European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples". The EU has political institutions, social and economic policies, which transcend nation states for the purpose of cooperation and human development. According to its Court of Justice, the EU represents "a new legal order of international law".
The Air Passengers Rights Regulation 2004 is a regulation in EU law establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding, flight cancellations, or long delays of flights. It requires compensation of €250 to €600 depending on the flight distance for delays over of at least three hours, cancellations, or being denied boarding from overbooking. Delays shorter than three hours means no entitlement to any compensation of any kind even if the delay was classified as non-extraordinary. Airlines must provide refreshments and accommodation where appropriate. The Court of Justice of the European Union has interpreted passenger rights strictly, so that there are virtually no exceptions for airlines to evade their obligations for breach of contract.
An airline ticket is a document or electronic record, issued by an airline or a travel agency, that confirms that an individual is entitled to a seat on a flight on an aircraft. The airline ticket may be one of two types: a paper ticket, which comprises coupons or vouchers; and an electronic ticket.
Railteam B.V. is a closed company with limited liability (B.V.) based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It operates as an alliance of European railway companies in the field of international high-speed rail in Europe, modelled on the airline alliances and was founded in Brussels on 2 July 2007.
CIV or International Convention for the transportation of Passengers in rail transport refers to a set of uniform rules shared by European railway operators, to cover international journeys.
As of 2009, Finland has used three models for local public transport. The implementation of these models was regulated by national laws of passenger transport, which were abolished after European Union regulations and laws of public transport service (869/2009) came into effect on December 3, 2009. The Finnish government-owned railways are regulated by specific laws. The local railways in Helsinki are regulated by the city's own laws and regulations.
Transport in the European Union is a shared competence of the Union and its member states. The European Commission includes a Commissioner for Transport, currently Adina Ioana Vălean. Since 2012, the commission also includes a Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport which develops EU policies in the transport sector and manages funding for Trans-European Networks and technological development and innovation, worth €850 million yearly for the period 2000–2006.
United Kingdom enterprise law concerns the ownership and regulation of organisations producing goods and services in the UK, European and international economy. Private enterprises are usually incorporated under the Companies Act 2006, regulated by company law, competition law, and insolvency law, while almost one third of the workforce and half of the UK economy is in enterprises subject to special regulation. Enterprise law mediates the rights and duties of investors, workers, consumers and the public to ensure efficient production, and deliver services that UK and international law sees as universal human rights. Labour, company, competition and insolvency law create general rights for stakeholders, and set a basic framework for enterprise governance, but rules of governance, competition and insolvency are altered in specific enterprises to uphold the public interest, as well as civil and social rights. Universities and schools have traditionally been publicly established, and socially regulated, to ensure universal education. The National Health Service was set up in 1946 to provide everyone with free health care, regardless of class or income, paid for by progressive taxation. The UK government controls monetary policy and regulates private banking through the publicly owned Bank of England, to complement its fiscal policy. Taxation and spending composes nearly half of total economic activity, but this has diminished since 1979.
The Erika legislative packages of the European Union are maritime laws intended to improve safety in the shipping industry and thereby reduce environmental damage to the oceans.
The Single European Railway Directive 2012 is an EU Directive that regulates railway networks in European Union law. This recast the First Railway Directive" and consolidates legislation from each of the first to the fourth "Package" from 1991 to 2016, and allows open access operations on railway lines by companies other than those that own the rail infrastructure. The legislation was extended by further directives to include cross border transit of freight.
The third railway package is a collection of European Union legislation, intended to revitalise railways across Europe and open up passenger services to competition.
Unfair terms in English contract law are regulated under three major pieces of legislation, compliance with which is enforced by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 is the first main Act, which covers some contracts that have exclusion and limitation clauses. For example, it will not extend to cover contracts which are mentioned in Schedule I, consumer contracts, and international supply contracts. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 replaced the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and bolstered further requirements for consumer contracts. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 concerns certain sales practices.
The fourth railway package is a set of changes to rail transport regulation in the European Union law. It covers standards and authorisation for rolling stock; workforce skills; independent management of infrastructure; and the liberalisation of domestic passenger services in an attempt to reduce European rail subsidies.
Passenger rights are the rights of passengers of public transportation. According to passenger rights regulations, a person may be entitled to compensation in the case of:
The European Union Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM) legislation is intended to ensure that Persons with Reduced Mobility traveling via public transport, whether by air, land or sea, should have equal access to travel as compared to travelers with unrestricted mobility. Travel providers are compelled to provide and install sufficient access facilities to enable Passenger with Reduced Mobility to enjoy similar access to other passengers.
European company law is the part of European Union law which concerns the formation, operation and insolvency of companies in the European Union. The EU creates minimum standards for companies throughout the EU, and has its own corporate forms. All member states continue to operate separate companies acts, which are amended from time to time to comply with EU Directives and Regulations. There is, however, also the option of businesses to incorporate as a Societas Europaea (SE), which allows a company to operate across all member states.
European consumer law concerns consumer protection within Europe, particularly through European Union law and the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 169 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union enables the EU to use its ordinary legislative procedure to protect consumers "health, safety and economic interests" and promote rights to "information, education and to organise themselves in order to safeguard their interests". All member states may grant higher protection, and a "high level of consumer protection" is regarded as a fundamental right. Consumers are entitled to a legislative "charter of rights" to safe and healthy products, fair terms, proper information free from misleading advertising and marketing, and rights of cancellation. Beyond these general principles, and outside specific sectors, there are four main Directives: the Product Liability Directive 1985, Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Directive 1993, Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005 and the Consumer Rights Directive 2011, requiring information and cancellation rights for consumers. As a whole, the law is designed to ensure that consumers in the EU are entitled to the same minimum rights wherever they make their transactional decisions, and largely follows inspiration from theories of consumer protection developed in California, and the Consumer Bill of Rights proclaimed by John F. Kennedy in May 1962. The European Court of Justice has continually affirmed the importance of ensuring more consumer rights than in commercial contracts, both because of information asymmetry, and inequality of bargaining power.
The Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) is a commercial agreement between 17 major European rail operators, to allow international train passengers on the next possible train without additional costs, in case of a missed train connection.
The Information Society Service (ISS) described by EU Directive2015/1535 is an EU Directive that aims to define the concept of an information society service, which is relevant to regulate big tech and online media services.
