Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-01-12-Speech-1-057"
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"en.20040112.6.1-057"2
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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, over recent days we have had too many occasions to take an interest in the problem of safety in air transport. And before dealing with the issue of transatlantic flights, I too would like to express my condolences in relation to the terrible accident involving the Flash Airlines aircraft on 3 January in which 148 people died, the majority of whom were European citizens. I am sure that we all share the feelings of the families involved. But first of all I would like to point out that once again we must wait for the conclusions of the investigation in order to know exactly under what circumstances it took place.
As the honourable Members are aware, we are currently in the conciliation phase, which I hope will move forward in the coming days, and the Flash Airlines accident demonstrates the extent to which this text is absolutely essential and urgent: firstly, it is clear that the time limit for transposing the directive must be as short as possible – recent events demonstrate this – and that we must not exceed the usual two years for the incorporation of directives into national law. It will be incomprehensible to everybody if following what has just happened there are further delays on the part of the States of the Union on this issue.
With regard to the annual report to be published by the Commission, I believe that it should be made available to all interested parties. It should provide the necessary data for the choice of air companies by tour operators in order to encourage them to take even more interest in safety issues. Naturally, the data in this report can only reflect the reality at a given time and does not always allow us to draw general conclusions on the safety or lack of safety of an aircraft or aircraft in general of a specific company.
Nevertheless, the British initiative to publish a list of companies which may not enter British air space demonstrates that, in any event, transparency is not only possible but that it is going to happen. And the Commission's report must be carried out and drawn up in the light of this aspect.
The Commission supports Parliament’s proposal that when a measure is adopted by a State of the Union – following an inspection – it should apply to the whole of the Community. In that way, the attitude of the most rigorous state of the Union will become the attitude of the whole of the Union in relation to this type of aircraft.
This accident does not just require an effort and a strengthening of the controls and the transparency of those controls. It also requires that we consider the need for greater discipline amongst tour operators with regard to information for passengers on the airline which is going to carry them and on the choice of that airline.
It makes no sense that when one buys a package deal all types of information is given on the hotel, meals, and also sometimes sight-seeing trips, offers of supplementary activities etc., but there is usually no information on precisely which airline is going to operate the flight. I have asked the services of the Commission to study this issue, which I believe to be essential, as a matter of priority.
This dramatic issue, Mr President, however, is not the only element which is going to lead to controversy and concern with regard to safety issues amongst the public in the civil aviation sector, since over Christmas we have all been aware of issues relating to suspensions of flights from European countries to the United States, with the corresponding problems and difficulties faced by all those passengers who had planned to take those flights.
There is no question that the current situation justifies enhanced and more active cooperation with the American authorities in order to reinforce security aspects in view of the new terrorist risks. However, although we agree with these objectives, we are often faced with measures which are adopted unilaterally and, in this regard, I would like to say that we in the Commission have repeatedly informed the American authorities of the need to hold a dialogue and reach agreement prior to decision-making, which, furthermore, would not only facilitate the implementation of those decisions, but will also produce better results in view of the experience which certain States of the Union have had in this area, for better or for worse.
The difficult negotiations carried out by Mr Bolkestein on the automatic transfer of personal data to the American authorities also demonstrate that in the end we can find solutions acceptable to both parties, although it takes longer and creates more difficulties. In this regard, I would like to say, on the subject of the transfer of data, that in December I had the opportunity to present the results of these negotiations to the Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, together with Mr Vitorino, Mr Patten and Mr Bolkestein.
As we pointed out at the time, we believe that the results obtained on the transfer and storage of personal data allow the Commission to prepare an adequacy finding, bringing it into line with the Directive on data protection, which will complement an initiative within the ICAO to create an international framework and adequate information for passengers.
Over recent years, air safety has been one of the main concerns and tasks for the Commission, for myself and for the whole of the Transport Directorate-General. It is a field in which we have made clear progress: we have approved the Directive on the notification of accidents in civil aviation; we have approved the creation of the European Air Safety Agency, which is now operational; we have approved the rules on the certification and maintenance of aircraft which that Agency must apply and we have also made progress on the ‘Single Sky’ initiative, which is an element which must improve safety in the European air sector.
