minutes before the published departure time, unless a shorter period is agreed between the carrier and the passenger; or
(ii)
if no time is stipulated, no later than 30 minutes before the published departure time.
2.   In addition to paragraph 1, disabled persons or persons with reduced mobility shall notify the carrier, travel agent or tour operator at the time of reservation or advance purchase of the ticket of their specific seating needs, provided that the need is known at that time.
3.   Carriers, terminal managing bodies, travel agents and tour operators shall take all measures necessary to facilitate the receipt of notifications of the need for assistance made by disabled persons or persons with reduced mobility. This obligation shall apply at all designated terminals and their points of sale including sale by telephone and via the Internet.
4.   If no notification is made in accordance with point (a) of paragraph 1 and paragraph 2, carriers, terminal managing bodies, travel agents and tour operators shall make every reasonable effort to ensure that the assistance is provided in such a way that the disabled person or person with reduced mobility is able to board the departing service, to change to the corresponding service or to alight from the arriving service for which he has purchased a ticket.
5.   The terminal managing body shall designate a point inside or outside the terminal at which disabled persons or persons with reduced mobility can announce their arrival and request assistance. The point shall be clearly signposted and shall offer basic information about the terminal and assistance provided, in accessible formats.
Article 15
Transmission of information to a third party
If travel agents or tour operators receive a notification referred to in point (a) of Article 14(1) they shall, within their normal office hours, transfer the information to the carrier or terminal managing body as soon as possible.
Article 16
Training
1.   Carriers and, where appropriate, terminal managing bodies shall establish disability-related training procedures, including instructions, and ensure that:
(a)
their personnel, other than drivers, including those employed by any other performing party, providing direct assistance to disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility are trained or instructed as described in parts (a) and (b) of Annex II; and
(b)
their personnel, including drivers, who deal directly with the travelling public or with issues related to the travelling public, are trained or instructed as described in part (a) of Annex II.
2.   A Member State may for a maximum period of 5 years from 1 March 2013 grant an exemption from the application of point (b) of paragraph 1 with regard to training of drivers.
Article 17
Compensation in respect of wheelchairs and other mobility equipment
1.   Carriers and terminal managing bodies shall be liable where they have caused loss of or damage to wheelchairs, other mobility equipment or assistive devices. The loss or damage shall be compensated by the carrier or terminal managing body liable for that loss or damage.
2.   The compensation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be equal to the cost of replacement or repair of the equipment or devices lost or damaged.
3.   Where necessary, every effort shall be undertaken to rapidly provide temporary replacement equipment or devices. The wheelchairs, other mobility equipment or assistive devices shall, where possible, have technical and functional features similar to those lost or damaged.
Article 18
Exemptions
1.   Without prejudice to Article 2(2), Member States may exempt domestic regular services from the application of all or some of the provisions of this Chapter, provided that they ensure that the level of protection of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility under their national rules is at least the same as under this Regulation.
2.   Member States shall inform the Commission of exemptions granted pursuant to paragraph 1. The Commission shall take appropriate action if such an exemption is deemed not to be in accordance with the provisions of this Article. By 2 March 2018, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on exemptions granted pursuant to paragraph 1.
CHAPTER IV
PASSENGER RIGHTS IN THE EVENT OF CANCELLATION OR DELAY
Article 19
Continuation, re-routing and reimbursement
1.   Where a carrier reasonably expects a regular service to be cancelled or delayed in departure from a terminal for more than 120 minutes or in the case of overbooking, the passenger shall immediately be offered the choice between:
(a)
continuation or re-routing to the final destination, at no additional cost and under comparable conditions, as set out in the transport contract, at the earliest opportunity;
(b)
reimbursement of the ticket price, and, where relevant, a return service by bus or coach free of charge to the first point of departure, as set out in the transport contract, at the earliest opportunity.
2.   If the carrier fails to offer the passenger the choice referred to in paragraph 1, the passenger shall have the right to compensation amounting to 50 % of the ticket price, in addition to the reimbursement referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1. This sum shall be paid by the carrier within 1 month after the submission of the request for compensation.
3.   Where the bus or coach becomes inoperable during the journey, the carrier shall provide either the continuation of the service with another vehicle from the location of the inoperable vehicle, or transport from the location of the inoperable vehicle to a suitable waiting point or terminal from where continuation of the journey becomes possible.
4.   Where a regular service is cancelled or delayed in departure from a bus stop for more than 120 minutes, passengers shall have the right to the continuation or re-routing or reimbursement of the ticket price from the carrier, as referred to in paragraph 1.
5.   The payment of reimbursement provided for in point (b) of paragraph 1 and paragraph 4 shall be made within 14 days after the offer has been made or request has been received. The payment shall cover the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was purchased, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the journey no longer serves any purpose in relation to the passenger’s original travel plan. In case of travel passes or season tickets the payment shall be equal to its proportional part of the full cost of the pass or ticket. The reimbursement shall be paid in money, unless the passenger accepts another form of reimbursement.
Article 20
Information
1.   In the event of cancellation or delay in departure of a regular service, passengers departing from terminals shall be informed by the carrier or, where appropriate, the terminal managing body, of the situation as soon as possible and in any event no later than 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time, and of the estimated departure time as soon as this information is available.
2.   If passengers miss, according to the timetable, a connecting service due to a cancellation or delay, the carrier or, where appropriate, the terminal managing body, shall make reasonable efforts to inform the passengers concerned of alternative connections.
3.   The carrier or, where appropriate, the terminal managing body, shall ensure that disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility receive the information required under paragraphs 1 and 2 in accessible formats.
