National enforcement bodies
Article 25
1. Each Member State shall designate a new or existing body or bodies responsible for the enforcement of this Regulation as regards passenger services and cruises from ports situated on its territory and passenger services from a third country to such ports. Each body shall take the measures necessary to ensure compliance with this Regulation. Each body shall, in its organisation, funding decisions, legal structure and decision-making, be independent of commercial interests. 2. Member States shall inform the Commission of the body or bodies designated in accordance with this Article. 3. Any passenger may submit a complaint, in accordance with national law, to the competent body designated under paragraph 1, or to any other competent body designated by a Member State, about an alleged infringement of this Regulation. The competent body shall provide passengers with a substantiated reply to their complaint within a reasonable period of time. A Member State may decide: (a) that the passenger as a first step shall submit the complaint covered by this Regulation to the carrier or terminal operator; and/or (b) that the national enforcement body or any other competent body designated by the Member State shall act as an appeal body for complaints not resolved under Article 24. 4. Member States that have chosen to exempt certain services pursuant to Article 2(4) shall ensure that a comparable mechanism of enforcement of passenger rights is in place.