WRITTEN QUESTION E-2130/02 by Mario Borghezio (NI) to the Commission. Air safety and the unification of traffic control in Europe.
Date: 2002-07-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: air safety, air space, air traffic control, common transport policy, systems interconnection, transport accident

12.12.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 309 E/201

The contract signed in 1997 was for construction of a road 3,1 km long avoiding the hamlet of Donoussa,
a 3,9 km link between that road and Mirsini and a 6,7 km link between Mirsini and the agricultural
settlement of Kalotaritissa. The contract for the missing 2 km section between the latter two places was
signed at the end of 1999 following a specific technical study on the nature of the terrain.

These are properly constructed roads protected at appropriate points against rainwater damage but as for
most country/agricultural roads in Greece asphalting was not included in the contracts. The light traffic on
Donoussa (163 inhabitants) can be served by an unasphalted but well hardened road. The question of
asphalting will be examined in the context of availability of funds and the region’s other priorities.

The following island road projects have also been part-financed (1994-1999 programming period) by the
European Regional Development Fund:

(cid:1) Amorgos: improvement and asphalting on 26,5 km of road linking Arkesini, Khora and Egali; a 1,9 km

road linking Potamos and Egali;

(cid:1) Iraklia: improvement and asphalting of 4,2 km of the road network

(cid:1) Serifos: asphalting of 8,7 km of the road network.

(2002/C 309 E/231)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2128/02

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(17 July 2002)

Subject: Business Impact Assessment for the Food Supplements Directive

Has the Commission carried out and published a business impact assessment on the Food Supplements
Directive (2002/46/EC (1))? If so, where is it to be found in the public domain?

(1) OJ L 183, 12.7.2002, p. 51.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(20 September 2002)

The Commission did not carry out a business impact assessment on the Proposal
for the Food
Supplements Directive (1). It was generally felt that harmonizing existing national rules, most of them
quite restrictive, would have a positive effect on business by eliminating unnecessary barriers to the free
movement of goods, avoiding often onerous and lengthy authorisation procedures in several Member
States, and offering food supplement producers the benefits of the Single Market.

(1) Proposal for a Directive of the Parliament and of the Council on the approximation of the laws of the Member

States relating to food supplements, OJ C 311 E, 31.10.2000.

(2002/C 309 E/232)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2130/02

by Mario Borghezio (NI) to the Commission

(17 July 2002)

Subject: Air safety and the unification of traffic control in Europe

The airline disaster involving a mid-air collision between a Tupolev 154 and a Boeing 757 over Lake
Constance claimed several dozen lives and drew attention once again to the urgent need to modernise and

C 309 E/202

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

12.12.2002

coordinate Europe’s air traffic control systems. As things stand at the moment, a plane flying between, for
example, Rome and Paris, is handled by six different air traffic control centres during the course of its
journey. This situation is fraught with coordination difficulties aggravated by the fact that the various
centres do not use the same computer systems. Experts are not ruling out the possibility of the inquest
into this latest accident finding that this succession of
‘mini control centres’ that are not properly
coordinated poses an additional threat to air safety.

Would the Commission not agree that there is an urgent need for it to monitor the effectiveness of the
arrangements for coordinating European control centres, on which planes flying over Europe depend, in
least with a view to the
order to ensure that
establishment of a ‘single European sky’?

they provide the necessary safety guarantees, not

(2002/C 309 E/233)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2159/02

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(18 July 2002)

Subject: Air accident in southern Germany and safety conditions in airspace

The probable cause of the collision between a Russian passenger Tupolev 154 aircraft and a Boeing 757
over southern Germany was the fact that the automatic system in the Zurich control tower giving warning
of possible collisions was not in operation. This news has increased concerns over the safety of flights in
European airspace. Recently, and before the tragic accident, mention was being made of the problems
caused by the increasing frequency of flights and related allegations were published. For example, British
air traffic controllers believe that since the beginning of the year the number of instances in which safety
was jeopardised in their airspace has doubled. Often they are unable to hear the pilots they are monitoring,
aircraft disappear from the radar screens, their computers often shut down and aeroplanes cannot maintain
the correct safety distances. Greek pilots,
in turn, believe that the new system for vertical separation
between air corridors (Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (cid:1) RVSM) creates risks because the technical
procedures recommended by Eurocontrol have not been completed.

The Commission:

1. Can it confirm the information regarding the temporary deactivation at the time of the accident of the

automatic system providing early warning of imminent danger?

2.

Is it aware of the above-mentioned allegations by air traffic controllers and pilots, or other similar
accusations? Might they be relevant to the air accident in Germany?

3. What steps does it intend to take to ensure that the increased frequency of flights does not give rise to

risks for passengers?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-2130/02 and E-2159/02
given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(22 August 2002)

The information available on the collision between two aircraft over Lake Constance does not, at this stage,
allow us to draw any conclusions as to the cause of the accident while the enquiry is still under way. The
information would appear to confirm that the automatic warning system on the ground was not in use
because it was being serviced. Following the tragedy, the Commission stressed that it was premature to
directly connect the problems which arose at the time of the accident, where human error also seems to
have been a major factor, with the solutions offered by the Single European Sky initiative. However, some
considerations of a general nature are valid today, as they were before the accident occurred.

The growth in air traffic in recent years has put more pressure on national air traffic control systems. More
data is exchanged between control centres and there is greater coordination between them. Rules must be
observed regarding airspace structure, data exchange, means of communication and the procedures to
follow if the system breaks down. Responsibility for ensuring that the rules are correctly observed and are
effective lies first with the service providers and, second, with the national authorities, who must monitor
their application.