Brussels, 26/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - The Italian Presidency will be tied hand and foot when it comes to aviation dossiers, as long as the question of Gibraltar, pitting the British against the Spanish, is not resolved.
The dossier on air passenger rights will be affected, as well as the revision of the rules on baggage handling and flight slot allocation in the airport package, which has been in the long grass for more than a year now. To a lesser extent, the Single Sky 2+ will also be affected by the blockage.
Sources close to the dossier confirmed that as long as this “political problem” is not resolved, discussion cannot begin. The Italian Presidency is thus forced to await the conclusion of the bilateral negotiations between Spain and the UK, on whether or not Community law should apply to Gibraltar airport, before it can begin tackling the various dossiers. The Presidency would like, however, to work as soon as possible on the subjects, stressed a diplomatic source. Talks related to the Single Sky 2+ could, nevertheless, begin in July, even if the problem of Gibraltar is likely to spill over into this dossier. The Italian Presidency is planning a conference on the subject at the end of October or the beginning of November. Discussions will also begin on the Commission's proposal to introduce legislation on the civilian use of drones in July. (MD)