What changed between the plenary report of 13 Jan 2026 and the plenary report of 1 Jul 2026

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

Changed:on the Council position at first reading withjoint atext viewapproved toby the adoptionConciliation ofCommittee for a Regulationregulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights and Regulation (EC) No 2027/97 on air carrier liability in respect of the carriage of passengers and their baggage by air

Changed:(10015/1/2025(PE-CONS 00039/2026 – C100228/2025C100144/2026 – 2013/0072(COD))

Changed:(Ordinary legislative procedure: secondthird reading)

The European Parliament,

Changed:– having regard to the Counciljoint positiontext atapproved firstby readingthe (10015/1/2025Conciliation Committee (PE-CONS 00039/2026 – C10-0228/2025),C100144/2026),

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 11 July 2013,

Change 1

Removed:after consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Removed:– having regard to the opinion of the Commission (COM(2025)0630),

– having regard to its position at first reading on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2013)0130),

Changed:– having regard to theits position ofat thesecond Committeereading on Transport and Tourism to the Council position at first reading on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council pursuant to Rule 74 of its Rules of Procedure of 13 October 2025,reading,

Changed:– having regard to Articlethe 294(7)Commission's ofopinion theon TreatyParliament's onamendments to the FunctioningCouncil ofposition theat Europeanfirst Union,reading (COM(2026)0129),

Changed:– having regard to Rule 68the ofCouncil itsposition Rulesat ofsecond Procedure,reading,

Changed:– having regard to the recommendation for secondArticle reading294(13) of the CommitteeTreaty on Transportthe andFunctioning Tourismof (A10-0001/2026),the European Union,

Change 2

Removed:1. Adopts its position at second reading hereinafter set out;

Added:– having regard to Rule 79 of its Rules of Procedure,

Removed:2. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Added:– having regard to the report of its delegation to the Conciliation Committee (A10-0191/2026),

Removed:Council position

Added:1. Approves the joint text;

Removed:Recital 1 a (new): (1 a) The Union legislator confirms the aims expressed by Recitals 1 and 4 for EU legislation in the field of air transport to ensure a high level of protection for passengers, to fully take into account the requirements of consumer protection in general and to raise the standards of protection set by this Regulation. This should be done by strengthening the rights of air passengers, by improving legal certainty for both air passengers and air carriers and by codifying the main rulings of the Court of Justice in its interpretation of Regulation No 261/2004, as well as by ensuring that air carriers operate under harmonised conditions in a liberalised market. This also means that standards of protection set by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 should in no way be downgraded. Accordingly, the full potential of air passenger rights, as protected under Regulations (EC) No 261/2004 and (EC) No 2027/97, should be realised and a more effective, efficient and consistent application of such rights should be ensured across the Union, while taking into account the interests of air carriers and continuing to strike a balance between the interests of air passengers and those of air carriers.

Added:2. Instructs its President to sign the act with the President of the Council, in accordance with Article 297(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

Removed:Council position

Added:3. Instructs its Secretary-General to sign the act, once it has been verified that all the procedures have been duly completed, and, in agreement with the Secretary-General of the Council, to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

Removed:Recital 3: (3) The study on the current level of protection of air passenger rights in the EU mandated and published by the Commission in 2020 (the steer study) claims that the main priority of passengers is to be provided with assistance in the event of travel disruption and to be offered rerouting so that they arrive at their destination as soon as possible. To this end, the steer study shows that the payment of compensation comes third out of the three options provided in terms of the priorities of passengers. However, it cannot be inferred from this study that the payment of compensation would rank low in the priorities of passengers, for three reasons. First, the question design already carries a significant bias, narrowing down possible outcomes, as the three options given to the respondents are not comparable in their nature. While two of the options (assistance, rerouting) promise immediate relief from an urgent problem (flight disruption), the third option (compensation) is less immediate and less urgent by its nature. Compensation under this Regulation seeks to redress damage suffered as a consequence of a disruption, with a payment that helps the passenger in the long run, rather than solving the immediate problem (via assistance or rerouting). It is only natural that the average respondent ranks as third the least urgent and immediate of the three options (compensation). However, it would be logically and statistically invalid to conclude from this ranking that receiving com…

Added:4. Instructs its President to forward this legislative resolution to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Removed:Council position