Brussels, 15/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Friday, the Transport Council reached a general agreement on the proposed directive to bring in a Community licence for air traffic controllers, pending the first reading of the European Parliament. This proposal comes under the framework of the "Single European Sky" legislative package, and aims to increase security levels and improve air traffic control within Community territory. The Council's agreement includes a requirement for a higher level of understanding of English than the initial proposal, based on the related qualification scale of the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO). The Council maintains the possibility for the Member States to impose local language requirements, for safety reasons, but stipulates that these must be "objectively justified, non-discriminatory, proportionate and transparent".