Brussels, 12/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - Whether the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) should focus strictly on safety and security or also have responsibility for other areas was fiercely debated in the European Parliament's transport committee on Tuesday 12 July.
The debate took place as the (more than 1,000) amendments were presented to the report by Marian-Jean Marinescu (EPP, Romania) on the EASA regulation that forms part of the aviation strategy (EUROPE 11438, 11448). The exchanges related in large part to the mandate of the Agency. The rapporteur wants EASA to concentrate on those areas for which it was established: safety and security. This is to avoid any duplication with other European agency and inefficient allocation of resources.
This point of view was not shared by other MEPs, including the shadow rapporteurs: Karima Delli (Greens/EFA, France) calls, for example, for the Agency to have responsibilities in environmental matters, pointing out that the aviation sector is not covered by COP 21. Others, such as Gabriele Preuss (S&D, Germany), Merja Kyllönen (GUE/NGL, Finland) and Peter Van Dalen (ECR, Netherlands), took the view that it has to be given responsibility for monitoring working conditions for crews, job insecurity possibly compromising passenger safety.
The issues that remain to be resolved mirror the huge number of amendments lodged. Among the more recurrent are: - rationalisation of the Agency's managerial structure; - budget and sources of finance; - the scope (binding or non-binding) of Agency opinions on conflict zones; - granting EASA powers to audit and certificate airport services, including ground-handling services; - the way the role of EASA articulates with that of Eurocontrol which is responsible for air navigation and air traffic management; - the nature of the acts adopted by the Commission (delegated or implementing).
Considerable work still remains to be done. The rapporteur, however, intends to proceed swiftly and to submit proposals for compromise amendments before the summer recess, we have been told. From early September, he hopes to hold weekly meetings with the shadow rapporteurs and to be able to put the report to the vote in committee at the end of that month. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)