Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-06-16-Speech-3-500"
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"en.20100616.32.3-500"2
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"Mr President, sincere thanks to all the speakers for the comments they have made. Despite the late hour, there is very clearly considerable interest in many of the topics. It has been quite rightly mentioned that Europe and the United States together represent close to 60% of global aviation traffic. Therefore, this agreement is very significant: not only for the citizens of Europe and the United States, but for all the passengers that take advantage of our carriers.
So let me stop here and thank the Members again for their very useful and constructive comments.
In addition to the face-value significance for air transport, the unparalleled business links, strong demographic and cultural ties and geographic positioning mean that the US, for Europe, is the most important strategic aviation partner. It is exactly the objective of this agreement to consolidate this strategic transatlantic partnership and to secure the gains from the First Stage Agreement guaranteeing a stable framework for future relations.
A number of speakers pointed out the need to continue this process of engagement so we can make further advances. One of the achievements of the Second Stage Agreement is indeed that it puts in place a process of engagement.
I would like to immediately reply at this point that of course, the Commission would be keenly interested in sharing our own work in the Joint Committee with Parliament, as we see a significant value in Parliament’s engagement as we move forward.
By opening up more opportunities for the industry and addressing some of the regulatory challenges it faces, the agreement will play a role in helping the European aviation industry emerge from the current period, which is characterised by profound economic and operational challenges.
Let me be very clear. The Commission, like many of the speakers, agrees that the Second Stage Agreement is not perfect. It is a very important step forward but it is not a perfect or conclusive step.
Like the speakers here, the Commission would have liked to have seen an immediate and irrevocable change to the US law governing ownership and control of their airlines, but the reality is that this is not in the hands of the US Administration, with whom we negotiate. It is a legislative reform that can only be delivered with the support of the US Congress.
This leads me to a very important message to this audience: that Europe will have to use its influence to persuade the US Congress of the merits of continuous reforms. In this respect in particular, the European Parliament will have a key role to play, with the engagement and the opportunities Parliament has with Congress in relations with members of Congress. I hope that we can count on you to advance the dialogue, the discussions and, most importantly, the legislative steps needed.
On the issue that was pointed out by a couple of speakers on data protection: just for the record, this is not part of the Air Services Agreement. It is a matter of justice and home affairs and obviously a matter that is of importance, and it will be taken up seriously in the context of discussions in that field."@en1
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