On Tuesday 26 September, European Parliament representatives made it clear to the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU that they would like the interinstitutional trialogue talks revising the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to reach agreement by the end of the year.
The fourth meeting among representatives of the EU institutors did not make much progress on a number of areas where there has been disagreement to date. The member states and MEPs were unable to agree on the scope of application for the regulation. Parliament representatives agreed to give ground on measures taken by the EASA in the aviation safety domain in relation to the interdependence of safety and security in civil aviation. They were calling for binding measures for national agencies, but the institutional negotiators finally went for non-binding recommendations.
The Council has given up on its plan to give the member states that desire it (no more than five) the option of being jointly responsible under certain conditions for certifying and supervising an airline. A solution was found, however, for Specific Airworthiness Specifications.
The parties have made tangible progress since the third trialogue on 6 June, but areas of lack of agreement remain, such s the name of the future agency (see EUROPE 11750), how it will be governed and its action in the event of an aviation safety emergency.
The Maltese Presidency of the Council of the EU had aimed to finalise the interinstitutional talks by the end of its term of office, but disagreements between the member states and the European Parliament were too large for this to be possible. Like Parliament, the Estonian Presidency hopes work will be completed by the end of the year (see EUROPE 11827), two years after the European Commission unveiled its proposal. The next trialogue meeting will be held in Strasbourg on 26 October. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)