Brussels, 22/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - Competition questions are expected to be at the centre of the aviation strategy promised by European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc this year.
Competition. On Tuesday 20 January, the Director-General of DG Move, Joao Aguiar Machado, provided some information about the subject to MEPs on the European Parliament's transport committee (TRAN). He confirmed that the aviation package would be focusing on competition questions: “Improving direct air connectivity to and from the EU becomes increasingly challenging, as Europe's key intercontinental hub airports operate in a very competitive international environment of global players, in particular the emerging regions of the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and South America”. The Commission would therefore look at measures that can be proposed to make the European aviation sector more competitive, said Machado. A communication would be planned, as well as a revision of Regulation 216/2008 on the European Air Safety Agency (EASA) to make sure the entire EASA system can deal with new safety issues.
Remotely piloted aircraft. He also explained that the aviation package would cover remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs). Machado said that “the sector has enormous commercial opportunities, but there are also safety elements that need to be taken into account”. A regulation to guarantee RPA safety may possibly be on the cards, according to the director general.
Gibraltar. Machado also referred to the Gibraltar question, which is currently blocking all the aviation dossiers due to the dispute between the Spanish and British delegations. He explained that it was not up to the Commission to get involved in this and emphasised that the two countries should not be allowed to hold up everything the European Commission was undertaking. The head of DG Move asserted that “a solution needs to be found as soon as possible. Holding up the EU is unreasonable, even if it is important from a political point of view”. (MD)