EU refuses to bow to US demands over hush kits

Date: 11/11/1999

By Renée Cordes

THE European Union is refusing to bow to Washington's demand that it scrap controversial plans for a ban on 'hush-kitted' aircraft.

The impasse means that talks between the two sides on aircraft noise standards will drag on for several more weeks at least, despite the end-of-October deadline set by Union transport ministers for a 'common understanding' on new international noise rules.

“We are quite blocked right now,” said a spokesman for Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio, who added that that there was “still a big gap” between both sides following a meeting late last month between De Palacio and US Under-Secretary for International Trade David Aaron.

Washington is still insisting that the Union must abandon the new law, approved by member states earlier this year, which would outlaw aircraft fitted with devices designed to reduce engine noise to the levels required under International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rules.

If the EU measure is implemented as planned, airlines would be prevented from registering hush-kitted planes in the EU starting from May next year and from flying those registered in other countries as of 2002.

The legislation was originally due to come into force this spring, but Union governments agreed to delay it for a year following an unprecedented lobbying campaign by the US, which claimed that it would hit more than €1-billion worth of American-made equipment.

The risk of an all-out trade war over the issue increased when the US Congress threatened to ban Air France's and British Airways' flagship supersonic carrier Concorde from landing in New York if the Union refused to back down.

Washington claimed that there was no justification for the ban, with some Congressmen accusing the Union of launching an “unfair, thinly-veiled attempt” to close the European market to American-made products.

But the Union argues that aircraft fitted with hush kits do not always comply with international noise regulations, and that planes should instead be fitted with new engines guaranteed to meet ICAO standards.

The EU has since indicated that it might consider postponing implementation of the measure yet again, but the Commission insists that it will never agree to abandon legislation altogether.

Agreement on a common approach to the next round of ICAO talks on noise standards is seen by both sides as a way out of the deadlock. After last month's meeting of EU transport ministers, the Finnish presidency urged the Commission to 'intensify negotiations' with the US with a view to agreeing a united front by the end of October.

Helsinki said then that if the Commission was satisfied with the outcome of those talks, it would give the issue “appropriate priority”, signalling that EU member states would be prepared to modify the measure or even postpone its implementation once again. But Finland decided to relax the deadline late last month when it became apparent that the two sides would not be able to broker a compromise in time.