Brussels, 29/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - Coming as no surprise, the European Parliament voted in favour of the agreement on the "European Single Sky" legislative package on Thursday, during its plenary session in Brussels. Parliament and Council had agreed on 9 December last, in the context of conciliation procedure and after years of squabbling, on a text that both parties considered "balanced". As soon as the Council has approved the text by written procedure in coming days, the four regulations that make up the package will take effect (after their publication in the Official Journal) to create, on 31 December 2004, an integrated European airspace. On Wednesday evening during the debate prior to the vote, and despite the vote in favour, MEPs could not but express their disappointment and their regret about the agreement reached.
The agreement on the European Single Sky package provides for: - cooperation between civilian and military users of the European Single Sky to be settled within the framework of a Council declaration; - an industrial consultation body to be created; - Eurocontrol (the European air navigation safety organisation) to be involved; - the definition and the modification of airspace zones to remain under the competence of Member States; - the Commission to be able, in future, to present proposals for harmonising air traffic control licenses; - and for a lower flight information region to be possibly created at a later date in Europe (see EUROPE of 11 December).
Both rapporteurs, Italian Socialist Giovanni Fava and Dutch Liberal Maria Sanders-ten holte welcomed the new agreement reached. Mr Fava felt the agreement was an "historic step". He welcomed above all the provisions on civil and military cooperation. "This is the first time that the military hierarchies understand that European sky does not belong to anyone", he said, insisting, also, on the other aims of the agreement: safety and efficiency. "If nothing is done, in 2015 we shall have a disaster every week", he warned. Furthermore, given the increase in the number of flights in coming years in Europe - from 7 million in 1997 to 12 million in 2012, he said - delays will become unbearable. "Today, one flight out of five is over 20 minutes late" in Europe, whereas, in the United States, "there are twice as many planes and fewer delays". Ms Sanders-ten holte said "the Parliament has done as much as it can in the interest of citizens". "We are keeping a close eye" on implementation of regulations and "will take disciplinary action if necessary", she warned. Stressing the constructive role played by the two rapporteurs, Loyola de Palacio, Transport Commissioner, welcomed the agreement, conceding that "we have not progressed as we would have liked" and "changes will have to be made to the legislative package".
This is a first step but it is far from satisfactory. It is in these terms that one can summarise the speeches by MEPs, from all groups together. Speaking on behalf of the EPP-ED, German national Ingo Schmitt took up the comments by Mr Fava saying that it is not "an historic success". "If the Parliament had not held firm, we would not have been successful", he stressed, insisting on the fact that "this is only a beginning". "If, within five years, there is no change, then it will be necessary to do something more radical", he warned. Speaking for the PES, Ulrich Stockmann of Germany said "we have created a light Single Sky". "The direction taken is good but we have not gone far enough", he noted, regretting above all that there is no Community competence for operational airspace zones. The GUE/NGL (which had abstained during conciliation) agreed that progress had been made but expresses its disappointment because its amendments concerning air traffic control were not adopted, Sylvianne Ainardi from France explained. Air traffic control must remain a "public service", she insisted. While Arlette Laguiller (GUE/NGL of France) denounced "progress counterbalanced by competition between private companies", Georg Jarzembowski (CDU, Germany) answered Ms Ainardi saying that "all the problems have accumulated in command economy states". He urged for "real competition between security services". "It's all very well making a big step forward but we should have done it twenty years ago. We would be further by now if we had", Nelly Maes of Belgium said on behalf of the Greens/EFA. Improvements have been made but they are "not sufficient", she added, fearing that "the notion of national sovereignty is invoked too often".
The legislative package on the single sky includes: a regulation setting up a framework for attaining the single European sky and three technical regulations on the organisation and use of air space I the single European sky, air navigation service provision in the single European sky and the interoperability of the European air traffic network.