De strijd tegen piraterij voor de Oost-Afrikaanse kust kan volgens het Europees Parlement niet alleen met militaire middelen worden gewonnen. In een resolutie verzoeken de EP-leden de lidstaten donderdag om de EU zeebeschermingsmacht te versterken en om zich in te spannen om de oorzaken van piraterij aan te pakken. Bovendien dringen ze aan op de inrichting van gespecialiseerde anti-piraterijrechtbanken.

Het Europese luchtvaartbeleid moet speciale aandacht besteden aan de behoeften van regionale luchthavens. Dat staat in een resolutie die donderdag door het Parlement werd aangenomen. Door kleine vliegvelden te integreren in de Trans-Europese vervoersnetwerken (TEN-T), kunnen ze beter worden ingezet om regionale ontwikkeling te versnellen en overbelasting van het luchtruim rond grotere luchthavens te voorkomen, menen Europarlementariërs.

The Commission's legislative proposals for more competitive ground-handling services, better usage of take-off and landing slots and a harmonised approach to reduce noise nuisance around airports came under severe fire during a hearing with independent experts, representatives of airlines, airports, national aviation authorities and citizens' NGOs in the Transport and Tourism Committee on Tuesday 8 May.

Stalled regional development projects in crisis-hit countries could be kick-started by sharing their investment risks between private and public investors, under plans voted by the MEPs on Thursday. Sharing risks should stimulate recovery, by providing capital and overcoming banks' unwillingness to bear risks alone.

The European Agency for Maritime Safety (EMSA) would get new powers to step up cooperation against piracy, prevent maritime pollution, improve training for seafarers and help establish an EU maritime space without barriers under an informal deal struck on Thursday by Parliament’s negotiating team, and the Council’s Danish Presidency.

Luchtvaartmaatschappijen moeten gestrande reizigers beter informeren en direct hulp bieden. Dat staat in een resolutie die donderdag werd aangenomen door het Parlement. De Europarlementariërs verzoeken de Commissie om de regels voor hulp en compensatie bij geannuleerde of vertraagde vluchten aan te scherpen. Daaronder vallen ook de regels voor bagagevertragingen van meer dan 6 uur.

"I will think it over again", said Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas after a lively debate with Transport Committee MEPs on Monday. Mr Kallas expressed regret that he had not informed the committee before the news spread that the Commission was lifting the ban on cross-border usage of longer and heavier trucks. "I did not realize that the issue was that sensitive", he argued, since "No Member State will have to accept longer trucks on its territory if it does not wish to".

Stalled regional development projects that crisis-hit countries need to kick-start their recovery, but to which banks will not lend because they lack liquidity or deem them too risky, could win fresh funding if public and private investors were to share the risk, under a proposal backed by the Regional Development Committee on Tuesday.

Parliament's Transport Committee voiced deep concern on Tuesday over the threat of retaliation actions against European airlines if the EU continues implementing the new carbon trading scheme for flights departing and arriving in the EU. While some MEPs recommended abolishing the scheme, others feared a total loss of credibility if the EU gave in to threats from third countries. Later, In an Environment Committee debate on Thursday, most MEPs urged the Commission to stand by the scheme.

All-in air fares, airline employees able to help stranded passengers immediately, passengers being repatriated when airlines go bust are the key requests set out in a resolution on air passengers' rights voted by the Transport and Tourism Committee on Tuesday.