Washington seeks talks as EU delays hush-kit ban for a year

Date: 29/04/1999

By Renée Cordes

WASHINGTON is pushing for a new round of negotiations with EU officials early next month after Union ambassadors decided this week to delay a ban on new aircraft equipped with 'hush kits' for a year.

US diplomats said after yesterday's (28 April) decision by the Committee of permanent representatives (Coreper) to postpone the measure that they were seeking early consultations with the EU to try to craft a common stance on the next stage of international aircraft noise regulations.

Until the last minute, it had been expected that the proposed ban on planes fitted with the kits, which reduce aircraft noise levels to those required under international rules, would come into force as soon as it was approved by industry ministers at a meeting in Luxembourg today (29 April). Instead, ministers will endorse the measure but delay its implementation for 12 months.

EU diplomats said postponing the ban's entry into force was the most effective way to stave off retaliation by Washington, which has lobbied intensely against the ban.

” We are pressing for something workable which is not going to cause problems with the US,” said a UK official. “We are satisfied with the way things are going.”

The European Commission gave a mixed reaction to the decision. “It is good news for us that the law will be adopted,” said a spokeswoman for Acting Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock. But she added: “It is regrettable for us that it did not happen as fast as we had hoped.”

US officials claim the measure would hit more than €1-billion worth of American-made aircraft and equipment, and Congress has threatened to ban transatlantic flights by Air France's and British Airways' flagship supersonic aircraft Concorde if the Union presses ahead with it. A spokesman for the senate transport committee said the Concorde was “on hold” while officials from both sides try to reach a compromise solution.

US officials said they hoped to “make substantial progress” or reach agreement with the EU on a common approach to the next stage of international noise regulations by September.

The ban on hush-kitted aircraft was originally due to be rubberstamped by EU governments early last month and enter into force on 1 April. But the German presidency bowed to Washington's demands for a delay after an unprecedented lobbying campaign by the US administration and a flurry of meetings between US transport and trade officials, their Commission counterparts and diplomats from several member states.

The Union measure at the centre of the controversy would prevent airlines from registering planes fitted with hush kits or other equipment to reduce engine noise in Europe as soon as it enters into force, and those registered in other countries from flying in the EU from 2002.

The Union claims the measure is justified because aircraft fitted with hush kits do not always comply with international environmental noise standards, and that planes should instead be fitted with new engines guaranteed to meet world-wide standards laid down by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).