Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-04-05-Speech-3-225"
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".
Mr President, Mr Gorbach, ladies and gentlemen, the debate on the agenda concerns two issues: road safety and security measures in the transport sector.
In concluding this first point, I should like to confirm that our assessment of the progress made in the field of road safety will continue on an annual basis. Mr Gorbach also mentioned the idea of a European Road Safety Day, as well as the launch of awareness campaigns, events that will all need to be carried out at European level. I can confirm to Parliament that we are working in conjunction with the Presidency on all of these matters.
If you will allow me, I am now going to address the issue of the security of modes of transport, including the difficult subject of how they are financed. I know that this issue worries the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. Following the events of 11 September 2001, the Commission proposed a framework regulation designed to lay down common rules in the field of civil aviation security. The support of Parliament, together with that of the Council, was crucial to the successful conclusion of that legislative process. That regulation was accompanied by an interinstitutional declaration in which our three institutions reaffirmed their determination to enhance the quality of aviation security systems in the Community. Furthermore, it seemed necessary to prevent any distortion of internal and external competition.
Finally, the three institutions noted the Commission’s intention to commission a study concerning the way in which the financing of security is divided up between public authorities and operators. The Commission committed itself to submitting to the European Parliament and the Council the results and the proposals that would emerge from this study. A similar position was taken when the regulation on the improvement of ships and ports security was adopted in 2004. The regulation recognised that the actual, uniform application of security measures raised important questions, which were always linked to financing. In that respect, the Commission also had to embark upon a study with a view to sending information to the European Parliament and to examining any proposals that would be worth presenting.
The Commission put in place, from 2004, an inspection system that has helped significantly to enhance aviation security. To date, the Commission has carried out 69 inspections in all of the Member States. In the light of these inspections, the Commission proposed, at the end of 2005, the revision of Regulation 2320/2002, which is currently being looked into by the Committee on Transport and Tourism and for which you, Mr Costa, are the rapporteur. Together with this proposal for a revision, the Commission presented the first annual report on the implementation of the regulation currently in force, as well as the main results of the inspections.
Furthermore, I would highlight the fact that the regulatory committee created by the framework regulation of 2002 has worked hard and has made it possible for eight implementing regulations to be adopted. The Commission has also launched two crucial studies, which have confirmed the importance of the issue of financing.
As regards aviation, the study was brought to completion in 2004. The results were published on the Commission’s website. The study on the financing of maritime security will shortly be completed, and the results will be submitted to you as soon as they become available.
As regards civil aviation security, the study carried out shows that the costs incurred within the Union, which consisted at that time of 15 Member States, fluctuated between EUR 2.5 billion and EUR 3.6 billion in 2002. We can regard this amount as a large figure at the same time as emphasising the fact that, in the field of intra-Community transport, the combination of airport and security charges and taxes represented 1% to 2% of the average price of flight tickets.
This study also highlighted some differences in the methods of financing. There are major differences as regards the role of the State. The study also highlighted a certain lack of transparency as regards security taxes and charges. In that respect, I must explain to Parliament that I have decided to organise a meeting between all of the air traffic operators, which will be held tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. This meeting will mainly focus on airport taxes, but it will certainly reflect on these security problems and their associated cost.
On the subject of maritime security, the preliminary results from the study also confirm that the costs are substantial, even though expenditure in the maritime sector is rather limited in relation to the total costs. The European Union has more than 1 200 seaports and around 3 700 port facilities, for which, according to this report, the average investment in security amounts to more than EUR 400 000, with running costs exceeding EUR 200 000 per year. As regards the security of ships, the average investment stands at EUR 100 000, with running costs of around EUR 25 000 per year.
Those are the facts in relation to this complex problem. I recognise that it is a major problem, but I also have to admit that it is now difficult to say for certain that we can find a solution that can be imposed on everyone. That is why we must reflect together on these security problems and on the way in which they will be financed, and I am delighted to hear your contributions on this subject. This is a problem that will obviously have to be dealt with very rigorously in the future.
I should like to echo what Mr Gorbach said in his excellent speech and to thank him straightaway for his personal commitment to this great cause that is road safety. Thank you, Mr Gorbach, for having placed this major problem of road safety at the heart of the Austrian Presidency’s priorities.
That, Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, is what I wanted to say, and I should like to thank you and to thank the Austrian Presidency for allowing us to hold this debate on the two issues of road safety and security problems.
Just as I, myself, had to do when I gave an account, after five years, of our assessment on the basis of the programme that the European Union had set itself in 2002, we must note that the countries comprising today’s European Union saw 50 000 people die on the roads in 2001. The common objective proposed in 2001 and updated today is not to exceed the figure of 25 000 deaths in 2010. To save 25 000 lives!
What stage are we at with this? In 2005, we still recorded 41 600 deaths. That corresponds to a reduction of 17.5% in four years. Considerable progress has been made in some Member States in particular, but it is not enough. As you said, Mr Gorbach, the number of deaths in the Union is in danger of increasing to 32 500 in the year 2010 if we do not take it upon ourselves to give new impetus to this road safety policy. Greater efforts are necessary, and the disparities between the Member States must be rectified.
The Austrian Presidency has enabled us to make progress with an agreement on the European driving licence, for which I should like to express my gratitude once again. I would point out that this driving licence is accompanied by a licence for mopeds and a progressive licence for the most powerful motorcycles. That should enable us to reduce the number of motorcycle deaths, which is increasing at an alarming rate.
Over and above this assessment and over and above the progress made during this Presidency, the Commission will present, in 2006, new initiatives to be included in the action plan that I will propose in the revised White Paper.
Firstly, a proposal for a directive on the management of road safety in the trans-European network. It is not a question of us explaining how a road should be made safer, but of the European Union confirming, in each of the Member States, that a great deal of attention is paid to safety when a new road is built or an existing one is improved.
Secondly, a proposal for a directive that will enable cross-border legal action to be taken in the most serious cases of a violation of the highway code: speeding, drink driving and driving without wearing a seat belt. It is not right that the perpetrator of a serious offence should escape punishment simply by crossing the border.
Finally, as you said, Mr Gorbach, we are going to close a loophole in the current legislation regarding the blind-spot mirrors fitted to existing heavy goods vehicles. We are also endeavouring to make progress with the idea of a third ‘daytime’ running light. Some Member States already want the opportunity to request this extra equipment for cars. Together with my colleague, Mr Verheugen, we are now going to examine how this issue should be dealt with and what follow-up action should be taken in relation to the recommendations made by the CARS 21 group, which has listed a whole host of safety equipment that is likely to be very beneficial to the vehicles on Europe's roads."@en1
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