WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1354/97 by Spalato BELLERE' to the Commission. Liberalization of air transport in the EU
Date: 1997-04-21
Institutions: BELLERE, European Parliament
Subjects: EU body, EU control, European standard, air transport, application of EU law, approximation of laws, competition law, liberalisation of the market, technical standard, transport safety













EUR-Lex - 91997E1354 - EN






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91997E1354

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1354/97 by Spalato BELLERE' to the Commission. Liberalization of air transport in the EU  


Official Journal C 391 , 23/12/1997 P. 0072 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1354/97 by Spalato Belleré (NI) to the Commission (21 April 1997)Subject: Liberalization of air transport in the EUWith the liberalization of air transport in the European Union, which came into force on Tuesday, 1 April 1997, any company from a Member State may provide services on a domestic route in another Member State. This establishes once and for all unitary European skies and consequently competition, particularly as regards fares.Is the Commission aware of the air-safety parameters which must be observed and the guidelines being defined to guarantee the necessary technical conditions?Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (27 May 1997)The Commission agrees that, in the liberalised internal air transport market, due attention must be given to the harmonisation of the technical and social environment in order to ensure fair competition and the maintenance of high safety standards.Accordingly the Commission proposed in 1990, and the Council adopted in 1991, a Council Regulation ((Regulation 3922/91/EEC of 16.12.1991 - OJ L 373, 31.12.1991. )) on the harmonisation of technical requirements and administrative procedures in civil aviation, with a view to establishing the necessary common legislative basis for aviation safety regulation, using as much as possible the work of the organisation created by the European civil aviation administrations, the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA). A number of rules governing airworthiness and aircraft maintenance have already been introduced into Community law through this instrument, and the Commission is considering further recently adopted rules on air operators certification and flight crew licensing.In the same spirit the Commission has prepared, and the Council has adopted, a Council Directive ((Directive 94/56/EEC of 21.11.1994 - OJ L 319, 12.12.1994. )) on aircraft accident investigation. This makes a mandatory requirement for Member States to investigate aircraft accidents and serious incidents and to cooperate in drawing conclusions, so that all appropriate measures can be taken to avoid recurrence. Similarly, the Commission is now working on a system for incident reporting and treatment, so as to prevent accidents as much as possible.The Commission recognized in its communication ((SEC(96) 1083 final. )) defining a Community aviation safety improvement strategy, that these actions would not be sufficient if nothing was done to ensure their effective and uniform implementation. It suggested therefore that a European Aviation Safety Authority be created to be responsible for regulating aviation safety in the whole of Europe. The Commission also proposed to the Council a recommendation - and appropriate negotiating directives - which would empower it to negotiate the creation of an international organisation to fulfil this role on behalf of the Community, its Member States and all other European countries willing to join.