On the right track: move to make rail travel in Europe easier

The European Commission has proposed new rules to make seamless rail travel across Europe a reality.

The proposals adopted this month are aimed at simplify planning and booking for regional, long-distance and cross-border travel, particularly for rail journeys involving multiple operators. 

At present, comparing all available travel options and identifying the most sustainable choices, especially for cross-border travel, remains difficult for passengers in the EU; especially for rail tickets.

Many passengers encounter obstacles when combining different transport services. 

Booking multiple-leg train journeys involving tickets from different companies can be complex, largely due to fragmented booking systems and the dominant market presence of certain rail companies.

Also, passenger protection is limited on rail journeys involving multiple tickets by different rail operators, travel news hub Travel Mole reports.

The proposals address these obstacles, delivering on President Ursula von der Leyen‘s suggestions. 

The Commission proposes measures enabling single-ticket bookings across multiple rail operators, making the rail market more transparent and accessible.

Passengers will be able to find, compare and purchase services combined from different rail operators into one single ticket, which can be bought in one transaction on a ticketing platform of their choice. This can be an independent platform, or the rail operator’s ticketing service.

In the event of missed connections during multi-operator rail journeys, passengers with a single ticket will benefit from new, full passenger rights protection, including assistance, rerouting, reimbursement and compensation.

The Commission will now submit the proposed regulations to the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament for consideration. 

The Community of European Railways (CER), representing major national rail companies, strongly cautioned against the proposal’s mandatory distribution requirements and heavy burden of liability on railways. 

It says that railways will be left carrying the real cost and responsibility with inevitable repercussions on ticket prices.

New wine deal with Europe will see an end to Australians exporting "prosecco"

A new Australia–European Union Free Trade Agreement will see the removal of tariffs on Australian wine exports to EU member states - but will mark the end of exporting Australian wines labelled as Prosecco. 

Australian wine exported to the European Union will not be subjected to tariffs upon entry, resulting in an expected saving of $14.5 million per year, a deal welcomed by umbrella body Australian Grape & Wine (AGW).

But the deal means the EU's position that prosecco is a protected trade mark means Australian sparkling wines will have to use a new name for their product in those markets. 

I recommended the adoption of OzSecco, or AusSecco, a couple of years ago but the wine industry is very slow to pivot. 

AGW said today: "The industry position is that prosecco is a grape variety, in the same way that shiraz or chardonnay is, and they shouldn’t have to change the name of it; consumers know what it is. etc."

The body says it has “welcomed key elements of the Australia–European Union Free Trade Agreement, including the removal of tariffs on Australian wine exports to EU member states” while highlighting the “significant implications” the agreement will have for producers exporting Australian prosecco.

The CEO of AGW, Lee McLean, said that the tariff outcome was a “commercially meaningful result for the sector”.

“The removal of tariffs on Australian wine entering the EU is good news for our exporters and for the long-term competitiveness of Australian wine in a major global market."

Australian prosecco producers will retain the right to call their wines prosecco in the domestic market but will no longer be able to export Australian wine labelled prosecco to Europe, following a 10-year phase out period.

“We continue to maintain that prosecco is a grape variety and that efforts to restrict its use are nothing more than protectionist measures used to distort trade to the advantage of EU producers," McLean said. 

"This is clearly a blow for those Australian producers who currently export Australian prosecco, who will need to transition away from using that term for export markets."

Meet the airline that has just been banned from European skies

The European Union has officially banned Turkish airline Southwind from its airspace, alleging the carrier is controlled from Russia.

The decision follows a recent move to ban the airline by Finnish authorities.

The EU accused the airline of being effectively controlled from Russia and using Turkey as a flag of convenience, travel website Travel Mole reported.

“Our overall assessment indicates that a significant portion of ownership and effective control  does not belong to Turkish individuals or companies,” the EU said in a statement.

Southwind Airlines was established with backing from Russian-based tour operator Pegas Touristik to operate flights to and from Russia.

Southwind has also been operating flights to Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Northern Macedonia, and Italy.

The EU and other Western countries have sanctioned Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, resulting in a full-scale war from February, 2022.

Southwind has a fleet of 12 aircraft.

The EU’s ban is effective immediately.

Travel to Romania and Bulgaria about to be less of a hassle

Want to venture behind what used to be called the Iron Curtain?

Intra European travel will become less of a hassle from March 31 when Bulgaria and Romania join the Schengen zone, which allows free movement between member states for 400 million citizens.

The two countries have been members of the European Union (EU) since 2007 but as they were not part of the border-free area, travellers were still required to show passports upon entry.

In 2024, border controls for the two countries will be simplified, Euronews reports.

The two interior ministries announced in December that some border checks will be lifted.

Travellers arriving by air or sea from other Schengen zone countries will no longer have to show passports upon arrival. This means passengers on flights, cruises and ferries will not be subject to checks.

If you are driving or arriving by train or bus into Romania or Bulgaria, however, you will still need to carry ID as rules governing land borders have not yet been confirmed.

The most recent country to join the Schengen zone was Croatia in 2022.

Every year, 1.25 billion trips take place within this area and 3.5 million people cross the borders of its member countries every day.

Not counting Romania and Bulgaria, the zone comprises 27 states. Twenty-three belong to the EU and four are associated states of the European Free Trade Association: Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

The Schengen zone was created in 1995 following the signing of the Schengen Agreement 10 years earlier between five member states of the European Economic Community: Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Several other agreements followed until the 2007 enlargement, integrating nine additional countries into the free movement area.

Travellers without EU citizenship are advised that stays in Bulgaria and Romania will now count towards time spent in the Schengen zone, which cannot be longer than 90 days in 180 days.

Academics weigh in over bitter prosecco row

Academics have declared that prosecco is the name of a grape variety, not a geographic name.

The news comes as Australian winemakers continue to fight for the right to use the name prosecco on their wines. Italian makers and the European Union want them to cease.

But the academics are from Australian universities. One wonders if Italian academics would have a very different view.

New research from Monash University and Macquarie University entitled The European Union’s attempts to limit the use of the term ‘Prosecco’ says that prosecco is a grape variety name.

The report is the culmination of five years of research conducted by Professor of Law Mark Davison and the team at the Faculty of Law at Monash University and the Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University.

Using evidence dating as far back as the 1700s, the report says there is extensive historical proof of prosecco being a grape variety and its broad international acceptance as such, including evidence from the Italian wine industry and the European Union (EU).

It also says a lack of evidence has been made available to justify the Italian Government and the EU changing the name of the prosecco grape variety to the name glera in the EU in 2009.

Davison says “the evidence speaks for itself, prosecco has been recognised as the name of a grape for centuries, but not as a geographical indication (GI).

"Protecting the term as a geographical indication is a cynical attempt to avoid competition from Australian wine producers."

Lee McLean, Chief Executive Officer of Australian Grape & Wine, said: "We thank the universities and the authors personally for all the effort they have made over this time in going above and beyond to expose this evidence."

He added: “With the Australian Government undertaking a public objections process on EU GIs, including prosecco, this report confirms the importance of making sure the Government receives as many submissions into this process as possible.

“The risks of banning the ability of our industry to use well-established grape variety names are significant and have to potential to cause widespread damage to our sector and the regional communities it underpins.”

Australian prosecco production has grown to over $200 million dollars in value, with regions like Victoria’s King Valley investing millions in vineyards, production facilities and associated tourism infrastructure.

The variety is now grown in 20 regions across Australia.