De Palacio to revive plans to bolster air safety checks

Date: 24/02/2000

By Renée Cordes

TRANSPORT Commissioner Loyola de Palacio is planning to revive proposals for new safety rules which would require regular safety checks on non-EU aircraft using Union airports.

The plan, which was first unveiled three years ago by De Palacio's predecessor Neil Kinnock, had been shelved because of the continuing dispute between the UK and Spain over the status of Gibraltar.

But with little prospect of that argument being resolved in the near future, despite ongoing talks between London and Madrid, the Commissioner has decided to press ahead with the proposal amid growing concern over transport safety. "We cannot wait until the Gibraltar issue is solved," said one official, adding that the proposal was likely to be adopted by written procedure without much debate.

The Commission's original proposal, which was drafted in the wake of a horrific plane crash in the Dominican Republic in February 1996 in which 189 people died, was designed to ensure that all aircraft using EU airports met the same safety standards.

The Commission argues that some non-Union countries do not enforce international safety standards properly, and that member states' authorities should therefore monitor aircraft from outside the bloc if they suspect that they do not comply with these measures.

The proposal would require EU governments to collect and exchange information on aircraft safety and conduct regular ramp checks.

"This would make it easier for member states to exchange information if there is even the slightest suspicion that non-EU aircraft do not comply with international safety standards," said one official, who added that the Union would also be given the power to ground aircraft judged to be unsafe.

The Commission's original plan, which was approved by EU governments and MEPs, has been one of the casualties of the bitter row between Madrid and London over the sovreignty of Gibraltar, the British colony on the southern tip of Spain.

Madrid has opposed all proposed Union legislation which could result in the creation of an independent agency on the Rock, arguing that this would amount to a de facto acknowledgement of the territory's independent status.

Under the air-safety proposals, member states would be required to designate a competent authority to collect, evaluate, process and store reports on aircraft inspections.

European airlines have welcomed the EU executive's decision to revive the proposal, saying it is long overdue. "If there are a few countries in the world who have a slightly more relaxed view of safety requirements than in Europe and the US, we should have a closer look at these countries," said Peter Malanik of the Association of European Airlines.

Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio is planning to revive proposals for new safety rules which would require regular safety checks on non-EU aircraft using Union airports.