Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-22-Speech-1-043"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20011022.4.1-043"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, at the previous plenary session of the European Parliament, a debate was held on the steps to take in the fight against terrorism in the wake of the attacks of 11 September. On behalf of my colleague, Mrs De Palacio, I would today like to discuss the consequences of these events for the safety of air transport, and also the implications that such events could have for some industrial installations, particularly nuclear power plants. I shall therefore begin with the issue of air transport safety.
As I am sure you know, the European Council of 21 September 2001 requested that measures be taken in order to strengthen air transport security. The Commission showed a dynamic approach and immediately reacted by formulating an appropriate Community response to the attacks carried out in the United States of America. Without further delay – following a request made by the European Council – the Commission proposed that Member States put in place a ‘dual review’ mutual inspection system. This reciprocal monitoring system will enable experts of one Member State to be sent to inspect security measures in airports of another Member State. We must point out, however, that Member States are reluctant to give inspectors this task. So far, only two Member States have submitted to the Commission proposals on the representatives that they wish to appoint.
On 10 October, the Commission proposed a draft regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council to approximate air transport security and safety standards within the European Union, and also to give the Commission the power of execution and inspection in order to ensure that the standards are being applied.
This text specifically mentions access control to sensitive areas of airports and aircraft, control of passengers and their hand luggage, control and monitoring of hold luggage, control of cargo and mail and, lastly, the training of ground staff.
Mrs De Palacio presented this proposal to the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism the same day that it was adopted, and we hope that Parliament will be able to examine it as a matter of urgency in order to enable an agreement to be reached at the Council in December, with the hope that the co-decision procedure can take place at first reading.
In addition, an ad-hoc multidisciplinary group, made up of experts in air safety and combating terrorism, was set up immediately. Unfortunately, the work of the group of experts has been inconclusive and the preliminary report submitted to the Transport Council on 16 October merely stresses, firstly, that much remains to be done in order to ensure that safety measures are being applied effectively in all airports and, secondly, identifies the need for new measures to prevent the dangerous behaviour of some individuals in aircraft, such as banning access to cockpits or enhancing cooperation between civil monitoring of air traffic and the use of military air defence methods.
We are convinced that we must make headway on the proposals that we have submitted to you. Not only because of a lack of specific recommendations from the above mentioned group, but also because international bodies appear to be having difficulties in reacting swiftly. Therefore, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, which held its assembly meeting in September, has limited itself to the single principle of organising a conference, the date of which has not yet been arranged. We hope that, at the European Union’s initiative, the ICAO will take on the responsibility of ensuring the adoption of the recommendations that it received with a view to strengthening international safety standards that apply to airports and air transport. Nevertheless, given the situation, the United States naturally decided to move forward themselves on this issue.
The Commission believes that we must enhance cooperation so that preventative measures are implemented in a coordinated manner on both sides of the Atlantic."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples