WRITTEN QUESTION E-0430/01 by Raffaele Lombardo (PPE-DE) to the Council. Regulation of civil and military air traffic in Europe.
Date: 2001-02-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Eurocontrol, air space, air traffic, air transport, civil aviation, military aircraft

C 81 E/4

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.4.2002

Within the context of police cooperation, initiatives have been taken to combat hooliganism in football.
This has led to more effective cooperation between Member States(cid:146) police services. Examples include the
possibility of sending police officers to another Member State in order to track supporters and cooperate
with local authorities; the establishment of common (cid:145)standards(cid:146) for safety measures in countries hosting
international sporting events; and Council recommendations on the prevention and control of disorder at
football matches. A recent example is the Dutch-Belgian project (cid:145)Police Expertise Euro 2000(cid:146), which
evaluates the police involvement in the Euro 2000 soccer championship. It aims at drawing conclusions
on how to further improve measures and cooperation for future similar events. The project was financed
by the Union(cid:146)s (cid:145)OISIN(cid:146) programme for police and customs cooperation.

The Commission would also inform the Honourable Member that, under the aegis of the Council of
Europe, the Member States of the Union cooperate within the framework of the (cid:145)European Convention on
Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events and in Particular at Football Matches(cid:146) (2).

Finally, the Commission would point out that there is no specific support programme for sport.

(1) Report from the European Commission to the European Council with a view to safeguarding current sports
structures and maintaining the social function of sport within the Community framework (cid:129) Helsinki Report on
Sport (cid:129) COM(1999) 644 of 1.12.1999.

(2) European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events and in Particular at Football

Matches (cid:129) No 120 in the European Treaty Series (cid:129) 19 August 1985.

(2002/C 81 E/006)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0385/01

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(15 February 2001)

Subject: EU funds

What is the total of EU grants and funding spent in or allocated to the south-east region of the United
Kingdom for each of the last five years for which figures are available?

Supplementary answer
given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(28 November 2001)

Further to its answer of 23 March 2001 (1), the Commission is sending the information requested direct to
the Honourable Member and to Parliament(cid:146)s Secretariat.

(1) OJ C 174 E, 19.6.2001, p. 262.

(2002/C 81 E/007)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0430/01

by Raffaele Lombardo (PPE-DE) to the Council

(20 February 2001)

Subject: Regulation of civil and military air traffic in Europe

There have recently been a number of extremely serious cases of military aircraft encroaching on civilian
air space over Italy. In view of the very real danger posed by breaches of the rules in force on safety
distances and, more generally, by the lack of supranational rules governing air navigation, and in order to
ensure the safety of users and to reconcile this with the needs of the military,

4.4.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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can the Council say:

(cid:129) whether it intends, as a matter of urgency, to improve the management of European air traffic
through the application of Community competition law principles, thus ensuring the creation of a
(cid:145)single European sky(cid:146), in line with the wishes expressed by the Commission in its communication of
1 December 1999 to the Council and the European Parliament, and to introduce at the same time a
strict and rigorously enforced system of priorities under which the safety of civilian flights takes
precedence over the requirements of military exercises;

(cid:129) whether it considers it appropriate to introduce measures aimed at giving effect to the undertakings
contained in the Council Resolution of 17 November 1995 on the problem of congestion and the air
traffic crisis facing Europe;

(cid:129) whether it considers it necessary to adopt provisions aimed at speeding up and making more effective
the procedures for implementing in Community and national law the Eurocontrol standards, most
recently laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 2082/2000 (1) and, at the same time, to
promote more innovative Community-based forms of cooperation;

(cid:129) whether it intends to lay down, not merely by means of a directive but also of regulations, the
minimum requirements for communication, surveillance and automated assistance systems for air
traffic control in Europe?

(1) OJ L 254, 9.10.2000, p. 1.

Reply

(20 November 2001)

Safety of civil aviation is a priority in the Community air transport policy and the Council attaches great
concern to this issue. As an institution, it is not directly engaged in military aviation.

As regards the project of the European (cid:145)Single Sky(cid:146), the Council has been regularly informed about the
work of the High Level Group chaired by Mrs de Palacio, Vice-President of the Commission, and whose
report was published in December last year. It notes that this work involved all aviation actors and in
particular civil and military authorities.

The European Council, at its meeting in Stockholm last March, reaffirmed its intention of setting up the
European (cid:145)Single Sky(cid:146) and indicated that it expected to make further progress on this issue in time for its
meeting in June at G(cid:246)teborg. On 15 and 16 June 2001 the European Council recalled the importance of
the European Single Sky inititative and noted that contacts are under way between the relevant Member
States on the question of
It hopes that these contacts will produce early
agreement. The Commission intends to bring forward detailed proposals with a view to achieving a Single
Sky by 2004.

its territorial application.

The Council
is now ready to give the requested priority to the examination of legislative proposals
expected from the Commission and covering a large part of the concerns expressed by the Honourable
Member.

The Council is aware that further improvement of the situation could be achieved once the Community
has become a member of Eurocontrol and expresses the hope that the requirements to this effect be met as
soon as possible. Furthermore it is convinced that an additional important element for the aviation policy
will be the Regulation for the establishment of a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) which is
currently under examination and concerns, in particular, standardisation and certification of aeronautical
products.