Travel and Covid, vouchers instead of refunds: the EU puts Italy under infringement proceedings

After parole the facts have come. As anticipated in recent days by Republic, the European Commission has launched two infringement procedures against Italy for trampling on the rights of those traveling by plane, ferry and bus, violating EU legislation.

The subject of the dispute has been known for some time: to transport companies that cancel a trip for reasons related to Covid-19, Italy allows until 30 September to issue a voucher equal to that of the ticket. Without giving the traveler the opportunity to choose between this and the refund within a week, as provided for by regulation 261 of 2004.

The procedure, which the Commission has also launched against Greece, can lead to heavy penalties but, at the moment, it is in its initial phase. The two countries now have two months to reply to the EU executive, even if the dialogue has already been well underway for some time, even if it is unproductive.

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In fact, in recent days the ministers Paola De Micheli (Transport) and Dario Franceschini (Culture and tourism) they had tried to soften the Commission proposing to reintroduce the choice between voucher and reimbursement starting from next 31 July. But the negotiation has not even started: too little, considering that the law 27 of 2020, the one that transformed the Dl Cura Italia into law and introduced the gift to the airlines, openly violates a community regulation that, until February, will not had never been questioned.

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The fact that there is no room for negotiation is clarified by the Commission statement itself, in the passage in which it says that “during the crisis”, the European executive has “constantly clarified that consumer rights remain valid even in this unprecedented context, and that the measures taken by nations to support industry “must not affect them.

The second infringement procedure concerns the same case – that is, the voucher imposed by law – but applied to package travel, those “all inclusive”. In this case, the tour operators issue the vouchers, but the substance does not change because Europe always gives travelers the right to choose. This second proceeding concerns ten Member States. Besides Italy there are also Czech Republic, Cyprus, Greece, France, Croatia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia.

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