Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-11-15-Speech-2-340"
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"en.20051115.29.2-340"2
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".
Mr President, Minister, ladies and gentlemen, following the Sharm el-Sheikh accident, the Commission submitted a proposal for a regulation on 16 February on the information of air transport passengers on the identity of the operating carrier and on communication of safety information by Member States. This proposal forms part of the priority objective set by the Barroso Commission to take practical measures aimed at meeting European citizens’ expectations.
The proposal comprises two complementary strands: first, the setting up of a Community blacklist of carriers which are banned or subjected to traffic rights restrictions for safety reasons, and second, informing passengers on the identity of the carrier operating the flight taken. The tragic accidents that took place in August demonstrated that we must be constantly vigilant and take firm action when it comes to air safety.
I should like to thank Parliament and in particular your rapporteur, Mrs De Veyrac, who worked in exemplary fashion with the Commission and the Council to facilitate the quick adoption of ambitious arrangements. The Committee on Transport and Tourism, in particular, has helped us to set up an operational instrument to impose Community-level bans and restrictions on any airline deemed dangerous. These measures can be imposed without discrimination on any carrier, regardless of whether it is European or from a third country, of whether its flights are scheduled or otherwise, charters for example, or of whether it is a traditional or low-cost airline. These measures are to be taken on the basis of common safety criteria applicable in all EU Member States, and the new regulation will thus give all passengers exactly the same guarantees on safety. The Onur Air case brought home the fact that Europe’s citizens could not possibly think that this was not the case.
These advances in safety should be accompanied by greater transparency. The publication of the list of airlines on which bans have been imposed will offer a number of advantages. It will reveal useful information for those wishing to travel outside the EU where flight bans cannot be applied. It will also offer more rights to passengers purchasing package tours including a flight operated by a blacklisted airline. Last but not least, the publication of the Community list will act as a deterrent by implementing a practical system of bans.
We must go further as regards information. In order to restore passenger confidence and to prevent public panic in the future, the right to information must be as comprehensive as possible. The identity of the carrier must systematically be known to passengers. This text forms part of a range of coordinated measures aimed at improving air safety.
I should like to remind you, if I may, of two measures that I announced on the Commission’s behalf during the plenary session at the beginning of September. Firstly, this afternoon the Commission adopted a proposal aimed at extending the common rules on air safety to cover air operations, pilot licensing and third-country aircraft, and the Commission has extended the remit of the European Air Safety Agency (EASA) to give it decision-making powers in these areas.
Secondly, we are working to strengthen the control mechanisms of third-country aircraft under Directive 2004/36 on the safety of third-country aircraft using Community airports, known as the SAFA (Safety of Foreign Aircraft) Directive. The EASA will soon be involved in coordinating inspection activities for these aircraft.
Mr President, Minister, honourable Members, thanks to Parliament’s outstanding work, the Council and the Commission have already managed to reach agreement at first reading only a few short months after the Commission adopted its proposal. This certainly sets a good precedent for the future. Let me state once again how much I appreciate Parliament’s crucial role in this proposal and I shall listen with great interest to what the Members have to say in the debate to follow."@en1
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