4.   Where feasible, the information required under paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be provided by electronic means to all passengers, including those departing from bus stops, within the time-limit stipulated in paragraph 1, if the passenger has requested this and has provided the necessary contact details to the carrier.
Article 21
Assistance in case of cancelled or delayed departures
For a journey of a scheduled duration of more than 3 hours the carrier shall, in case of cancellation or delay in departure from a terminal of more than 90 minutes, offer the passenger free of charge:
(a)
snacks, meals or refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time or delay, provided they are available on the bus or in the terminal, or can reasonably be supplied;
(b)
a hotel room or other accommodation as well as assistance to arrange transport between the terminal and the place of accommodation in cases where a stay of 1 or more nights becomes necessary. For each passenger, the carrier may limit the total cost of accommodation, not including transport to and from the terminal and place of accommodation, to EUR 80 per night and for a maximum of 2 nights.
In applying this Article the carrier shall pay particular attention to the needs of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility and any accompanying persons.
Article 22
Further claims
Nothing in this Chapter shall preclude passengers from seeking damages in accordance with national law before national courts in respect of loss resulting from cancellation or delay of regular services.
Article 23
Exemptions
1.   Articles 19 and 21 shall not apply to passengers with open tickets as long as the time of departure is not specified, except for passengers holding a travel pass or a season ticket.
2.   Point (b) of Article 21 shall not apply where the carrier proves that the cancellation or delay is caused by severe weather conditions or major natural disasters endangering the safe operation of bus or coach services.
CHAPTER V
GENERAL RULES ON INFORMATION AND COMPLAINTS
Article 24
Right to travel information
Carriers and terminal managing bodies shall, within their respective areas of competence, provide passengers with adequate information throughout their travel. Where feasible, this information shall be provided in accessible formats upon request.
Article 25
Information on passenger rights
1.   Carriers and terminal managing bodies shall, within their respective areas of competence, ensure that passengers are provided with appropriate and comprehensible information regarding their rights under this Regulation at the latest on departure. This information shall be provided at terminals and where applicable, on the Internet. At the request of a disabled person or person with reduced mobility the information shall be provided, where feasible, in an accessible format. This information shall include contact details of the enforcement body or bodies designated by the Member State pursuant to Article 28(1).
2.   In order to comply with the information requirement referred to in paragraph 1, carriers and terminal managing bodies may use a summary of the provisions of this Regulation prepared by the Commission in all the official languages of the institutions of the European Union and made available to them.
Article 26
Complaints
Carriers shall set up or have in place a complaint handling mechanism for the rights and obligations set out in this Regulation.
Article 27
Submission of complaints
Without prejudice to claims for compensation in accordance with Article 7, if a passenger covered by this Regulation wants to make a complaint to the carrier, he shall submit it within 3 months from the date on which the regular service was performed or when a regular service should have been performed. Within 1 month of receiving the complaint, the carrier shall give notice to the passenger that his complaint has been substantiated, rejected or is still being considered. The time taken to provide the final reply shall not be longer than 3 months from the receipt of the complaint.
CHAPTER VI
ENFORCEMENT AND NATIONAL ENFORCEMENT BODIES
Article 28
National enforcement bodies
1.   Each Member State shall designate a new or existing body or bodies responsible for the enforcement of this Regulation as regards regular services from points situated on its territory and regular services from a third country to such points. Each body shall take the measures necessary to ensure compliance with this Regulation.
Each body shall, in its organisation, funding decisions, legal structure and decision making, be independent of carriers, tour operators and terminal managing bodies.
2.   Member States shall inform the Commission of the body or bodies designated in accordance with this Article.
3.   Any passenger may submit a complaint, in accordance with national law, to the appropriate body designated under paragraph 1, or to any other appropriate body designated by a Member State, about an alleged infringement of this Regulation.
A Member State may decide that the passenger as a first step shall submit a complaint to the carrier in which case the national enforcement body or any other appropriate body designated by the Member State shall act as an appeal body for complaints not resolved under Article 27.
Article 29
Report on enforcement
By 1 June 2015 and every 2 years thereafter, the enforcement bodies designated pursuant to Article 28(1) shall publish a report on their activity in the previous 2 calendar years, containing in particular a description of actions taken in order to implement this Regulation and statistics on complaints and sanctions applied.
Article 30
Cooperation between enforcement bodies
National enforcement bodies as referred to in Article 28(1) shall, whenever appropriate, exchange information on their work and decision-making principles and practices. The Commission shall support them in this task.
Article 31
Penalties
Member States shall lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the provisions of this Regulation and shall take all the measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall notify those rules and measures to the Commission by 1 March 2013 and shall notify it without delay of any subsequent amendment affecting them.
CHAPTER VII
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 32
Report
The Commission shall report to the European Parliament and the Council by 2 March 2016 on the operation and effects of this Regulation. The report shall be accompanied, where necessary, by legislative proposals implementing in further detail the provisions of this Regulation, or amending it.
Article 33
Amendment to Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004
In the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 the following point is added:
‘19.
Regulation (EU) No 181/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport (12).
Article 34
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 March 2013.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Strasbourg, 16 February 2011.
For the European Parliament
The President
J. BUZEK
For the Council
The President
MARTONYI J.
(1)  OJ C 317, 23.12.2009, p. 99.
(2)  Position of the European Parliament of 23 April 2009 (OJ C 184 E, 8.7.2010, p. 312), position of the Council at first reading of 11 March 2010 (OJ C 122 E, 11.5.2010, p. 1), position of the European Parliament of 6 July 2010 (not yet published in the Official Journal), decision of the Council of 31 January 2011 and legislative resolution of the European Parliament of 15 February 2011 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
(3)  OJ L 263, 7.10.2009, p. 11.
(4)  OJ L 199, 31.7.2007, p. 40.
(5)  OJ L 177, 4.7.2008, p. 6.
(6)  OJ L 226, 10.9.2003, p. 4.
(7)  OJ L 158, 23.6.1990, p. 59.
(8)  OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.
(9)  OJ L 364, 9.12.2004, p. 1.
(10)  OJ L 180, 19.7.2000, p. 22.
(11)  OJ L 373, 21.12.2004, p. 37.
(12)  OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 1’.
ANNEX I
ASSISTANCE PROVIDED TO DISABLED PERSONS AND PERSONS WITH REDUCED MOBILITY
(a)   Assistance at designated terminals
Assistance and arrangements necessary to enable disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility to:
—
communicate their arrival at the terminal and their request for assistance at designated points,
—
move from the designated point to the check-in counter, waiting room and embarkation area,
—
board the vehicle, with the provision of lifts, wheelchairs or other assistance needed, as appropriate,
—
load their luggage,
—
retrieve their luggage,
—
alight from the vehicle,
—
carry a recognised assistance dog on board a bus or coach,
—
proceed to the seat;
(b)   Assistance on board
Assistance and arrangements necessary to enable disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility to:
—
be provided with essential information on a journey in accessible formats subject to request made by the passenger,
—
board/alight during pauses in a journey, if there are personnel other than the driver on board.
ANNEX II
DISABILITY-RELATED TRAINING
(a)   Disability-awareness training
Training of staff that deal directly with the travelling public includes:
—
awareness of and appropriate responses to passengers with physical, sensory (hearing and visual), hidden or learning disabilities, including how to distinguish between the different abilities of persons whose mobility, orientation, or communication may be reduced,
—
barriers faced by disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, including attitudinal, environmental/physical and organisational barriers,
—
recognised assistance dogs, including the role and the needs of an assistance dog,
—
dealing with unexpected occurrences,
—
interpersonal skills and methods of communication with deaf people and people with hearing impairments, people with visual impairments, people with speech impairments, and people with a learning disability,
—
how to handle wheelchairs and other mobility aids carefully so as to avoid damage (if any, for all staff who are responsible for luggage handling);
(b)   Disability-assistance training
Training of staff directly assisting disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility includes:
—
how to help wheelchair users make transfers into and out of a wheelchair,
—
skills for providing assistance to disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility travelling with a recognised assistance dog, including the role and the needs of those dogs,
—
techniques for escorting visually impaired passengers and for the handling and carriage of recognised assistance dogs,
—
an understanding of the types of equipment which can assist disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility and a knowledge of how to handle such an equipment,
—
the use of boarding and alighting assistance equipment used and knowledge of the appropriate boarding and alighting assistance procedures that safeguard the safety and dignity of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility,
—
understanding of the need for reliable and professional assistance. Also awareness of the potential of certain disabled passengers to experience feelings of vulnerability during travel because of their dependence on the assistance provided,
—
a knowledge of first aid.

Output:
Bus and coach passengers’ rights
Bus and coach passengers’ rights
Passengers, including those with a disability or reduced mobility, travelling by bus and coach enjoy the same rights wherever they travel in the European Union (EU). These rights, including the right to information or compensation in the case of delay or cancellation, complement similar rights for sea and inland waterway, air and rail passengers.
ACT

Regulation (EU) No 181/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004
SUMMARY

Passengers, including those with a disability or reduced mobility, travelling by bus and coach enjoy the same rights wherever they travel in the European Union (EU). These rights, including the right to information or compensation in the case of delay or cancellation, complement similar rights for sea and inland waterway, air and rail passengers.
WHAT DOES THIS REGULATION DO?

The regulation sets down rules for bus and coach transport regarding regular services* for passengers travelling within the EU for distances of 250 kms or more. Some of its provisions apply to all services, including those of a shorter distance.
KEY POINTS

In respect of long-distance services, i.e. of more than 250 kms, the regulation provides:
in situations of cancellation or following a delay of more than 90 minutes in the case of a journey of more than 3 hours, for adequate assistance e.g. snacks, meals and up to 2 nights’ hotel. accommodation;
guarantee of reimbursement or rerouting in situations of overbooking or cancellation or following a delay of more than 120 minutes from the estimated time of departure;
compensation of 50 % of the ticket price following more than 120 minutes’ delay from the estimated time of departure, cancellation of a journey and if the carrier fails to offer the passenger either rerouting or reimbursement;
information when the service is cancelled or delayed in departure;
protection of passengers in case of injury, loss or damage caused by road accidents and/or compensation in case of death;
specific assistance free of charge for disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility both at terminals and on board and, where necessary, transport free of charge for accompanying people.
Additionally, for distances of less than 250 kms, the regulation provides for:
non-discrimination based on nationality with respect to prices and contract conditions for passengers;
non-discriminatory treatment of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility and financial compensation for loss or damage of their mobility equipment in case of accident;
minimum rules on travel information for all passengers before and during their journey and general information about their rights in terminals and online;
a complaint handling mechanism established by carriers and available to all passengers;
independent national bodies in each EU country with the mandate to enforce the regulation and, where appropriate, to impose penalties.
The regulation provides for the option of exemptions for domestic regular services and for regular services where a significant part is operated outside the EU.
WHEN DOES THIS REGULATION APPLY?

From 1 March 2013.
