Italy referred to Court for failing to protect rail passengers’ rights

The European Commission scolds our country for not establishing the required mechanism for defending rail passengers. In the monthly infringement package, Italy urged to respect EU rules on copyright and on environmental impact assessment

They could complain for lot more than a reason, yet rail passengers in Italy do not have the necessary tools to have their rights respected. This is the reason for another problem the European Commission underlined about our country, during the presentation of the March infringement package. As usual, Italy gets plenty of bad marks for failing to comply, or for incorrectly implementing, EU rules: this month we will receive two reasoned opinions and a referring to the Court of Justice of the EU. The worst thing deals with the failure to comply with EU rules on rail passengers’ rights.

As highlighted by the Commission, in particular, has not yet established an official and authorised body for the application of the Regulation in its territory, nor has it set up rules to sanction violations of rail passenger rights legislation. The obligations were to be fully applied by the end of 2009 for protecting rail passengers – yet nowadays they have no instruments to protect themselves from the numerous problems of the Italian rail system.

“All EU Member States must ensure effective structures are in place for passengers to claim their rights and to punish violations,” said Siim Kallass, EU Commissioner for Transport; this is the only way to guarantee “a level playing field for the rail transport industry across the EU,” he added.

The Commission has been trying to call Italy to order for a long time: in June 2013 it has sent a letter of formal notice concerning the compliance with the Regulation, and a reasoned opinion followed in November 2013. Despite these proceedings, full compliance is still pending in Italy, so the Commission has referred Italy to Court.

And this is not enough. We are also asked to respect EU rules on copyright, particularly in reference to legal protection of designs (for example, the design of a piece of furniture). According to EU rules, a design protected by a design right shall also be eligible for protection under copyright law, however, under Italian law, designs pre-dating the implementation of the Directive in Italy are excluded from copyright protection for a period of 13 years.

The third problem underlined by the Commission deals with the Italian law on environmental impact assessment. Italy is asked to ensure that projects likely to have a significant impact on the environment are assessed before they are authorised, so that people are aware of the possible effects. The Commission’s concerns include the definition of “project” in Italian legislation, the provisions regarding public participation in EIA procedures, and the scope of certain project categories. A letter of formal notice was sent in April 2009, followed by a complementary letter of formal notice in February 2012. While several issues have been resolved, most of the grievances raised by the Commission are still pending.

The Commission sent a reasoned opinion on both issues to Italy, and if Italy fails to act within two months, the case may be referred to the EU Court of Justice. Currently, Italy accounts for over 119 open cases at the Court – a record in the EU28, which could even grow much bigger. Just arrived in Brussels, Sandro Gozi, current Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, warned about the possibility of about twenty cases to be opened against Italy. It seems he was right.

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