17-18 June Transport Council

Date: 25/06/1998

TRANSPORT ministers agreed that all roll-on/roll-off car ferries should carry black box-style data recorders in future, that ships would have to undergo safety inspections before entering service and that they would also be subject to regular check-ups after that date. The European Commission came forward with plans for a ship safety directive in the wake of the 1994 Estonia ferry disaster in which nearly 900 people lost their lives. “Europe is determined to improve ship safety and this directive is a significant further step towards ensuring the safety of passengers travelling by sea,” said UK Transport Minister Gavin Strang, who chaired the meeting.

AGREEMENT was also reached on the creation of a new EU-wide air safety authority. Ministers expressed the hope that the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA), which will have a similar remit to that of the US Federal Aviation Administration, would be up and running within two years. However, the organisation will not automatically replace national air safety regulators, with Strang stressing that the EASA would have to “win credibility” among member states.

THE Council discussed a Commission proposal for increasing the amount of compensation paid to airline passengers who are denied seats on aircraft due to overbooking. Under the Commission plan, the amount of compensation paid would increase from 150 to 185 ecu for flights up to 3,500 kilometres, and from 300 to 370 ecu for longer journeys. Ministers called on EU ambassadors to hold further discussions on the plan and urged the Commission to look into ways of ensuring that passengers were made more aware of their rights.

MINISTERS reached provisional agreement on plans designed to limit the number of noisy aircraft operating within the EU, but did not adopt a formal common position as they are still waiting for the European Parliament's opinion on the text. The proposal aims to prevent second-hand aircraft equipped with add-on engine baffles known as hush-kits from being added to the Union's airline registers. It would also stop hush-kitted aircraft registered in non-EU countries operating within Union borders after 2002.

FRANCE and Belgium expressed scepticism at plans to liberalise the Union's railways put forward by Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock. France warned against pushing ahead too quickly with liberalisation while Belgium stated its concern about the impact on jobs and safety. However, Kinnock claimed after the meeting that most other member states had supported his plans. “There was a very clear majority in favour of the Commission's approach to the gradual and phased opening of access in the rail freight market,” he said. Ministers called on EU ambassadors to carry out further studies into the Commission's plan.

THE Council reached a provisional agreement on plans to introduce a system of random roadside safety checks for trucks operating within the EU. But again transport ministers were unable to reach a formal common position because the Parliament has yet to give its view on the proposals. The aim of the plan, first put forward by the Commission last month, is to improve both safety and environmental standards for heavy goods vehicles on the EU's roads. It would also introduce a uniform assessment of the quality of maintenance of freight vehicles.

KINNOCK informed ministers that employers and trade unions in the trucking industry had so far failed to reach any sort of agreement on harmonised working hours for lorry drivers. In the light of this impasse, Kinnock said he would begin work on preparing rules to be imposed on the sector which he estimated would be ready by early autumn. The Council called on Kinnock to pursue work in this area. The trucking industry was one of several sectors excluded from the EU's 1994 Working Time Directive.