1. Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications DETEC Federal Office of Transport FOT General Conditions for the international transport of passengers OmniBUS agreement

2. 2 General conditions for the international transport of passengers, OmniBUS agreement | IRU 9 th symposium of lawyers Jasmina Trlajic, Federal Office of Transport, Switzerland Agenda Introduction Current legal Environment OmniBUS Agreement

3. 3 General conditions for the international transport of passengers, OmniBUS agreement | IRU 9 th symposium of lawyers Jasmina Trlajic, Federal Office of Transport, Switzerland Introduction Switzerland non-EU-member Land transport agreement with the European Community Bilateral agreements (with different contents) with the Non- EU-States („Third countries“) Main destinations for international regular bus services from Switzerland: - Balkan states: BIH, HR, MK, SRB - EU-Countries: CZ, E, I, P, PL, SK

4. 4 General conditions for the international transport of passengers, OmniBUS agreement | IRU 9 th symposium of lawyers Jasmina Trlajic, Federal Office of Transport, Switzerland Current legal environment Europe: Large number of bilateral agreements with various contents Between Member States of European Community and third countries: bilateral agreements No multilateral agreement between EU and third countries Between European Community and the Swiss Confederation: Land transport agreement Inside European Community: Council regulations 1071/2009, 1072/2009 and 1073/2009

5. 5 General conditions for the international transport of passengers, OmniBUS agreement | IRU 9 th symposium of lawyers Jasmina Trlajic, Federal Office of Transport, Switzerland OmniBUS Agreement Content Potential positive effects Consequences on the carrier-passenger legal relationships Difficulties EU-Member States

6. 6 General conditions for the international transport of passengers, OmniBUS agreement | IRU 9 th symposium of lawyers Jasmina Trlajic, Federal Office of Transport, Switzerland Content of the OmniBUS Agreement Definitions and administrative procedures (including administrative documents) Authorization application and granting procedure (incl. application models) Regulation of the access to the market and authorizations Conditions applying to road passenger transport operators Access to the market (subject to authorisation) Obligations of carriers Technical conditions applying to vehicles Control documents (authorisation models) Controls, penalties and cooperation Reporting (information exchange) Other

7. 7 General conditions for the international transport of passengers, OmniBUS agreement | IRU 9 th symposium of lawyers Jasmina Trlajic, Federal Office of Transport, Switzerland Potential Positive Effects Harmonized and facilitated road transport regulations Standardized legal framework, control documents and enforcement procedures Transparency in the authorization procedures Harmonization and simplification of application and granting procedures Reduction of periods to consult other countries Harmonized criteria for refusal Harmonized maximal duration of authorizations Coordination of controls and penalties between countries

8. 8 General conditions for the international transport of passengers, OmniBUS agreement | IRU 9 th symposium of lawyers Jasmina Trlajic, Federal Office of Transport, Switzerland Consequences on the carrier- passenger legal relationships Obligations of carriers Protection of passenger’s interest and rights Increased safety Minimum level of service quality and comfort

9. 9 General conditions for the international transport of passengers, OmniBUS agreement | IRU 9 th symposium of lawyers Jasmina Trlajic, Federal Office of Transport, Switzerland Difficulties linked to EU-Member States competencies International regular bus service is fully harmonized at EU level Only Commission is authorized to negotiate ratification of OmniBUS Agreement Status quo: No mandate for the European Commission to: - extend the geographical coverage of Interbus to cover all EU neighbouring countries and regions - extend the scope of the Interbus agreement, to cover international regular lines as well Consequence: two legal frameworks between EU-Member States and non-EU-Member States

10. 10 General conditions for the international transport of passengers, OmniBUS agreement | IRU 9 th symposium of lawyers Jasmina Trlajic, Federal Office of Transport, Switzerland Goals for 2012 By spring 2012: Finalizing the content of the draft text of the OmniBUS Agreement Proofreading by legal experts Finalizing the OmniBUS Agreement in the April meeting of the UNECE SC1 working group In autumn 2012: formally submitting the draft of OmniBUS Agreement to SC1

11. 11 General conditions for the international transport of passengers, OmniBUS agreement | IRU 9 th symposium of lawyers Jasmina Trlajic, Federal Office of Transport, Switzerland Thank you very much for your attention!