RECOMMENDATION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of an amendment to the Agreement between the United States of America and the European Community on cooperation in the regulation of civil aviation safety

6.12.2018 - (07482/2018 – C8‑0157/2018 – 2016/0343(NLE)) - ***

Committee on Transport and Tourism
Rapporteur: Theresa Griffin

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of an amendment to the Agreement between the United States of America and the European Community on cooperation in the regulation of civil aviation safety

(07482/2018 – C8‑0157/2018 – 2016/0343(NLE))

(Consent)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the draft Council Decision (07482/2018);

–  having regard to the draft Amendment 1 to the Agreement on cooperation in the regulation of civil aviation safety between the United States of America and the European Community (07236/2017),

–  having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 100(2) and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C8-0157/2018);

–  having regard to Rule 99(1) and (4) and Rule 108(7) of its Rules of Procedure;

–  having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A8-0432/2018);

1.  Gives its consent to conclusion of the agreement;

2.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the United States of America.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Background

Following the Council Decision concerning its conclusion[1], the original Agreement (hereinafter ‘the Agreement’) between the United States of America and the European Community on cooperation in the regulation of civil aviation safety[2] entered into force on 1 May 2011.

The purpose of the Agreement is, inter alia, to ensure the continuation of high-level cooperation and harmonisation between the United States of America and the European Union in the fields within the scope of the Agreement.

The initial scope of the Agreement, as reflected in its Article 2.B, covers:

•  Airworthiness approvals and monitoring of civil aeronautical products;

•  Environmental testing and approvals of civil aeronautical products; and

•  Approvals and monitoring of maintenance facilities.

In the course of the implementation of the Agreement, notably through discussions in the Bilateral Oversight Board established under the Agreement, the United States' Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Commission have found that there is a mutual desire to enhance further aviation safety cooperation beyond the current provisions of the Agreement.

Both sides noted that greater cooperation should be developed as a priority in the pilot licensing and training domain, and have tasked experts to examine options and develop technical proposals. The results of this initiative have confirmed the feasibility and need for extending the Agreement to additional areas of cooperation and acceptance.

Procedure

On 25 September 2014, the Council authorised the Commission to negotiate an amendment to the Agreement. The amendment was subsequently negotiated between the Commission and the FAA. On the basis of a corresponding Council Decision[3], the amendment to the Agreement[4] was signed on 13 December 2017 on behalf of the Union.

In accordance with Rule 99(1) and (4) and Rule 108(7) of the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, the committee responsible shall submit a recommendation for the approval or rejection of the proposed act. Parliament shall then take a decision by means of a single vote, and no amendments to the agreement may be tabled. Amendments in committee shall be admissible only if their aim is to reverse the recommendation proposed by the rapporteur.

Content of the amendment

The amendment extends the areas of cooperation between the Parties, where reciprocal acceptance of approvals and findings of compliance can apply, to allow for an optimised resource utilisation and commensurate cost savings while maintaining a high degree of safety in air transport.

In fact, with the revision of Article 2.B of the Agreement, the cooperation envisaged between the Parties will cover the following additional areas:

•  Personnel licensing and training;

•  Operation of aircrafts;

•  Aerodromes; and

•  Air traffic services and air traffic management.

The possibility to cooperate in these additional areas will be subject to the adoption of corresponding annexes by the Bilateral Oversight Board[5], in accordance with the revised Articles 5 and 19.B of the Agreement.

Consequently, regarding to the scope of application of the Agreement, the Parties agreed to:

- elaborate and adopt additional annexes in order for reciprocal acceptance of approvals and findings of compliance to effectively apply in a given area, on mutual recognition that the standards, practices, rules and procedures are sufficiently compatible in a given area; and

- elaborate and adopt additional annexes in order to deal with the technical differences in their civil aviation systems.

Rapporteur’s position

The purpose of the amendment is to strengthen EU-US regulatory cooperation, in civil aviation safety, to promote global safety standards, and to enhance the production of civil aeronautical products by taking into account the interests of all concerned actors: pilots, aircraft manufacturers, airport platforms, and airlines.

Reinforcing the EU-US partnership, based on shared values and common goals, is key to the development of our aviation sector. Civil aviation contributes more than €500bn a year to the EU GDP, employs more than 9 million people, and is one of the economic sectors most reliant on regulation.

Moreover, the aviation industry consistently advocated closer cooperation, recognition and harmonisation between the two largest markets (i.e. the U.S. and EU) in order to reduce unnecessary transaction costs that add little or no safety value and in turn diminish the industry’s overall competitiveness.

In the light of the above, the Rapporteur suggests that the TRAN Committee should give a favourable recommendation on the conclusion of this agreement.

• [1]  Decision 2011/719/EU, OJ L 291, 9.11.2011, p. 1.
• [2]  OJ L 291, 9.11.2011, p. 3.
• [3]  Council Decision (EU) 2018/61 of 21 March 2017
• [4]  Published in OJ L 11, 16.1.2018, p. 3, together with the decision on signature.
• [5]  Joint Committee encompassing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Commission.

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Title	Agreement between the United States of America and the European Community on cooperation in the regulation of civil aviation safety
References	07482/2018 – C8-0157/2018 – COM(2016)0694 – 2016/0343(NLE)
Date of consultation / request for consent	18.4.2018
Committee responsible        Date announced in plenary	TRAN 2.5.2018
Rapporteurs        Date appointed	Theresa Griffin 28.10.2016
Date adopted	3.12.2018
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	30 0 3
Members present for the final vote	Daniela Aiuto, Lucy Anderson, Georges Bach, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Deirdre Clune, Michael Cramer, Andor Deli, Isabella De Monte, Ismail Ertug, Tania González Peñas, Dieter-Lebrecht Koch, Merja Kyllönen, Innocenzo Leontini, Peter Lundgren, Gesine Meissner, Renaud Muselier, Markus Pieper, Gabriele Preuß, Christine Revault d’Allonnes Bonnefoy, Dominique Riquet, Massimiliano Salini, Keith Taylor, István Ujhelyi, Marita Ulvskog, Peter van Dalen, Wim van de Camp, Marie-Pierre Vieu, Janusz Zemke, Kosma Złotowski
Substitutes present for the final vote	Jakop Dalunde, Mark Demesmaeker, Evžen Tošenovský
Substitutes under Rule 200(2) present for the final vote	Lieve Wierinck
Date tabled	6.12.2018

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

30	+
ALDE	Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Gesine Meissner, Dominique Riquet, Lieve Wierinck
ECR	Peter van Dalen, Mark Demesmaeker, Peter Lundgren, Evžen Tošenovský, Kosma Złotowski
EFDD	Daniela Aiuto
PPE	Georges Bach, Wim van de Camp, Deirdre Clune, Andor Deli, Dieter-Lebrecht Koch, Innocenzo Leontini, Renaud Muselier, Markus Pieper, Massimiliano Salini
S&D	Lucy Anderson, Isabella De Monte, Ismail Ertug, Gabriele Preuß, Christine Revault d'Allonnes Bonnefoy, István Ujhelyi, Marita Ulvskog, Janusz Zemke
VERTS/ALE	Michael Cramer, Jakop Dalunde, Keith Taylor

0	-

3	0
GUE/NGL	Tania González Peñas, Merja Kyllönen, Marie-Pierre Vieu

Key to symbols:

+  :  in favour

-  :  against

0  :  abstention