BACKGROUND
European Commission website on bus and coach passenger rights
Following the COVID-19 outbreak and introducing measures to cope with the impact of the crisis, the European Commission adopted:Commission Notice Interpretative Guidelines on EU passenger rights regulations in the context of the developing situation with Covid-19Commission Recommendation (EU) 2020/648 of 13 May 2020 on vouchers offered to passengers and travellers as an alternative to reimbursement for cancelled package travel and transport services in the context of the COVID-19 pandemicKEY TERMS
*regular services: ordinary bus and coach services carrying passengers along specified routes with pre-determined pick-up/stopping points.
REFERENCES
Act
Entry into force
Deadline for transposition in the Member States
Official Journal
Regulation (EU) No 181/2011
20.3.2011
-
OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, pp. 1-12
last update 02.06.2020


Input:
20.12.2013
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
L 347/884
COUNCIL REGULATION (EU, EURATOM) No 1311/2013
of 2 December 2013
laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 312 thereof,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 106a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to national parliaments,
Acting in accordance with a special legislative procedure,
Whereas:
(1)
The annual ceilings on commitments appropriations by category of expenditure and the annual ceilings on payment appropriations established by this Regulation must respect the ceilings set for commitments and own resources in Council Decision 2007/436/EC,Euratom (1).
(2)
Taking into account the need for an adequate level of predictability for preparing and implementing medium-term investments, the duration of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) should be set at seven years starting on 1 January 2014. A review will take place in 2016 at the latest, following the European Parliament elections. This will allow the institutions, including the European Parliament elected in 2014, to reassess the priorities. The results of this review should be taken into account in any revision of this Regulation for the remaining years of the MFF. This arrangement is hereinafter referred to as "review/revision".
(3)
In the context of the mid-term review/revision of the MFF, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission agree to jointly examine the most suitable duration for the subsequent MFF before the Commission presents its proposals with a view to striking the right balance between the duration of the respective terms of office of the members of the European Parliament and the European Commission - and the need for stability for programming cycles and investment predictability.
(4)
Specific and maximum possible flexibility should be implemented to allow the Union to fulfil its obligations in compliance with Article 323 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
(5)
The following special instruments are necessary to allow the Union to react to specified unforeseen circumstances, or to allow the financing of clearly identified expenditure which cannot be financed within the limits of the ceilings available for one or more headings as laid down in the MFF, thereby facilitating the budgetary procedure: the Emergency Aid Reserve, the European Union Solidarity Fund, the Flexibility Instrument, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, the Contingency Margin, the specific flexibility to tackle youth unemployment and strengthen research and the global margin for commitments for growth and employment, in particular youth employment. Specific provision should therefore be made for a possibility to enter commitment appropriations into the budget over and above the ceilings set out in the MFF where it is necessary to use special instruments.
(6)
If it is necessary to mobilise the guarantees given under the general budget of the Union for the loans provided under the Balance of Payment Facility or the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism set out in Council Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 (2) and in Council Regulation (EU) No 407/2010 (3), respectively, the necessary amount should be mobilised over and above the ceilings of the commitments and payments appropriations of the MFF, while respecting the own-resources ceiling.
(7)
The MFF should be laid down in 2011 prices. The rules for technical adjustments to the MFF to recalculate the ceilings and margins available should also be laid down.
(8)
The MFF should not take account of budget items financed by assigned revenue within the meaning of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) (the "Financial Regulation").
(9)
This Regulation might need to be revised in case of unforeseen circumstances that cannot be dealt with within ceilings established as part of the MFF. It is therefore necessary to provide for revision of the MFF in such cases.
(10)
Rules should be laid down for other situations that might require the MFF to be adjusted or revised. Such adjustments or revisions might be related to the implementation of the budget, measures linking effectiveness of funds to sound economic governance, revision of the Treaties, enlargements, the reunification of Cyprus, or delayed adoption of new rules governing certain policy areas.
(11)
The national envelopes for cohesion policy are established on the basis of the statistical data and forecasts used for the July 2012 update of the Commission proposal for this Regulation. Given the forecasting uncertainties and the impact for the capped Member States, and to take account of the particularly difficult situation of Member States suffering from the crisis, the Commission will, in 2016, review all Member States' total allocations under the "Investment for growth and jobs" goal of cohesion policy for the years 2017 to 2020.
(12)
It is necessary to provide for general rules on interinstitutional cooperation in the budgetary procedure.
(13)
Specific rules are also necessary for dealing with large-scale infrastructure projects whose lifetime extends well beyond the period set for the MFF. It is necessary to establish maximum amounts for the contributions from the general budget of the Union to those projects, thereby ensuring that they do not have any impact on other projects financed from that budget.
(14)
The Commission should present a proposal for a new multiannual financial framework before 1 January 2018, to enable the institutions to adopt it sufficiently in advance of the start of the subsequent multiannual financial framework. This Regulation should continue to apply in the event that a new financial framework is not adopted before the end of the term of the MFF laid down in this Regulation.
(15)
The Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions were consulted and have adopted opinions (5),
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTER 1
General provisions
Article 1
Multiannual Financial Framework
The multiannual financial framework for the period 2014 to 2020 (the "MFF") is set out in the Annex.
Article 2
Mid-term review/revision of the MFF
By the end of 2016 at the latest, the Commission shall present a review of the functioning of the MFF taking full account of the economic situation at that time as well as the latest macroeconomic projections. This compulsory review shall, as appropriate, be accompanied by a legislative proposal for the revision of this Regulation in accordance with the procedures set out in the TFEU. Without prejudice to Article 7 of this Regulation, preallocated national envelopes shall not be reduced through such a revision.