It must be made clear that the recent behaviour of our American friends and partners does not relate to these points. We must point out that the data which has led to certain difficulties were not the data which appear in the ‘Passenger Name Record’ (PNR) and that they are sufficiently detailed to prevent certain types of errors which have been made in this field.
Although the justification for the cancellation of, for example, Air France and British Airways flights is not demonstrated
however, we must always be cautious in the face of terrorist threats and it is better to be overcautious than to be faced with an attack.
I would also like to refer to another issue which has appeared in the media and which causes a degree of concern, and that is the presence of security personnel on board aircraft which fly to the United States, an issue which raises all sorts of problems. Firstly, I would like to point out that this issue is one for the Member States to deal with. The Community has no competence in this area. Secondly, I would like to point out that, regardless of the way the Commission had organised a meeting next 16 January, that is, at the end of this week, of the aviation group in which all the civil aviation directors of the States of the Union participate, this point will be added to the long list of issues on the agenda and will be discussed.
Mr President, I will end by saying that what has happened recently demonstrates, firstly, that safety is a central aspect of air transport, and it is essential that we continue to ensure that it is maintained and strengthened. That safety must be dealt with in a global manner and it is not sufficient to talk about guarantees and safety for air companies from our territories, that is, European air companies and aircraft, because third-country aircraft also use our airports and huge numbers of our citizens travel on them. We therefore have to increase their safety and there is a margin to do so and I hope that there is agreement between Parliament and the Council on the issue of the safety of third-country aircraft.
I would like to say finally that safety issues for preventing problems relating to terrorism in the civil aviation sector must be dealt with from the point of view of seeking the greatest possible safeguards and security for passengers and citizens.
In any event, we must not forget that the number of air accidents has decreased over the last 10 years by 45 percent while air traffic has doubled. Nevertheless, since in 2003 there were 576 victims on commercial flights at world level, we must continue working to try to prevent this type of accident and to reduce them even more.
Unfortunately, these measures are not all relevant – and I do not know whether it is unfortunate – to the case in question. We are talking here about a different case. There was knowledge of certain problems with the aircraft – for example the incidents which took place when it was diverted for technical reasons to Athens airport – and it was natural to imagine that they would have been registered in the database provided for in the directive you approved last year, but it must be said that that directive will not enter into force for a year.
With regard to the Air Safety Agency, which since 28 September has been operational, its responsibility with regard to national certification competences is restricted to aircraft registered in the Community, in other words, those which have a Community flag, and therefore does not cover aircraft such as those of Flash Airlines. In accordance with the Chicago Convention, it is the flag State – the State in which the aircraft are registered – which is responsible for those aircraft complying with international safety rules, all under the supervision of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
Nevertheless, the States retain the possibility of checking that third-country aircraft arriving in their territory respect these rules. In order to facilitate this monitoring, in 1996 the States of the Union and certain European third countries created a system for inspecting aircraft and for exchanging the corresponding information, known as SAFA, within the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC). The European Commission co-funds this programme and participates in it as an observer.
It is this programme which has allowed for the exchange of information on the six inspections carried out by France, Germany and Poland following by the Swiss prohibition of the Flash Airlines Boeing 737. Nevertheless, although around 3 000 inspections are carried out each year, nothing guarantees that each State of the Union carries them out and how they are carried out. Furthermore, this system guarantees neither the approval of collective measures nor, above all, the transparency of inspections and measures and, furthermore, lacks sanction mechanisms against States which do not comply with the rules.
Furthermore, I believe that this lack of transparency is prejudicial to the companies which most respect the safety rules and since that respect is not known and the greater quality of the most serious companies is not known, it offers opportunities to those which are less serious. On the other hand, greater transparency would mean that everybody knows where things stand and clearly the passenger, the consumer, could choose, and would naturally choose maximum safety.
The Commission is aware of the shortcomings in the current organisation of the inspection system for aircraft. And I would like to point out that, as a consequence of an accident similar to the Flash Airlines accident, which took place in 1996 in Puerto Plata, in the Dominican Republic, on a flight operated by a Turkish charter company on behalf of a German travel agency, the Commission presented a proposed directive in 1997 on the control of third-country aircraft which land at Community airports.
I would like to point out that the Commission also presented a modified proposal on this text in January 2002 which essentially took up the 1997 text with corrections which improved on the text and which, furthermore, allowed it to be adopted speedily."@en1
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