Luxembourg, 12/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - EU transport ministers meeting on 12 October in Luxembourg reached a political agreement on the proposal for a regulation aimed at establishing common safety standards in the field of civil aviation. Bearing in mind the stalled terrorist attack on London during August this year, the Council and the European Parliament would like to conclude this dossier at first reading. However, given their differences over the matter of financing safety measures, a great deal of discussion is still needed to reach an agreement with Parliament, although this should be possible in second reading, Finnish Transport Minister Susanna Huovinen said.
Regulation 2005/429 aims to simplify, harmonise and strengthen Regulation 2320/2002 whose aim is to establish basic air safety and security standards common to all Member States. These standards, to be defined in an annex to the proposal, concern methods of inspection, prohibited articles and personnel training requirements. The political agreement also allows Member States that so wish to apply stricter safety measures than those foreseen by the regulation. However, the agreement does not contain any provisions on the financing of measures, no more than the European Commission's proposal did. That is where the problem lies, the Parliament believes. At first reading, it had called for basic common safety measures to be financed by passengers and Member States, and for the cost of stricter safety measures to be borne exclusively by Member States. The two institutions have tried to bring their positions closer in the context of informal three-way discussions, but without success (see EUROPE 9274). The question of financing requires more indepth relations, Minister Huovinen explained. Although acknowledging the fact that a great deal of discussion will still be needed with Parliament, he considered it possible to come to an agreement in second reading. Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot for his part announced that the Commission is willing to suggest concrete measures to increase the transparency of financing safety measures and to work toward finding a compromise between Parliament and Council. Mr Barrot nonetheless called for proof of “flexibility” and expressed the hope that the matter would be settled under Finnish EU Presidency.
The political agreement provides for the nomination by Member States of a single authority responsible for coordination and control of implementing safety standards. Carriers, airports and Member States must also establish safety programmes. The Commission, for its part, is responsible for conducting surprise inspections to verify application of the provisions of the said regulation. Finally, the agreement allows each Member State to decide whether or not to deploy security agents (the famous “sky marshals”) on board licensed aircraft. (dt)