Article 3
Compliance with the ceilings of the MFF
1.   The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall, during each budgetary procedure and when implementing the budget for the year concerned, comply with the annual expenditure ceilings set out in the MFF.
The sub-ceiling for Heading 2 as set out in the Annex is established without prejudice to the flexibility between the two pillars of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The adjusted ceiling to be applied to pillar I of the CAP following the transfers between the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and direct payments shall be laid down in the relevant legal act and the MFF shall be adjusted accordingly under the technical adjustment provided for in Article 6(1) of this Regulation.
2.   The special instruments provided for in Articles 9 to 15 shall ensure the flexibility of the MFF and shall be laid down in order to allow the budget procedure to run smoothly. The commitment appropriations may be entered in the budget over and above the ceilings of the relevant headings laid down in the MFF where it is necessary to use the resources from the Emergency Aid Reserve, the European Union Solidarity Fund, the Flexibility Instrument, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, the Contingency Margin, the specific flexibility to tackle youth unemployment and strengthen research and the global margin for commitments for growth and employment, in particular youth employment, in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 (6), Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7), and the Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (8).
3.   Where a guarantee for a loan covered by the general budget of the Union in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 or Regulation (EU) No 407/2010 needs to be mobilised, it shall be over and above the ceilings laid down in the MFF.
Article 4
Respect of own resources ceiling
1.   For each of the years covered by the MFF, the total appropriations for payments required, after annual adjustment and taking account of any other adjustments and revisions as well as the application of paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 3, shall not be such as to produce a call-in rate for own resources that exceeds the own resources ceiling set in accordance with Decision 2007/436/EC, Euratom.
2.   Where necessary, the ceilings set in the MFF shall be lowered by way of revision in order to ensure compliance with the own-resources ceiling set in accordance with Decision 2007/436/EC, Euratom.
Article 5
Global margin for payments
1.   Every year, starting in 2015, as part of the technical adjustment referred to in Article 6, the Commission shall adjust the payment ceiling for the years 2015-2020 upwards by an amount equivalent to the difference between the executed payments and the MFF payment ceiling of the year n-1.
2.   The annual adjustments shall not exceed the following maximum amounts (in 2011 prices) for the years 2018-2020 as compared to the original payment ceiling of the relevant years:
2018 - EUR 7 billion
2019 - EUR 9 billion
2020 - EUR 10 billion.
3.   Any upward adjustment shall be fully offset by a corresponding reduction of the payment ceiling for year n-1.
Article 6
Technical adjustments
1.   Each year the Commission, acting ahead of the budgetary procedure for year n+1, shall make the following technical adjustments to the MFF:
(a)
revaluation, at year n+1 prices, of the ceilings and of the overall figures for appropriations for commitments and appropriations for payments;
(b)
calculation of the margin available under the own-resources ceiling set in accordance with Decision 2007/436/EC, Euratom;
(c)
calculation of the absolute amount of the Contingency Margin provided for in Article 13;
(d)
calculation of the global margin for payments provided for in Article 5;
(e)
calculation of the global margin for commitments provided for in Article 14.
2.   The Commission shall make the technical adjustments referred to in paragraph 1 on the basis of a fixed deflator of 2 % per year.
3.   The Commission shall communicate the results of the technical adjustments referred to in paragraph 1 and the underlying economic forecasts to the European Parliament and the Council.
4.   Without prejudice to Article 7 and 8, no further technical adjustments shall be made in respect of the year concerned, either during the year or as ex-post corrections during subsequent years.
Article 7
Adjustment of cohesion policy envelopes
1.   To take account of the particularly difficult situation of Member States suffering from the crisis, the Commission shall in 2016, together with the technical adjustment for the year 2017, review all Member States' total allocations under the "Investment for growth and jobs" goal of cohesion policy for the years 2017 to 2020, applying the allocation method defined in the relevant basic act on the basis of the then available most recent statistics and of the comparison, for the capped Member States, between the cumulated national GDP observed for the years 2014 and 2015 and the cumulated national GDP estimated in 2012. It shall adjust those total allocations whenever there is a cumulative divergence of more than +/- 5 %.
2.   The adjustments required shall be spread in equal proportions over the years 2017-2020 and the corresponding ceilings of the MFF shall be modified accordingly. The payment ceilings shall also be modified accordingly to ensure an orderly progression in relation to the appropriations for commitments.
3.   In its technical adustment for the year 2017, following the mid-term review of the eligibility of Member States for the Cohesion Fund provided for in Article 90(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9), in case a Member State either becomes newly eligible to the Cohesion Fund or loses its existing eligibility, the Commission shall add or subtract the resulting amounts to or from the funds allocated to the Member State for the years 2017 to 2020.
4.   The required adjustments resulting from paragraph 3 shall be spread in equal proportions over the years 2017-2020 and the corresponding ceilings of the MFF shall be modified accordingly. The payment ceilings shall also be modified accordingly to ensure an orderly progression in relation to the appropriations for commitments.
5.   The total net effect, whether positive or negative, of the adjustments referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 shall not exceed EUR 4 billion.
Article 8
Adjustments related to measures linking effectiveness of funds to sound economic governance
In the case of the lifting by the Commission of a suspension of budgetary commitments concerning the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development or the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund in the context of measures linking effectiveness of funds to sound economic governance, the Commission, in accordance with the relevant basic act, shall transfer the suspended commitments to the following years. Suspended commitments of year n may not be re-budgeted beyond year n+3.
