European Parliament resolution on developing the agenda for the Community's external aviation policy (2005/2084(INI))
Date: 2006-01-17
Institutions: Committee on Transport and Tourism, European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU policy, air safety, air traffic, air transport, crew, economic policy, international relations, labour standard, pollution control measures, third country

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Tuesday, 17 January 2006

56. Regrets the lack of measurable added value delivered so far by the existing agencies and organisations
at European level, especially the limited exchange of information between the Member States and Europol,
which is the main European tool for fighting trafficking in human beings under Article 2(2) of the Europol
Convention (1), the EU Treaty, the Presidency Conclusions of the Tampere European Council and the
Hague Programme; further regrets the fact that, among its numerous analyses of specific crimes, Europol
has so far produced only one analytical document in this field;

57.
Stresses that Europol should give greater priority to combating trafficking; considers that Europol's
financial and personnel resources should be used to make work to prevent trafficking more efficient, parti-
cularly trafficking in women and children, and to combat large-scale international organised crime;

Stresses the importance of close cooperation between Europol staff and their international counter-
58.
parts who are responsible for combating trafficking (with particular regard to exchanging information
concerning criminal networks, trafficking routes and traffickers'
identity) as a means of making legal
proceedings more effective;

59. Calls on the Commission to submit an annual assessment of the actions conducted in each Member
State, including an assessment of the implementation and enforcement of anti-trafficking legislation;

60. Calls on the Commission and Council to ensure that their activities within various international fora
such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, the Beijing review process, the Stability Pact for Southern Europe and the G8, are coordinated and
coherent;

61. Calls on Member States to implement programmes for local-level cooperation with security services
in regions with the highest unemployment rates, in order to prevent people trafficking;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, and to the govern-

62.
ments and parliaments of the Member States and the accession and candidate countries.

(1) OJ C 316, 27.11.1995, p. 2.

P6_TA(2006)0006

Community external aviation policy

European Parliament resolution on developing the agenda for the Community's external aviation
policy (2005/2084(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the communication from the Commission, ‘Developing the agenda for the Communi-

ty's external aviation policy’ (COM(2005)0079),

— having regard to the Council Conclusions of 27 June 2005 on developing the agenda for the Commu-

nity's external aviation policy (1),

— having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A6-0403/2005),

(1) OJ C 173, 13.7.2005, p. 1.

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A. whereas aviation is still a growing industry with great economic potential, both in Europe and else-

where,

Tuesday, 17 January 2006

B. whereas the Court of Justice has ruled that some of the existing bilateral aviation agreements concluded

by Member States contravene principles of EC law and should therefore be amended,

C. whereas, when concluding aviation agreements with third countries, the Community can bring its full

economic and political influence to bear and prevent discrimination between EU airlines,

D. whereas convergence of regulations is particularly important, and is indeed a precondition for the
conclusion of such agreements, especially regulations on safety, security, competition, state aid, the
environment and the social rights of workers,

E. whereas, when negotiating agreements, the Commission should draw on the expertise and information
of Member States and other interested parties and should involve them before, during and after negotia-
tions with third countries,

General principles

1. Recognises the global nature, economic importance and continuing growth of the aviation sector, as
well as the need to manage the effects of this growth on air traffic management, safety and the environ-
ment, and therefore the need to develop a common external aviation policy;

Insists on the need for a coherent strategy for developing a common external aviation policy and

2.
considers agreements with the USA, Russia and China respectively as prerequisites;

3. Recognises the need to bring existing bilateral agreements into line with Community law, on the basis
of the ruling of the Court of Justice, through adaptation by the Member States themselves or, preferably
through the conclusion of Community agreements under the so-called horizontal mandate, drawing on the
expertise and information of Member States and other interested parties;

Stresses the need to avoid preventing Member States from negotiating whilst active negotiations are

4.
underway on Community agreements;

Emphasises that bilateral agreements should be adapted as soon as possible in order to avoid legal

5.
uncertainty;

6. Recalls that the commencement of negotiations on Community agreements, which, by nature, take
more time than horizontal negotiations, can only be supported if a clear, coherent negotiation strategy
exists;

7. Recognises that this approach can be complemented by a more fundamental change in external avia-
tion policy, which would provide benefits to European consumers and the EU industry through the adop-
tion of new and ambitious agreements between the Community and third countries;

