Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-11-15-Speech-2-342"
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"en.20051115.29.2-342"2
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".
Mr President, before getting to the issue itself, I would like one day to be told how agendas are drawn up in the Conference of Presidents. I shall not give any examples, but we often discuss matters that interest almost nobody in the middle of the day but, when it comes to texts that concern many of our fellow citizens, such as the one we are looking at this evening, or the rail package – and I can see that Mr Jarzembowski and Mr Savary are here – we discuss them practically in secret late at night. That is what I wanted to say, though it in no way detracts from our pleasure at having reached an agreement on this text.
I would like first of all to thank the shadow rapporteurs and Parliament’s services, as well as the services of the European Commission and the Council, for their fruitful and – why not say it – friendly cooperation. We have all worked quickly and efficiently in order to reach an agreement at first reading and thus send a positive message to our fellow citizens.
As you have reminded us, the tragic events of last summer had increased the onus on us to adopt new measures to enhance air passenger safety and information. And that is a responsibility that we have all taken on together.
We are talking about air safety; I would like to reiterate, however, that air transport remains by far the safest means of transport. At the same time, we need to be realistic and bear in mind that there is no such thing as zero risk and that the dramatic increase in air transport over the coming years could lead to a rise in the number of air accidents. In order to prevent that from happening, we must resolve the shortcomings of the current system by providing a European mechanism which, in addition to the work of the ICAO, goes further in terms of strengthening air safety, and it was in this spirit that this report has been drawn up.
If we compare the European Commission’s initial position, that is to say the publication of national lists, with the text we have before us today, we can see that we have travelled an extremely long way and that is something that did not seem possible just a few months ago. Thanks to the impetus provided by Parliament, we are on the point of creating a single Community blacklist, drawn up on the basis of common criteria and applicable throughout Union territory. That will guarantee our fellow citizens the same level of safety, whichever Community airport they use and – why not say it – this text is a great victory for the European Union.
I would now like quickly to try to return to the proposed regulation in more detail and tell you how this list will initially be established. The Member States will have one month, from the entry into force of the regulation, to communicate the list of airlines banned from flying over their territory, drawn up on the basis of the common criteria annexed to this text. This could involve any company with the right to fly in the Union, as well as those which do not have that right but whose aircraft may be chartered in the European Union. Within a period of a maximum of one month, the Commission will call together the committee of experts and decide whether or not the carrier should be included on the list. And all of the airlines included on this Community list will be banned from flying throughout Community territory. This Community list will be updated at the request of a Member State or of the Commission, whenever that becomes necessary. Furthermore, this list will be made public and will be communicated effectively and widely to passengers, in particular by electronic means and by means of posters. Finally, passengers will have the right to reimbursement or rerouting in cases in which their carrier is placed on the list after reservation or in the event that it is replaced by a prohibited carrier.
That is what I have to say in relation to the black list, but there is also the section dealing with passenger information and this regulation imposes an obligation on sellers of tickets: to inform passengers of the identity of the airline with which they will actually be travelling. And that information must also be provided to passengers in the event of a change of air carrier. Finally, the Regulation leaves it to the Member States to impose sanctions in the event that the passenger information obligation is not met.
With regard to the procedure, the text should be ready for approval by the Council at the end of November, following verification by the lawyer-linguists of the two institutions.
Finally, Mr President, I would like to say a few words about the European Aviation Safety Agency, since I believe that this regulation forms part of a global strategy for improving air safety in Europe. The next stage of this process will therefore be to extend the competences of the EASA, in particular with regard to the certification of third-country aircraft, and I am truly delighted, Commissioner, that you have presented this proposal today. For the moment, the regulation that we are discussing this evening will provide the citizens with the European blacklist from the beginning of 2006 and I am pleased with this result. Europe is making progress towards increasing air safety. It is taking great strides."@en1
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