3. 5. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 112/1 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
Opinion on the draft Council Directive on the limitation of noise emissions from 
helicopters 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the European 
Communities No C 275 of 27 October 1981, page 2. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 21 October 1981 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic and 
Social Committee in accordance with Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 195th 
plenary session held in Brussels on 24 and 25 February 1982. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 198 
thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council of the 
European Communities on 21 October 1981 for an 
opinion on the draft Council Directive on the limitation of 
noise emissions from helicopters, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 
27 October 1981 instructing the Section for the 
Protection of the Environment, Public Health and 
Consumer Affairs to prepare an opinion on the matter, 
Having regard to that Section's discussions at its 
67th meeting held on 2 February 1982, 
Having regard to its opinion on the proposal for a Council 
Directive on the limitation of noise emissions from 
subsonic aircraft (*), and the Committee opinion on the 
proposal for a Directive amending Council Directive 
80/51/79/EEC of 20 December 1979 on the limitation 
of noise emissions from subsonic aircraft (2), 
(») OJNoC299, 18. 12. 1976. 
(2) OJ No C 348, 31. 12. 1981, p. 3. Having regard to the oral report made by the rapporteur, 
Mr Bernaert, 
Having regard to the discussions at its 195th plenary 
session held on 24 and 25 February 1982 (meeting of 
24 February), 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
unanimously: 
1. The Committee notes that this proposal for a 
Directive falls within the action programmes on the 
environment, which highlight the need to reduce aircraft 
noise in particular. Several years ago the Council adopted 
a Directive (80/51/EEC) to limit noise emissions from 
subsonic jet and propeller-driven aircraft. The 
Commission subsequently submitted amendments to this 
Directive to the Council, and the Committee delivered an 
opinion thereon in November 1981. 
The draft Directive, like Directive 80/51/EEC, is 
applicable only to civil aircraft. 
2. Although the general provisions concerning the 
noise certification of helicopters are basically similar to 
those for fixed-wing aircraft ^ the Commission did not 
consider it appropriate to deal with helicopters, in the 
Directive on fixed-wing aircraft, in view of the differences 
between helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, the 
No C 112/2 Official Journal of the European Communities 3. 5. 82 
foreseeable trend in noise standards for helicopters, and 
the administrative complications that would be caused by 
including helicopters. 
3. The Commission proposes to follow the same 
procedure as for fixed-wing aircraft, by bringing into 
effect within the Community the rules adopted at 
international level by the International Civil Aviation 
Organization (ICAO); the aim is to prevent noise 
nuisance by means of the uniform and mandatory 
application of noise standards by the Member States, and 
to avoid any economic distortion between Member 
States. Several Member States have already announced 
that they intend to incorporate the rules into their own 
national legislation: such a move, in the absence of a 
Directive would create barriers to Community trade. 
4. The Committee notes that the ICAO Convention 
provides for minimum standards which are not 
mandatory until they have been incorporated into 
national legislation. Under Article 38 of the ICAO 
Convention, the 149 signatories may derogate from the 
standards, provided ICAO is notified of the differences 
between the national and the ICAO standards (for 
example, stricter or more lenient standards, or longer or 
shorter deadlines). 
5. The Committee also notes that the ICAO standards 
which came into effect on 26 November 1981 are 
applicable to helicopters whose prototype was designed 
after 1 January 1980. They will not be applicable to the 
versions derived from an existing type until 1 January 
1985. No specification is at present envisaged for 
helicopters that are in production. 
6. Without wishing to make a value judgement on the 
technical basis of the ICAO standards, the Committee 
would draw the Commission's attention to the need to 
bear in mind, in international negotiations, the 
'reciprocity' aspect as regards the mandatory nature of 
these standards. It would be unacceptable if the helicopter 
industry and helicopter users in the Community had to 
comply with strict and mandatory requirements, 
Done at Brussels, 24 February 1982. involving high costs of production and use, while the 
industry and users in other countries were not subject to 
the same constraints. There would inevitably be serious 
risks of distortion in international competition if the 
Commission failed to be vigilant and take the requisite 
decisions in this field. 
7. The Committee also observes that there is not yet 
enough information available for a full assessment of the 
economic consequences of adopting these standards, 
particularly with regard to helicopters of a new design. 
8. In the light of all these points, the Committee 
approves the objectives of the Commission proposal and 
stresses the need to take account of the effects of 
helicopters on the environment; it feels, however, that the 
proposed deadlines for the application of these standards 
should be put back sufficiently far to ensure that the 
introduction of Community rules will be fully compatible 
with the technological know-how and the economic 
possibilities of the Community industry, having regard to 
the position of the helicopter industry in third 
countries. 
9. Finally, as with the Directive on fixed-wing 
aircraft, the Commission proposes that an ad hoc 
committee be set up to ensure that the Directive on 
helicopters keeps pace with technological progress. It 
should, however, be pointed out that the Council did not 
adopt the Commission's proposal for such a committee in 
the case of fixed-wing aircraft. The Commission 
nevertheless feels that such a committee is particularly 
necessary in the case of helicopters, given that helicopter 
noise standards have been introduced only very recently 
and are bound to develop rapidly in order to take better 
account of technical, economic and environmental 
requirements. 
The Committee notes the Commission's approach to this 
matter and recognizes its validity, but stresses that the 
ad hoc committee in question must take into 
consideration the possible economic repercussions of its 
decisions. 
The Chairman of 
the Economic and Social Committee 
Tomas ROSEINGRAVE