Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-01-17-Speech-2-078"
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"en.20060117.6.2-078"2
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"Mr President, I too should like to join with all those colleagues who have remarked on the excellent work of the rapporteurs, Mr El Khadraoui and Mr Zīle.
I support the view of the rapporteur concerning the necessity of developing a common external aviation policy for the EU. However, in addition to the EU aviation policy, we must be able to develop bilateral aviation agreements with third countries, as many of our partners have difficulties in committing to those common Union agreements. Nevertheless, I underline that those bilateral agreements should be in addition to and complement – not replace – the common aviation policy. Most importantly, the normal functioning of air traffic should be assured without useless confrontation while we are negotiating.
As the rapporteur has stated, we have noted the difficulties in negotiating a comprehensive agreement with Russia. The charges imposed for flights over its territory are clearly against international law and are not acceptable. Sad but true, it seems that Russia will always somehow utilise its airspace for strategic purposes. I do not believe that we will get rid of those charges even though Russia would no longer collect overflight charges. Every year we in the European Union pay around EUR 250 million in such charges. Unfortunately, a major part of that sum ends up in the accounts of Russian airline Aeroflot. That is also bad for the competition situation in Europe.
For Finland these charges are significant, as the only realistic option to fly to Asia is over Siberia. We should ensure that a level playing field exists for all EU operators. Today that is not the case, as those charges are often arbitrary and differ from one airline to another.
As Russia seems to prefer bilateral cooperation, it is with happiness that I note that a more open attitude prevails in China. I would hope that the Council would agree to start negotiations with China and give the Commission a proper mandate for achieving a common aviation agreement.
Finally, by ensuring sustainable economic and regulatory conditions for air traffic to Asia, we also revitalise the European aviation industry and ensure the possibility of offering efficient flight connections and routes, including in the more sparsely populated and geographically distant areas of Europe, such as the northern part of Finland."@en1
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