CHAPTER 2
Special instruments
Article 9
Emergency Aid Reserve
1.   The Emergency Aid Reserve is intended to allow for a rapid response to specific aid requirements of third countries following events which could not be foreseen when the budget was established, first and foremost for humanitarian operations, but also for civil crisis management and protection, and situations of particular pressure resulting from migratory flows at the Union's external borders where circumstances so require.
2.   The annual amount of the Reserve is fixed at EUR 280 million (2011 prices) and may be used up to year n+1 in accordance with the Financial Regulation. The Reserve shall be entered in the general budget of the Union as a provision. The portion of the annual amount stemming from the previous year shall be drawn on first. That portion of the annual amount from year n which is not used in year n+1 shall lapse.
Article 10
European Union Solidarity Fund
1.   The European Union Solidarity Fund is intended to allow financial assistance in the event of major disasters occurring on the territory of a Member State or of a candidate country, as defined in the relevant basic act. There shall be a ceiling on the annual amount available for that Fund of EUR 500 million (2011 prices). On 1 October each year, at least one quarter of the annual amount shall remain available in order to cover needs arising until the end of that year. The portion of the annual amount not entered in the budget may be used up to year n+1. The portion of the annual amount stemming from the previous year shall be drawn on first. That portion of the annual amount from year n which is not used in year n+1 shall lapse.
2.   In exceptional cases and if the remaining financial resources available in the European Union Solidarity Fund in the year of occurrence of the disaster, as defined in the relevant basic act, are not sufficient to cover the amount of assistance considered necessary by the European Parliament and the Council, the Commission may propose that the difference be financed through the annual amounts available for the following year.
Article 11
Flexibility Instrument
1.   The Flexibility Instrument is intended to allow the financing, for a given financial year, of clearly identified expenditure which could not be financed within the limits of the ceilings available for one or more other headings. There shall be a ceiling on the annual amount available for the Flexibility Instrument of EUR 471 million (2011 prices).
2.   The unused portion of the annual amount of the Flexibility Instrument may be used up to year n+3. The portion of the annual amount stemming from previous years shall be used first, in order of age. That portion of the annual amount from year n which is not used in year n+3 shall lapse.
Article 12
European Globalisation Adjustment Fund
1.   The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, the objectives and scope of which are defined in Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, shall not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 150 million (2011 prices).
2.   The appropriations for the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund shall be entered in the general budget of the Union as a provision.
Article 13
Contingency Margin
1.   A Contingency Margin of up to 0,03 % of the Gross National Income of the Union shall be constituted outside the ceilings of the MFF, as a last-resort instrument to react to unforeseen circumstances. It may be mobilised only in relation to an amending or annual budget.
2.   Recourse to the Contingency Margin shall not exceed, at any given year, the maximum amount foreseen in the annual technical adjustment of the MFF, and shall be consistent with the own-resources ceiling.
3.   Amounts made available through the mobilisation of the Contingency Margin shall be fully offset against the margins in one or more MFF headings for the current or future financial years.
4.   The amounts thus offset shall not be further mobilised in the context of the MFF. Recourse to the Contingency Margin shall not result in exceeding the total ceilings of commitment and payment appropriations laid down in the MFF for the current and future financial years.
Article 14
Global margin for commitments for growth and employment, in particular youth employment
1.   Margins left available below the MFF ceilings for commitment appropriations for the years 2014-2017 shall constitute a Global MFF Margin for commitments, to be made available over and above the ceilings established in the MFF for the years 2016 to 2020 for policy objectives related to growth and employment, in particular youth employment.
2.   Each year, as part of the technical adjustment provided for in Article 6, the Commission shall calculate the amount available. The Global MFF Margin or part thereof may be mobilised by the European Parliament and the Council in the framework of the budgetary procedure pursuant to Article 314 TFEU.
Article 15
Specific flexibility to tackle youth unemployment and strengthen research
Up to EUR 2 543 million(in 2011 prices) may be frontloaded in 2014 and 2015, as part of the annual budgetary procedure, for specified policy objectives relating to youth employment, research, ERASMUS in particular for apprenticeships, and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. That amount shall be fully offset against appropriations within and/or between headings in order to leave unchanged the total annual ceilings for the period 2014-2020 and the total allocation per heading or sub-heading over the period.
Article 16
Contribution to the financing of large-scale projects
1.   A maximum amount of EUR 6 300 million (in 2011 prices) shall be available for the European satellite navigation programmes (EGNOS and Galileo) from the general budget of the Union for the period 2014-2020.
2.   A maximum amount of EUR 2 707 million (in 2011 prices) shall be available for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project (ITER) from the general budget of the Union for the period 2014-2020.
3.   A maximum amount of EUR 3 786 million (in 2011 prices) shall be available for Copernicus (the European Earth Observation Programme) from the general budget of the Union for the period 2014-2020.
CHAPTER 3
Revision
Article 17
Revision of the MFF
1.   Without prejudice to Article 4(2), Articles 18 to 22 and Article 25, in the event of unforeseen circumstances, the MFF may be revised in compliance with the own-resources ceiling set in accordance with Decision 2007/436/EC, Euratom.
2.   As a general rule, any proposal for a revision of the MFF in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be presented and adopted before the start of the budgetary procedure for the year or the first of the years concerned.
3.   Any proposal for revision of the MFF in accordance with paragraph 1 shall examine the scope for reallocating expenditure between the programmes covered by the heading concerned by the revision, with particular reference to any expected under-utilisation of appropriations. The objective should be that a significant amount, in absolute terms and as a percentage of the new expenditure planned, shall be within the existing ceiling for the heading.
