Ms. Kuneva, what are the main goals of the “Your Passenger Rights At Hand” program? What are the main consumer rights which need protection in transportation services?

- The program “Your Passenger Rights At Hand” officially started on June 29, 2010 in Brussels. Its main goal is to inform in an easy and practical way people, who use air and railroad transport services about their rights, how to protect them and where to address any complaints, if the rights are not observed.

The program is also directed toward people with diminished mobility and with disabilities. Very often they are discriminated deliberately. Now we have active European legislation, which protects their right of mobility.

The main consumer rights that need protection, are the mobility rights and the high quality of service rights.

These are namely the goals of EU’s transport policy.


What data do you have regarding transport services in Bulgaria? Is there enough rights protection for Bulgarian citizens and what should be done in order to protect their rights when using such services?

- It seems that in Bulgaria during the last several years road transport was tolerated at the expense of railroad transport. It is undeniable that road transport brings more revenue despite higher prices and the bad condition of national roads. Another paradox is that BDZ, the railroad transport operator, is the largest employer in the country - it has 14 900 workers and most of them are not qualified or near retirement age; in the same time the volumes of passengers and freight is diminishing.

Only the lack of any complaints would be a sure sign that Bulgarian passengers’ rights are protected enough. It is needed from transport operators themselves to learn how to observe these rights, because this is also a way to survive in a highly competitive environment.

The start of Bulgarian legislation concerning consumer rights in the transport sector followed the country’s accession to the EU. This is good for our country, because the legislation is based on the higher standards from Europe and not on our old ones. Bulgarian institutions should apply this legislation in a proper way and the passengers should know their rights and require more from operators.


There is a special accent in the campaign on people with reduced mobility. What should be done in the EU and in Bulgaria in order to protect these people’s rights for free mobility?

- The campaign itself is a way to protect their right of movement. Its goal is not only to inform the people. The idea is all of us to be aware, that this is hard for these people and they need not only a right of mobility, but also conditions to use it.

There is already EU legislation, which should be observed. The state should decide on its part whether it would control in a way the application of laws and whether it will create suitable conditions for the existence of such rules.


Do you expect some growth of transport services prices in Europe as a result of your campaign? For instance, low-cost airlines allow small volume of hand luggage, but provide lower prices. What is the reasonable balance between quality and prices?

- A campaign would not be able to cause higher prices of transport services. It has an informative character and does not affect demand or supply.

I do not consider stricter requirements for hand luggage as a sign of low quality of service.

The reasonable balance between quality and price is the quality, which you can afford at a given price. The important thing is to feel comfortable and to be satisfied.


What is your opinion concerning the members of the airline associations such as Star Alliance, OneWorld и Sky Team? Is there a risk of breaching European anti-trust legislation with such cooperation of service providers?

- It is normal for every company in a competitive environment to look for possibilities to diminish costs and generate profits faster. However, this profit should not be at the expense of quality and safety.

There is always a risk when such associations exist, but there is also a way to regulate them. It also depends on the level of interference from the state.

It is an interesting fact that Star Alliance, OneWorld and Sky Team are all founded in a 3-year time frame (1997 г., 1999 г., 2000 г.). Maybe the market then created conditions for that.


Since a long time a solution is expected on the matter of the approval that Aeroflot has to give for every flight between Europe and Russia. Does the European Commission plan to take counter-actions against the Russian airline?

- As you know, on October 28, 2010, the European Commission started a procedure against France, Germany, Austria, and Finland because of the transit fees, that airlines from these countries contracted in order to fly over Russian territory. In 2 months the European Commission expects their answer in a written form.

Russia still does not affirm the right of all EU providers to be treated equally. According to the EC, when a EU country signs a contract with Russia, this is also valid for all other member-states.

The counter-actions from the European Commission may not be a good option, as the EU would thus violate its own “EU designation clause”.


There is a trend for market consolidation in the passenger and freight railway transport, which causes losses for many small operators. Does the Commission plan any actions in order to preserve a larger number of operators in the market or it would rather support the market consolidation?

- During an economic crisis consolidation is a survival tool. The Commission could not regulate the number of operators and any actions in this direction would be contradicting to market liberalization and free competition.


Some experts consider that transport should be regulated in coordination with energy markets regulation. Do you support this opinion or should we rather look at the transport sector separately from the primary energy resources topic?

- Transport and energy are interconnected and interdependent. They are part of the global economy and affect the extent to which a given state can integrate into European infrastructure. Energy policy was the foundation for the European project. Both sectors face big challenges - climate change and environmental pollution. Both sectors are looking for renewable resources. After Bulgaria’s accession to the EU, they are being regulated not only on a national level, but also on European level. The Maastricht Treaty has a text about Trans-European energy, transport and communication networks, which is financed by the European Community and the European Investment Bank.
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Meglena Kuneva is born in Sofia. She graduated from the Law Faculty of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, where she also became a Doctor of Law. She specialized in a number of universities abroad: International Relations at Oxford Centre, London, and International Environmental Law at Georgetown University in Washington DC, USA. In 2007 she became the first Bulgarian member of the European Commission in the field of Consumer Protection. Currently Ms. Kuneva is political counselor of Siim Kallas - vice-president of the European Commission and European Commissioner for transport sector.