Brussels, 09/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - The representative body for European airports, ACI Europe, voices concern about the financing of new safety measures proposed by the European Commission after the attacks on 11 September. The measures aim to transpose into Community law the rules of the European Civil Aviation Conference on controls on passengers and luggage. These measures were the subject of a political agreement during the last Transport Council (see EUROPE of 18 October, p.13). In a press release published after a meeting with Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio, the representatives of European airports stress that they support the aims of the measures proposed but insist that the cost be borne by the States. "While the security cost is borne by the government in some states, it is paid for by a special departure tax in other states, and financed directly by air transport operators in others. There is thus no level playing field", commented ACI. "The cost of implementing all security measures, not just those additional measures recently proposed in Europe, must now also be covered by national governments", insisted ACI Europe President Claudio Boccardo, who recalled that the United States has paid $3 billion to cover the cost of new security measures in the air transport sector. "We urge the Commission and the Member States to address, as a matter of urgency, the question of the responsibility of financing European civil aviation anti-terrorist security", concludes the press release.