Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-11-Speech-4-015"
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"en.20071011.3.4-015"2
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"Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, reciprocity is an important value in interpersonal relations and all the more so in relations between states, even commercial ones. I did in fact attempt to introduce a few amendments to the El Khadraoui report, in a fruitless effort to make our Commission colleagues aware of this point and others.
In an age when communications are crucial, and when communications by air afford previously unimagined travel opportunities, air transport agreements between nations are clearly necessary and desirable. What is not clear, however, is why in this report – as in all other acts adopted by the European Union – we seem incapable of demanding reciprocity, which also means equivalent conditions of competition. We ought to reason like citizens, especially we Members, given that ours is the only EU institution effectively endowed with a direct popular mandate.
Therefore, if Parliament wished to demonstrate an independent capacity to guide the other institutions’ policies, it would have to demonstrate in its acts and its (albeit limited) codecisions that it is not easily swayed by non-European interests. This is the case of Mr El Khadraoui’s report today, which is otherwise excellent in many respects, and I should like to take this opportunity to thank him for his work. As on so many other occasions, however, the report lacks the capacity to state clearly that, if there is to be free competition, there absolutely must be equal conditions for cabotage and compliance with social and environmental standards. Nor does reciprocity apply with respect to safety or passengers’ rights.
Moreover, the report recognises that the aviation sector has many negative effects which contribute to climate change. I therefore fail to understand why my fellow Members did not support the amendment I tabled on the adverse impact of the compounds contained in aircraft vapour trails and the likelihood that these effects will increase with the growth of aviation, and hence calling for aviation to be included in the European emissions trading system.
Finally, as concerns the application of international social legislation, European and US carriers do not seem to me to be on an equal footing, and so there are no bilateral rights here either. All of this, I believe, is sufficient to justify voting against the report."@en1
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