Mr President, the tragic events of 11 September in the United States have given new impetus to the reinforcement of arrangements for aviation security. The European Council meeting the day after the terrorist attacks on the USA instructed the Transport Council to evaluate the measures to be taken to improve aviation security and complete its consideration of those already proposed. The draft regulation itself was fairly straightforward and has been amended. However, the attached technical annex, Document 30, based on the European Civil Aviation Conference – or ECAC – was found to be out of date. Whilst Parliament has responded speedily to the challenge, we believe that this should not lead to a lower level of parliamentary scrutiny and we reserve the right to amend in second reading the revised annex to this regulation adopted by the Council in its common position. I have met with representatives from the Council and Commission and have consulted widely with the industry. Due to the difficulty with the annex, as mentioned earlier, I chose to proceed with the report along the following lines: to work with the draft regulation and annex without amending the original annex as given to Parliament but to reserve the right to a second reading after the Council's common position has been adopted. This option accords with established procedures and ensures proper scrutiny. The draft regulation concerns, principally, access control and passenger luggage and freight screening on the ground at airports and is outlined fully in my explanatory statement. The scope does not extend to on-board security which may need to be addressed at some future date. The technical standards themselves are those adopted by ECAC in 1992 in Document 30, part 2, relating to security issues revised in January 2001 and, as mentioned, currently being updated. ECAC membership extends to 38 European States including all EU Member States. It is worth pointing out to Parliament that this agreement reached by the 38 countries will set a precedent in so far as for the first time the agreement will have binding force upon its contracting parties. Document 30 had previously been used for general guidance only. Following on from the joint resolution which Parliament adopted at the last plenary session on the subject of aviation, the key areas for amendment to this text are as follows: first, Member States assume responsibility for additional security costs in the light of the terrorist attacks; second, inspections of airports should be unannounced if airports are to be inspected under real operating conditions; third, Member States take responsibility in assisting employers in the screening of employees engaged in all security tasks, not least because employers are not always entitled to access personal data due to strict privacy laws; fourth, where there is a requirement for structural modifications at airports a six month time-limit will be implemented; and fifth, that a procedure be formulated, as is currently the case in ECAC, that would allow industry access to the Comitology Committee without running into problems of existing legal structures. In addition, on a general point, we are calling for more effective international cooperation in the area of exchange of information for security purposes. To conclude, we are all aware of the catastrophic effects on the aviation industry and tourist sector as a result of 11 September. Around 200 000 directly-related jobs have already been lost worldwide, 30 000 in the EU alone, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. It is not only big businesses which have been affected but also thousands of small businesses, such as small aviation clubs who produce the pilots of tomorrow. Airlines, airports, manufacturers, hotels, the transport sector are all reliant on finding a solution to this problem. This report is not the sole solution but it is a step in the right direction provided that the Member States recognise their moral duty to protect their citizens and accept their responsibility to assist in the financing of these additional security measures. It is quite clear that urgent action must be taken to restore public confidence which, in turn, would assist the aviation industry, the tourism sector and the European Union as a whole.

Political group: PPE-DE