WRITTEN QUESTION E-2185/02

by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(19 July 2002)

Subject: Establishment of a pan-European air traffic control system

I refer to my Written Question E-2733/00(1) dated 1 September 2000 on the establishment of a pan-European air traffic control system and to the answer, dated 5 October 2000, given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission. Given that the mid-air collision over Lake Constance, which occurred during the night of 1 July and in which 71 people were killed, could probably have been prevented if a pan-European air traffic control system had been in operation, would the Commission indicate:

1. whether or not it takes the view that, in the light of that disaster, a pan-European air traffic control system should be established as rapidly as possible, even in the face of the resistance put up by the pampered clique of air traffic controllers,

2. what stage has been reached in the Single European Airspace project, which the Commission began in 1999, and,

3. what legislative measures exist in general in the EU in this field and, in particular, which ones may come into consideration in connection with the activities of the high-level group (referred to in Mrs de Palacio's answer) to which representatives of the civil aviation sector in the Member States belong and which is responsible for advising the Commission about the direction to be taken when reforming air traffic control?

(1) OJ C 113 E, 18.4.2001, p. 160.

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(3 October 2002)

The Commission has made safety one of its priorities in the transport sector and has already implemented a raft of measures designed to increase air transport safety. In particular, the Commission plans to look into whether transferring air safety activities to the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) would improve air safety in Europe.

With regard to air safety, the Commission in October and December 2001 submitted to the Parliament and the Council four legislative proposals(1) with a view to establishing the single European sky: a regulation on the creation of the single European sky, a regulation on the provision of air navigation services, a regulation on the organisation and use of airspace and a regulation on interoperability. These proposals are intended to improve the organisation of air navigation while maintaining and improving safety levels. Both the Commission and the Member States are constantly restating the need for safety. It is an area of particular interest in all discussions. The Commission is convinced, furthermore, that the fragmentation between systems (currently the rule in Europe when moving from the airspace of one Member State to another) is a significant factor increasing risks and hence compromising safety. The proposals creating the single European sky will improve the safety of air traffic management by reducing the fragmentation between systems.

The proposals are still before the Council and the Parliament, but the Barcelona European Council called on the co-legislators to adopt the proposals quickly in order to make it possible to create the single European sky by the end of 2004.

In September, the plenary part-session of the European Parliament (3 September 2002) voted at first reading in favour of the single sky package, by and large endorsing the Commission's approach.

(1) COM(2001) 123 final and COM(2001) 564 final.