A notice of meeting published by the EU Council on 3 July 2026 sets out the agenda for the Working Party on Transport – Intermodal Questions and Networks, which will convene on 9 July 2026 at 10:00 in Brussels to conduct article-by-article examinations of two Commission proposals. The meeting, to be held at the Europa Building (Rue de la Loi 167) in a 2+2 format, will focus on a regulation on multimodal booking, which would repeal Regulation (EC) No 80/2009, and a separate regulation on rail ticketing.
The first agenda item concerns the proposal for a Regulation on multimodal booking (document ST 9313/26 with addenda). The second item addresses the proposal for a Regulation on rail ticketing (document ST 9348/26). Both texts will be reviewed article by article, a standard procedure in the Council's legislative process that allows member state experts to scrutinise each provision and propose amendments. The meeting will also include an "any other business" slot for additional matters raised by delegations.
The proposals aim to modernise passenger transport services by enabling integrated booking across different modes (multimodal) and improving rail ticket sales across borders. The multimodal booking regulation would replace the existing Code of Conduct for computerised reservation systems, which dates from 2009 and is considered outdated. The rail ticketing regulation seeks to remove barriers to cross-border ticket purchases, a long-standing objective of the EU's Single European Railway Area.
The Working Party on Transport – Intermodal Questions and Networks is a preparatory body of the Council, composed of transport attachés from member states. Its article-by-article reviews typically precede discussions at the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) and eventual adoption by the Council of the EU. No prior coverage of these specific proposals exists in the available record, indicating that the Commission's legislative texts have only recently been transmitted to the Council.
The meeting is expected to produce initial member state positions on the two regulations, which could influence the pace of negotiations. Stakeholders such as railway operators, digital booking platforms, and passenger rights groups will be closely watching the outcome, as the regulations could impose new technical standards and data-sharing requirements. The proposals also touch on consumer protection by aiming to simplify ticket purchasing, while potentially increasing compliance costs for transport companies. The next step after the working party will likely be a Coreper discussion, followed by a Council position that will enter into trilogue negotiations with the European Parliament.