Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-05-Speech-1-148"
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"en.20050905.21.1-148"2
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".
Madam President, allow me first of all to express my delight at the quality of this debate and at the way in which Parliament has joined together, which will help us to progress more swiftly along the road to improving air safety.
We had, moreover, already thought ahead, since it was in February that I proposed to the Commission that it adopt this draft Regulation on passengers’ rights, which included the obligation for the Member States to provide any information they had on suspicious carriers. As of April, this starting point was followed by an agreement in principle from the Member States. Yet, this summer has demonstrated the need to go beyond what the Member States had agreed to. I myself had approached the Member States with a view to laying down a common set of criteria and I had still not been able to convince them completely. I would like to thank your Committee on Transport and Tourism, and Mrs De Veyrac in particular, for its excellent work. We can now hope to benefit from control standards, to ensure that a ban in one Member State extends to the entire European Union, and even, at Commission level, to add a defective carrier to the black list, if necessary. Mrs De Veyrac has also mentioned the overall set of data which, at European level, will be far more significant and will enable far more effective action to be taken.
The Chairman of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, Mr Costa, whom I also thank, has insisted that the Commission be willing to provide an explanation of its overall strategy. I am at the disposal of his committee with a view to listing all of the parts of this strategy: third country aircraft, the regulation that you are going to adopt, the SAFA Directive that must be transposed into national law before April 2006, and, finally, the new draft Regulation that I will present to the Commission at the end of September with a view to entrusting the European Aviation Safety Agency with additional powers. This strategy must be outlined as clearly as possible, and I will endeavour to ensure that this happens. In actual fact, it is by means of an overall strategy that we will obtain the required outcomes and that we will put pressure I state this clearly on all of the carriers in order that they themselves also genuinely agree to subscribe to this increased safety effort.
Mr Piecyk, in particular, has stressed the fact that we had discussed the easing of restrictions. Let us not forget, however, that the effect of an increase in competition was a certain decrease in tariffs, which opened up air travel to young people and to people on tighter budgets. Air travel became more democratic as a result of competition. Yet, of course, there can only be competition in this area if it is subject to extremely stringent and clear regulation. I thank Parliament for offering us assistance to ensure that this regulation takes effect and is a great deal more specific.
Mr Sterckx also talked about third countries. Why have we taken so long? The Member States, in fact, had very often clung on to their national powers and had difficulty in accepting a certain transfer of powers to Community level. Today, the lesson has been learnt, and Parliament and the Commission must henceforth be able to convince, or finish convincing, the Member States that European powers are crucial, not in order to take away national powers, but to check that those national powers are exercised, with the necessary means and the required determination. That is how we will succeed in establishing a European air safety space.
Some of you have also raised the issue of employees. The new proposal for a regulation that I am going to present will also include provisions enabling the European Aviation Safety Agency to deal with equipment, pilots, pilot training and flight plans, in such a way as to be able, as it were, to give the crew members both the training and the authority they need to set flight plans and to prevent people from making demands of them that are scarcely, or not at all, compatible with safety.
Ladies and gentlemen, that is the plan that we must now carry out promptly, as many people have stressed, because we can no longer show Europeans evidence of a lack of determination in this area, a state of affairs that would be reprehensible. I sincerely thank all of the Members of Parliament who were willing to take part in this debate and I already see it as the sign of a quality item of legislation that should be swiftly adopted in order for us to become operational by the end of the year."@en1
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