4.   Any revision of the MFF in accordance with paragraph 1 shall take into account the scope for offsetting any raising of the ceiling for one heading by the lowering of the ceiling for another.
5.   Any revision of the MFF in accordance with paragraph 1 shall maintain an appropriate relationship between commitments and payments.
Article 18
Revision related to implementation
When notifying the European Parliament and the Council of the results of the technical adjustments to the MFF, the Commission shall present any proposals to revise the total appropriations for payments which it considers necessary, in the light of implementation, to ensure a sound management of the yearly payments ceilings and, in particular, their orderly progression in relation to the appropriations for commitments. The European Parliament and the Council shall decide on those proposals before 1 May of year n.
Article 19
Revision following new rules or programmes for the Structural Funds, the Cohesion Fund the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the European Maritim and Fisheries Fund, the Asylum and Migration Fund and the Internal Security Fund
1.   In the event of the adoption after 1 January 2014 of new rules or programmes under shared management for the Structural Funds, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, the Asylum and Migration Fund and the Internal Security Fund, the MFF shall be revised in order to transfer to subsequent years, in excess of the corresponding expenditure ceilings, allocations not used in 2014.
2.   The revision concerning the transfer of unused allocation for the year 2014 shall be adopted before 1 May 2015.
Article 20
Revision of the MFF in case of a revision of the Treaties
Should a revision of the Treaties with budgetary implications occur between 2014 and 2020, the MFF shall be revised accordingly.
Article 21
Revision of the MFF in the event of enlargement of the Union
If there is an accession or accessions to the Union between 2014 and 2020, the MFF shall be revised to take account of the expenditure requirements resulting therefrom.
Article 22
Revision of the MFF in the event of the reunification of Cyprus
In the event of of the reunification of Cyprus between 2014 and 2020, the MFF shall be revised to take account of the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem and the additional financial needs resulting from the reunification.
Article 23
Interinstitutional cooperation in the budgetary procedure
The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (hereinafter "the institutions") shall take measures to facilitate the annual budgetary procedure.
The institutions shall cooperate in good faith throughout the procedure with a view to reconciling their positions. The institutions shall, at all stages of the procedure, cooperate through appropriate interinstitutional contacts in order to monitor the progress of the work and analyse the degree of convergence.
The institutions shall ensure that their respective calendars of work are coordinated as far as possible, in order to enable proceedings to be conducted in a coherent and convergent fashion, leading to the final adoption of the general budget of the Union.
Trilogues may be held at all stages of the procedure and at different levels of representation, depending on the nature of the expected discussions. Each institution, in accordance with its own rules of procedure, shall designate its participants for each meeting, define its mandate for the negotiations and inform the other institutions in good time of the arrangements for the meetings.
Article 24
Unity of the budget
All expenditure and revenue of the Union and Euratom shall be included in the general budget of the Union in accordance with Article 7 of the Financial Regulation, including expenditure resulting from any relevant decision taken unanimously by the Council after consulting the European Parliament, in the framework of Article 332 TFEU.
Article 25
Transition towards the next multiannual financial framework
Before 1 January 2018, the Commission shall present a proposal for a new multiannual financial framework.
If no Council regulation determining a new multiannual financial framework has been adopted before 31 December 2020, the ceilings and other provisions corresponding to the last year of the MFF shall be extended until a regulation determining a new financial framework is adopted. If a new Member State accedes to the Union after 2020, the extended financial framework shall, if necessary, be revised in order to take the accesion into account.
Article 26
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 January 2014.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 2 December 2013.
For the Council
The President
E. GUSTAS
(1)  Council Decision 2007/436/EC, Euratom of 7 June 2007 on the system of the European Communities' own resources (OJ L 163, 23.6.2007, p. 17).
(2)  Council Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 of 18 February 2002 establishing a facility providing medium-term financial assistance for Member States' balances of payments (OJ L 53, 23.2.2002, p. 1).
(3)  Council Regulation (EU) No 407/2010 of 11 May 2010 establishing a European financial stabilisation mechanism (OJ L 118, 12.5.2010, p. 1).
(4)  Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1).
(5)  Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the 'Proposal for a Council Regulation laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020' (OJ C 229, 31.7.2012, p. 32); Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on 'New Multiannual Financial Framework post-2013' (OJ C 391, 18.12.2012, p. 31).
(6)  Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund (OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p. 3).
(7)  Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on establishing the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (JO L 406, 30.12.2006, p. 1).
(8)  Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 2 December 2013 on budgetary discipline, cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management (OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1).
(9)  Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund covered by the Common Strategic Framework and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (See page 320 of this Official Journal.).
ANNEX I
MULTIANNUAL FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK (EU-28)
(EUR million - 2011 prices)
COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Total 2014–2020
1.
Smart and Inclusive Growth
60 283
61 725
62 771
64 238
65 528
67 214
69 004
450 763
1a:
Competitiveness for growth and jobs
15 605
16 321
16 726
17 693
18 490
19 700
21 079
125 614
1b:
Economic, social and territorial cohesion
44 678
45 404
46 045
46 545
47 038
47 514
47 925
325 149
2.
Sustainable Growth: Natural Resources
55 883
55 060
54 261
53 448
52 466
51 503
50 558
373 179
of which: Market related expenditure and direct payments
41 585
40 989
40 421
39 837
39 079
38 335
37 605
277 851
3.
Security and citizenship
2 053
2 075
2 154
2 232
2 312
2 391
2 469
15 686
4.
Global Europe
7 854
8 083
8 281
8 375
8 553
8 764
8 794
58 704
5.