8. Considers that in the event of long, drawn-out negotiations, with partner countries showing a protec-
tionist attitude, bilateral coordination of traffic rights would be a possibility;

Fully supports the principle of a double and indivisible agenda for such negotiations,

9.
opening-up of markets to regulatory convergence;

linking the

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Market opening

10.
Emphasises that new agreements should be balanced in terms of market access, and might include
issues such as cabotage, rights of establishment, ownership and control, competition rules and state aid,
but only on a basis of strict reciprocity;

11. Recognises that, although open skies agreements are desirable, they may not always be possible;

12. Recognises that, where an open skies agreement is not possible, the continuation of the existing bilat-
eral regimes should be preferred, albeit as a temporary solution;

13. Calls on the Commission to develop fair and transparent mechanisms for the distribution of traffic
rights among Member States in such cases;

14. Calls for a realistic agenda for negotiations, with the selection of the countries to negotiate with
being based on clear and sound criteria and an analysis of their economic and regulatory situation;

15.
Suggests that these criteria include economic aspects, with priority being given to countries of
substantial importance for the European market, such as the USA, Russia and China, and also geographical
aspects, with priority being given to countries in the vicinity of Europe so as to extend the European
Common Aviation Area or implement the new neighbourhood policy;

Regulatory convergence

Emphasises that the opening-up of markets should always follow regulatory convergence, and that

16.
the degree of liberalisation should be linked to the degree to which a level playing field is achieved;

Safety and security

17. Recognises that safety and security standards are of vital importance to passengers, crew and the
aviation sector in general, and that the standards of third countries may not always be equal to those in
the European Union; notes that the EU could play a pioneering role in applying and upholding internation-
ally recognised standards on a global scale;

18.
Suggests, therefore, that references to the International Civil Aviation Organization (‘ICAO’) and EU
safety regulations be made in agreements with third countries and that Member States increase their
efforts, through bilateral cooperation and the European Aviation Safety Agency (‘EASA’), to help third
countries which lack a sufficient safety level to attain such a level;

19. Calls on the Commission, in order to improve safety in the short term, to propose, by no later than
the end of 2006, better procedures under Directive 2004/36/EC (‘the SAFA Directive’) (1) for monitoring
the safety of the aircraft of third-country carriers;

20. Calls on the Commission to submit a proposal to extend the competence of EASA in this field;

21. Underlines the importance of the development of an EU security policy for transport, which should
be included in the negotiating agendas for aviation agreements;

(1) OJ L 143, 30.4.2004, p. 76.

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Environment

22. Recognises that the aviation sector has several negative environmental effects, in particular as a
source of noise and as a significant contributor to climate change, but recognises also that airports and air
carriers have already made, and will continue to make, significant efforts to reduce and avoid noise and
emission pollution;

23. Welcomes, in this respect, the communication from the Commission on possible measures reducing
the climate change impact of the aviation sector (COM (2005)0459), and looks forward to the adoption of
clear policies for better air traffic management and for the operational procedures and infrastructural
circumstances of airports; also looks forward to other measures, such as the integration of aviation into the
European emissions trading system with equal treatment of EU and non-EU air carriers;

Social policy

24. Urges the Commission, therefore, to insist on the introduction of references in new agreements to
relevant international legislation relating to social rights, in particular the labour standards embodied in the
fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO 1930-1999), the OECD guidelines
for Multinational Enterprises (1976, revised 2000) and the Rome Convention on the Law Applicable to
Contractual Obligations (1980);

Insists that Community social legislation should be applied to employees recruited and/or employed
25.
in EU Member States,
in particular the Directives on consulting and inform employees (2002/14/EC,
98/59/EC and 80/987/EEC), the Directive on the organisation of working time of mobile staff in civil avia-
tion (2000/79/EC) and the Directive concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision
of services (96/71/EC);

Conduct of negotiations

Stresses that negotiations should be carried out in close cooperation with the Member States, which

26.
have the necessary expertise and experience to carry out such negotiations;

27. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the European Parliament and all relevant stakeholders are
fully informed and consulted before and throughout the negotiations, by means of an agreed consultation
road-map;

28.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.

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P6_TA(2006)0007

EU/Russia and EU/China relations in the field of air transport

European Parliament resolution on relations with the Russian Federation and China in the field of
air transport (2005/2085(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A6-0375/2005),