Now here's a thing...
I got a reply from my MEP!
Actually, the reply came from my
other MEP since they've divided up their patch between them and I live at the wrong side of the M62, apparently.
By a huge coincidence he had asked the Commission about this very subject back in December 2005 and.... wait for it.... had
just received a reply!
A mere 11.5 months - who said the EC bureaucracy was slow
He sent me a copy of the letter from one Jacques Barrot, Vice President of transport at the Commission and if I'm translating the Eurobabble correctly he's saying that discrimination on grounds of nationality is wrong but the legislation doesn't cover transport, except aviation, so they can't do anything about it.
However, the last paragraph of Eurotosh reads:-
"I am nevertheless not satisfied by this status quo and I asked the Commission services to carry out an in depth analysis of this situation in order to identify the precise legal situation and the best way to address this question."Don't hold your breath Olive!