Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-05-07-Speech-4-071"
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"Mr President, I would like to thank you and all those Members who took part in this debate regarding a temporary measure – and I would emphasise that temporary nature – in the field of air transport. Most importantly, I too would like to thank all those who are leaving Parliament for the work they have done.
I should also like to thank Mr Savary, who is no longer in the Chamber. I share his sentiment; I therefore hope to work with him again in the years to come, even if he is no longer an MEP.
I sincerely thank those Members who are leaving the House for the help they have given the Commission, for their intelligent comments and also for the criticism they have offered. Parliament should fulfil this role, and no one is more convinced of this than I am, because I believe that, without Parliament’s strong input, the European institutions would be incomplete and unable to provide the best protection for citizens’ interests.
For precisely that reason I would like to reassure Mr Jarzembowski, who asked me a question about the comitology procedure: the compromise, which has the Commission’s full support, provides for the use of codecision procedure as regards possible renewal for the winter season. This is purely hypothetical, because, I would emphasise, the measure is a temporary one and applies for six months only. Nonetheless, any future proposal for renewal must always be preceded by an impact assessment, taking account of the effects on consumers and on competition. It will also form part of a general review of the slots regulation, to which I have made a commitment before the Council, at the request of the UK transport minister, as I have confirmed many times in this House.
It is, however, the crisis that prompts this urgent intervention. Indeed, data provided by the European Airport Association tells us that 80% of European airports have seen a reduction in traffic, in January, between 8% and 10% as regards passengers, and between 25% and 30% as regards freight. This is therefore a difficult situation. I, too, share the hope and wish expressed by certain Members that the current influenza will turn out to be less serious than it was initially believed to be. We cannot hide the fact, though, that the proposal to suspend flights from the entire European Union to a country or to areas where the epidemic first broke out was on the agenda at last week’s meeting of the Council of Transport Ministers, as well as the Council of Health Ministers. There could be repercussions, therefore, but no decision was taken since the situation was not deemed serious enough. However, it is clear that there is debate in this sector; some crews have decided not to fly to areas with known cases of influenza, which has caused a further drop in air passenger numbers.
I believe that as regards passenger rights – since it is a subject highlighted by many influential Members – the main thing is to maintain connections and frequency for the benefit precisely of citizens, and then to overcome the crisis. The financial soundness and sustainability of our airlines are key parameters to safeguarding the advantages of the internal market, and thanks to the internal market passengers have access to a variety of connections, routes and prices unprecedented in Europe. I want passengers to be able to continue to enjoy this possibility of choice. As regards the regulations on supervision, we must strengthen the monitoring and application of Regulation 261. To this end, the Commission will publish – let me address this to Mr Rack – a communication on the application of the regulation in the second half of 2009. On the basis of this evaluation we will draw conclusions as to the future.
With regard to liquids, as you know, we have already published the formerly secret annex behind this, and thanks to the use of new and more effective technologies from the point of view of security, we hope to be able to review the situation before 2010. I was highly sceptical of the liquids affair when I was an MEP, I remain so today and I am working precisely in order to reach that objective. As regards the concerns expressed by other Members over certain airports that could run into problems following this measure – I refer in particular to a European airport that forms part of one of the EU’s priority projects, the Malpensa airport – I can offer some information concerning airlines other than Alitalia-Air France. Let me read you some statistics: at Malpensa airport, a German airline, Lufthansa, had 8 741 slots in 2008 and on 24 March 2009 had 19 520, an increase in capacity of more than 100%. Also at Malpensa, a low-cost airline, easyJet, had 15 534 slots in 2008 and on 24 March 2009 had 22 936, a significant rise representing a 47% increase in capacity. It is also well known that the new airline Lufthansa Italia has plans, as we can read on the airline’s own website, thus in the public domain, to expand its network with new flights from Milan to Rome and to the cities of Naples and Bari as well as other European cities – Barcelona, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Lisbon, Madrid and Paris. I can say then with absolute certainty that this measure will not cause any harm – and I say this as European Commissioner for Transport – to an airport and European hub like Malpensa, which is included in the Union’s priority projects.
I would like to conclude by thanking Parliament again for this debate, confirming what I said in my earlier speech, in reply to Mr Jarzembowski, Mr Simpson and Mr Blokland, as regards the commitment I am making today as Commissioner for Transport – and I hope to be able to do so again as future Commissioner for Transport – concerning the codecision procedure for matters relating to the issue of slots. Some of the ideas put forward, such as those included by the rapporteur in his initial amendments, deserve to be properly studied in the context of the future review of the regulation on the allocation of slots and – I repeat – the Commission staff, whom I thank again for the valuable contribution they have made in these weeks of difficult work, are willing to do this and are indeed in the process of drafting the new text. At the same time, as stipulated in the amendment we are debating today, the Commission will watch carefully to see how the air sector crisis develops and will propose measures to address this as necessary and appropriate, attaching great importance to safeguarding passenger rights. I will do this not only in the field of air transport but also in maritime, rail and bus and coach transport. This is a commitment we have made: there are legislative measures being discussed. I hope that the next parliamentary term can bring these to a conclusion, as our primary objective nonetheless remains to meet the needs of the people who elect this Parliament and who, through the consensus of this Parliament, rely on the European Commission, the Community executive.
Mr President, may I also thank you, Mr Costa, and all those Members who have taken part in this debate, for their productive cooperation. The commitment I am making is to continue to work with Members of this House and with its Committee on Transport and Tourism to ensure that the democratic institution representing European citizens can play an increasingly influential role. I hope that with the Treaty of Lisbon the next Parliament will be able to make the voice of the European people heard more clearly."@en1
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