Università Roma Tre

EU TRANSPORT LAW
7 ECTS
(Professor Vincenzo Zeno-Zencovich with Professor Margherita Colangelo)

Course description:
The course aims at introducing the EU policies in the field of transport and their intersections with many other relevant aspects: competition, environmental protection, consumer rights, external relations.
In particular the course will focus on two of the means of transport which have undergone – and are still undergoing – a considerable development in EU law: air transport and rail transport.
As to the first the course will examine
a) From monopoly in European air traffic to liberalization
b) Safety in the air and on ground
c) European agencies in the field of air transport
d) Airports and their management
e) The main competition issues:
- Mergers
- State aid
- Reservation systems
f) The EU system and the international regulation of air transport
g) Pending issues in the EU/USA and in the EU/Far East relationship
As to rail transport the course will examine
a) The (very) slow process of liberalization in rail transport
b) Interoperability and safety
c) European Transport Networks
d) European Agencies in the field of rail transport
e) The main competition issues
- Ownership of tracks and stations
- State aid
The course will also tackle the controversial issues of liberalization of port services and those of local transport (in particular UBER).
The last module of the course will be devoted to the growing expansion of consumer/user rights in the field of transport and their connection with the tourism sector (package tours, cruises, etc).
The course will also take into account the present disruptions in transport services due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Objectives
The course aims at introducing student in an extremely important area of EU law with significant influences on a thriving economic activity, enhancing their ability to understand the general system of the European Union law and its implication on national systems.

Course Learning Activities
The course consists of lectures on the main subjects of EU transport law. During the course students will be asked to present to the rest of the class, in ppt, a series of important cases, mostly from the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Assessment tools
Student evaluation will be based on class work and class participation, oral presentations given during the semester, and a final written exam. The final exam consists in two essay questions (selected by the student among a choice of three questions).

Attendance policy
Class attendance is compulsory. Students are allowed a maximum of 7 (seven) absences, whatever the reason of the absence.

Course textbook:
M. Colangelo – V. Zeno-Zencovich, Introduction to European Union Transport Law (Third edition) freely available and downloadable on the Roma TrE-Press website [ http://romatrepress.uniroma3.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Introduction-to-European-Union-transport-law-III-edizione.pdf ].

Fall 2020
Schedule of lessons (lessons will start on Wednesday, October 7th, 2020):
Wednesdays from 12 am to 1.45 pm
Thursdays and Fridays from 2.15 pm -4 pm
Owing to the present health restrictions lessons will be held online on the Zoom platform. The teachers will provide registered students with codes for access.


Class Topic
1. Oct 7 EU transport policy – General issues
2. Oct 8 Liberalization of network industries; regulation of services of general economic interest
3. Oct 9 Basics of Competition Law; the essential facility doctrine
4. Oct 14 The air transport sector; from the three aviation packages to Reg. 1008/2008/EC
5. Oct 15 Reg. 1008/2008/EC; airport infrastructures and charges
6. Oct 16 Airport infrastructures and charges
7. Oct 21 Ground handling services
8. Oct 22 Slot Allocation
9. Oct 23 2011 Better Airports Package; competition issues: abuse of dominant position; other anticompetitive conducts
10. Oct 28 Alliance agreements; code sharing; block exemptions
11. Oct 29 Competition issues; computer reservation systems
12. Oct 30 Mergers
13.Nov. 4 Competition issues: State aids and public service obligations
14. Nov 5 EU’s external aviation relations; Open Skies
15. Nov 6 The European Aviation Safety Agency
16. Nov 11 The railway sector – The railway packages
17. Nov 12 The railway sector – The railway packages - The Single European Railway Area
18. Nov 13 Unbundling in the railway sector; national experiences
19. Nov 18 Competition issues: market definition; abuse of dominant position; agreements
20. Nov 19 State aid
21.Nov 20 Liberalization of port services
22. Nov 25 Local transport. UBER
23. Nov 26 Passengers’ rights - Package travel, package holidays and package tours
24.Nov 27 Air passengers’ rights; compensation for denied boarding, cancellation or long delay of flights
25.Dec 2 Montreal and Warsaw Conventions; liability in case of accidents; rights to information; quality of service
26. Dec 3 Sea passengers; bus and coach passengers
27. Dec 4 Rail passengers’ rights
28. Dec 9 Safety and security in aviation and railway
29. Dec 10 Unfair commercial practices; misleading and comparative advertising
December 17 FINAL WRITTEN EXAM

M. Colangelo - V. Zeno-Zencovich, Introduction to European Union Transport Law, 3rd edition- Roma TrE-Press 2019 , available in open access at: http://romatrepress.uniroma3.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Introduction-to-European-Union-transport-law-terza-edizione-1.pdf