Amended proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Community Air Traffic Controller Licence  (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty)
Date: 2005-06-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: International Civil Aviation Organisation, air safety, air traffic, air traffic control, diploma, vocational training

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 23.06.2005 
COM(2005) 293 final 

2004/0146 (COD) 

Amended proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on a Community Air Traffic Controller Licence 

(presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty) 

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2004/0146 (COD) 

Amended proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on a Community Air Traffic Controller Licence 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Transmission of the Proposals to the Council and the European Parliament (COM(2004) 0473 
– 2004/0146(COD))  

in accordance with article 80(2) of the Treaty 
Opinion of the European Economic and Social 
Committee 
Opinion of the Committee of Regions 
Opinion of the European Parliament - first reading 

12 July 2004 
9 March 2005 

No opinion sent 
8 March 2005 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSAL 

The Commission proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on a 
Community air traffic controller licence is one of the key elements of the Single Sky package. 
The  licence  contributes  to  the  recognition  of  the  specific  competencies  of  air  traffic 
controllers  at  Community  level.  At  the  same  time,  high  and  harmonised  competencies  form 
part of a wider Community safety policy and will contribute to a more flexible organisation of 
the workforce, especially in view of cross-border service provision and the establishment and 
management of functional airspace blocks. 

3. 

COMMENTS ON THE AMENDMENTS ADOPTED BY THE PARLIAMENT 

3.1. 

Introduction 

The European Parliament has adopted 21 amendments, of which the Commission accepts 18 
(see  3.2  and  3.3).  However,  the  Commission  is  not  able  to  accept  three  of  the  Parliament 
amendments (see 3.4). 

3.2. 

Amendments accepted by the Commission 

The Commission supports all amendments relating to drafting or highlighting the importance 
of safety standards. This is the case for amendments 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 15. The 
Commission also supports the position of the Parliament with regard to amendments where a 
delicate  balance  is  struck  between  safety  requirements  and  mobility  expectations,  covering 
“national” endorsements (amendment 16) and the linguistic regime (amendments 10 and 17). 
In  order  to  take  due  account  of  amendment 10,  the  amended  proposal  introduces  a  specific 
approval  procedure  of  the  linguistic  test  instead  of  a  complete  certification  procedure,  as 
suggested by Parliament. 

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Amendments 10 and 17 would lead to the following reformulation of Article 8 par. 4: 

Article 8 

4.  Member States may impose local language requirements when deemed necessary for 
safety purposes. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, Member States may in 
certain  cases  and  for  […]  reasons  of  safety,  require  level  5  of  the  […]  language 
proficiency rating scale, as specified in Annex II, in English and/or the local language 
where  the  operational  circumstances  of  the  [..]  rating  or  the  endorsement  so  require. 
Any such requirement must be objectively justified, non-discriminatory, proportionate 
and  transparent.  Proficiency  shall  be  demonstrated  by  a  certificate  issued  after  a 
transparent and objective assessment procedure approved by the national supervisory 
authority. 1 

With regard to accounting standards, the Commission supports amendment 18, proposing the 
deletion of Article 11 par. 1. 

3.3. 

Amendments accepted in part or in principle by the Commission 

The  Commission  supports  the  idea  of  follow-up  of  the  implementation  of  the  Directive  by 
social  partner  organisations  (amendment 6)  and  of  the  reference  to  national  social  law  and 
regulations in case of mobility (amendment 20), on the condition that these ideas are reflected 
in  recitals  in  the  appropriate  form  of  legal  drafting.  The  idea  of  security  training  and  crisis 
management mentioned in amendment 14 would be referred to in Annex I Part A dealing with 
initial training issues. 

Amendments 6, 14 and 20 would lead to the following reformulation of recital 16 and annex I 
Part A and to the introduction of a new recital 16(a): 

(16)  This  Directive  may  have  an  impact  on  the  daily  working  practices  of  air  traffic 
controllers. The social partners should be informed and consulted in an appropriate way on 
all  measures  having  significant  social  implications.  Therefore,  the  Sectoral  Dialogue 
Committee  set  up  under  Commission  Decision  1998/500/EC  of  20 May 1998  on  the 
establishment  of  Sectoral  Dialogue  Committees  promoting  the  dialogue  between  the  social 
partners  at  European  level  has  been  consulted  and  should  be  consulted  on  any  further 
developments. 

Annex I Part A 

including  Procedures 

Par. 2:  Initial  training  shall  cover  the  following  subjects:  Aviation  Law,  Air  Traffic 
Management, 
for  Civil-Military  Co-operation,  Meteorology, 
Navigation, Aircraft and Principles of Flight, including an understanding between air traffic 
controller  and  pilot,  Human  Factors,  Equipment  and  Systems,  Professional  Environment, 
Unusual/Emergency  Situations,  including  security  and  crisis  management,  Degraded 
Systems, Linguistic Knowledge, including radiotelephony Phraseology. 

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Texts  marked  in  italics  and  bold  reflect  the  changes  of  Parliament  to  the  Commission  proposal. 
Underlined texts reflect Commission drafting amendments to these proposals for amendment. 

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(16a)  Member  States  should  ensure  that  the  rights  and  obligations  applicable  to  the 
employment relationship between the air traffic controller and employer are governed 
by  the  provisions  applicable  in  the  Member  State  where  the  air  traffic  controller 
usually performs his/her work, irrespective of the airspace under his responsibility. 

3.4. 

Amendments refused 

The  Commission  can  not  support  amendment  19.  It  is  of  the  opinion  that  international 
accounting  standards  are  sufficiently  covered  by  other  Community  legislation.  Furthermore, 
the Commission does not support amendments 4 and 21. Amendment 4 would lead to a delay 
of the introduction of the Community standards and the co-existence of both the Community 
and  the  national  systems  of  licences.  In  the  case  of  safety  this  is  not  acceptable. 
Amendment 21 is rejected as it deviates from the standard clause on sanctions. 

3.5. 

Conclusion 

Pursuant  Article 250  paragraph 2  of  the  EC  Treaty,  the  Commission  amends  its  proposal  as 
indicated above. 

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