Administration
8 218
8 385
8 589
8 807
9 007
9 206
9 417
61 629
of which: Administrative expenditure of the institutions
6 649
6 791
6 955
7 110
7 278
7 425
7 590
49 798
6.
Compensations
27
0
0
0
0
0
0
27
TOTAL COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS
134 318
135 328
136 056
137 100
137 866
139 078
140 242
959 988
as a percentage of GNI
1,03 %
1,02 %
1,00 %
1,00 %
0,99 %
0,98 %
0,98 %
1,00 %
TOTAL PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS
128 030
131 095
131 046
126 777
129 778
130 893
130 781
908 400
as a percentage of GNI
0,98 %
0,98 %
0,97 %
0,92 %
0,93 %
0,93 %
0,91 %
0,95 %
Margin available
0,25 %
0,25 %
0,26 %
0,31 %
0,30 %
0,30 %
0,32 %
0,28 %
Own Resources Ceiling as a percentage of GNI
1,23 %
1,23 %
1,23 %
1,23 %
1,23 %
1,23 %
1,23 %
1,23 %

Output:
Multiannual EU budget (2014-2020)
Multiannual EU budget (2014-2020)
SUMMARY OF:
Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 — the EU’s multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020
WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It sets out the maximum annual amounts that can be spent on the EU’s different policy areas over the 2014-2020 period.
KEY POINTS

The EU adopted the 7-year plan for the 2014-2020 period in December 2013. The multiannual financial framework (MFF) amounts to €960 billion in commitments (legal promise to provide finance, assuming certain conditions are met) and €908.4 billion in payments (actual transfers to beneficiaries) over the 7-year period, expressed in constant prices of the year 2011.The MFF regulation lays down ceilings (maximum amounts) for each category of EU spending over the period. These must be respected when agreeing the EU’s annual budgets.The 2014-2020 MFF is broken down into headings, as follows.
Heading 1 - Smart and inclusive growth: €450.763 billion (of which €325.149 billion for economic, social and territorial cohesion).
Heading 2 - Sustainable growth: natural resources: €373.179 billion.
Heading 3 - Security and citizenship: €15.686 billion.
Heading 4 - Global Europe: €58.704 billion.
Heading 5 - Administration: €61.629 billion.
A central focus of the 2014-2020 MFF is on growth and employment. Subheading 1a on ‘competitiveness’ has increased by over 37% compared with the previous 2007-2013 MFF, reflecting the importance of this political priority. However, the new MFF is smaller than its predecessor, given that many EU countries face budgetary pressures on the home front.
The MFF regulation also provides for special instruments that allow the EU to react to specified, unforeseen circumstances. It can also allow the financing of clearly identified expenditure that cannot be financed within the limits of the ceilings that are available for one or more headings, notably:
the Emergency Aid Reserve (used to finance, for example, humanitarian aid and civilian crisis management);
the
European Union Solidarity Fund;
the Flexibility Instrument;
the
European Globalisation Adjustment Fund;
the Contingency Margin (a last-resort instrument to react to unforeseen circumstances).
An interinstitutional agreement on budgetary discipline, cooperation in budgetary matters and sound financial management was also agreed between the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission. This should rationalise the annual budgetary procedure and complement the MFF regulation.
Reallocation of 2014 unused commitments
The MFF regulation provides that in the event of the adoption of programmes under shared management for the Structural and Investment Funds, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Internal Security Fund after 1 January 2014, the MFF should be revised to reallocate the amounts not used in 2014 to subsequent years.As a result, the MFF regulation has been revised so as to allow the transfer of 2014’s unused commitments: €16.5 billion to 2015, €4.5 billion to 2016 and €0.1 billion to 2017. This was due to the late adoption of 300 out of the 645 EU programmes in areas covered by the abovementioned EU funds.The revision of the EU’s MFF keeps the total expenditure ceilings unchanged and involves no additional money.
Review
The MFF had to be reviewed no later than in 2016 to allow the European Parliament (elected in 2014), the Council and the Commission (appointed in 2014) to reassess the priorities for the remaining years of the framework. This assessment was undertaken in light of the economic situation at the time as well as of the latest macroeconomic projections.
Following the mid-term reviewRegulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 was amended by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2017/1123 in 2017. The revised MFF increases the resources earmarked for the EU’s main priorities by €6.01 billion for the years 2017-2020, as follows:
€2.08 billion for boosting growth and creating jobs through programmes such as the youth employment initiative (+ €1.2 billion), Horizon 2020 (+ €200 million), and Erasmus+ (+ €100 million);
€2.55 billion for addressing migration, enhancing security and strengthening external border control;
€1.39 billion for tackling the root causes of migration.
Each year, ahead of the budgetary procedure for the following year, the Commission makes a technical adjustment to the MFF in line with movements in the EU’s gross national income and prices. The results of this adjustment for 2018 were first communicated to the European Parliament and the Council in May 2017. However, these results were subsequently revised to take into account the 2017 amendment to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 and were communicated to the European Parliament and the Council in September 2017.
FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 1 January 2014.
BACKGROUND

For more information, see:
Multiannual financial framework (European Commission)
Multiannual financial framework (Council).
MAIN DOCUMENT

Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, pp. 884-891)
Successive amendments to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 have been incorporated into the original document. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.
RELATED DOCUMENTS

Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament — Technical adjustment of the financial framework for 2018 in line with movements in GNI (ESA 2010) (Article 6 of Council Regulation No 1311/2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020) updating and replacing Communication COM(2017)220 final (COM(2017) 473 final, 15.9.2017)
Interinstitutional agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management (OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, pp. 1-11)
last update 29.11.2017