The European Parliament,

–   having regard to Articles 81 to 86 of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention - December 1944),

–   having regard to the Convention on the International Maritime Organisation (Geneva Convention - 1948),

–   having regard to the "Declaration of Philadelphia" (1944), laying down the aims and directives of the ILO,

–   having regard to the European Court of Justice ruling of 5 November 2002 on open skies agreements (Cases 466/98, 467/98, 468/98, 469/98, 471/98, 472/98, 475/98 and 476/98)(1),

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3975/87 of 14 December 1987 laying down the procedure for the application of the rules on competition to undertakings in the air transport sector(2), and to the European Parliament opinion of 15 May 1998 on the proposal for a Council regulation amending the former(3),

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2299/89 of 24 July 1989 on a code of conduct for computerised reservation systems(4), (EEC) No 3089/93 of 29 October 1993(5) and (EC) No 323/1999 of 8 February 1999 amending the former(6),

–   having regard to the maritime agreement with China which has been negotiated and is to be signed in December 2003,

–   having regard to Rule 163 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism (A5-0056/2003),

A.   whereas there are considerable inconsistencies in the exercise of powers conferred upon the EU by the Treaties in transport matters within EU territory and outside the EU,

B.   whereas consequently full membership of international organisations who deal with matters falling under EU transport competence, such as ICAO, IMO but also the UN ECE and ILO, would be a logical step and goal to strive for,

C.   whereas the abovementioned judgment of the European Court of Justice on open skies agreements means that the Commission should receive far-reaching competences to negotiate open sky-agreements with third countries, in particular the USA,

D.   whereas EU airlines have to pay considerable rights to the Russian authorities for over-flying Siberia for relatively few, low-quality services, which is discrimination compared to Japanese airlines,

E.   whereas the limited competence of the European Commission with regard to competition in aviation matters affecting third-country routes is an unsatisfactory situation,

F.   whereas fair access for all the market players to computerised reservation systems for air travel tickets is essential for transparent and fair competition,

G.   whereas the new stricter port State control legislation can only be satisfactory if it is implemented correctly,

H.   whereas the most striking and unfair tax anomalies within the shipping sector should be eliminated,

I.   whereas maritime relations with China need to be monitored carefully notwithstanding recent progress,

J.   whereas short sea shipping and inland waterways must be given the best possible chances to enhance their role within the transport sector, with a view to developing the transport network with neighbouring countries,

K.   considering the importance for all modes of transport of close cooperation between customs services,

L.   whereas the opening of railway markets in Eastern Europe could help to strengthen the position of this transport mode provided the sector is not starved of investment,

M.   whereas good relations in the field of transport with EU neighbours are of the utmost importance,

1.  Considers that the Commission and Council should work towards full membership in ICAO as well as in IMO, thus ensuring coherence between Community law and international law and allowing the Community to act for its interests in an effective way;

2.  Points out the importance of safeguarding the Community's interests in ICAO and IMO via transitional arrangements and coordination until full member status is achieved;

3.  Regards the Community's full membership in ILO as a long-term objective, and for the short and medium term supports the Commission's and the Council presidency's efforts to safeguard the Community's interests within ILO by way of a coordinated approach on an informal basis;

4.  Points out the significance of core social standards as stated in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles against the background of more and more globalised markets; considers that the European Union should contribute to the spread of suchlike norms;

5.  Calls upon the Commission to work towards the inclusion of transport matters in ILO, and requests the Commission and the Member States to monitor the handling of these core labour standards in international transport organisations;

6.  Reiterates its call expressed in its resolution of 4 July 2002(7), for a monitoring and reporting system concerning the state of social governance and the promotion of worldwide core labour standards in Europe;

7.  Insists on the necessity in the short term to bring ancillary transport services within the competence of WTO and in the long term to bring the whole transport sector into WTO-competence;

Air traffic

8.  Supports the Commission's efforts in trying to solve the problem of royalty charges faced by European airlines, levied by the Russian authorities for the right to overfly Siberia;

9.  Believes that the 'commercial agreements' presently required by the Russian authorities in order to be granted overflying rights are illegal and in breach of Article 15 of the Chicago Convention; considers that this practice must therefore cease forthwith and the Russian authorities must grant overflying rights, in accordance with the Chicago Convention, without imposing any 'royalties' over and above air traffic control charges;

10.  Considers the concept of a "Russian Aviation Modernisation Fund" a helpful option in this context and expresses the view that any sums being paid by European carriers to Russian authorities should be used for such a fund;

11.  Asks the Commission to raise with the Japanese authorities the concern of the discriminatory way that slots are allocated at Narita airport to the detriment of European carriers;

12.  Draws attention to the adverse effects of bilateral open sky agreements both on European airlines and on consumers due to the effectively one-sided opening of the European domestic market to American airlines and the limited access of European airlines to the American market;

13.  Calls on the Member States to denounce bilateral air transport agreements with third states if they conflict with the abovementioned judgment of the European Court of Justice (with particular reference to the nationality clause), subject to a suspensive condition relating to the conclusion of suitably revised agreements;

14.  Urges the Member States to give the Commission as soon as possible a mandate to conduct negotiations concerning the revision of such air traffic agreements in concert with them, and calls upon the Commission after having been granted an adequate mandate to take up negotiations with the USA under the leading point of full reciprocity and with the objective of finally creating a "Transatlantic Common Aviation Area" and a genuine Single Market in air transport;

15.  Considers it unsatisfactory that European competition law defines different responsibilities for the Commission in regard to airline alliances, distinguishing between EU routes and third-country routes;

16.  Reiterates its support for broadening the scope of Regulation (EEC) No 3975/87, thus including routes between Community and third-country airports;

17.  Urgently calls on the Commission to bring forward proposals for a complete revision of regulations in regard to computer reservation systems in air transport;

Maritime traffic

18.  Welcomes the fact that the Community has established stricter standards for the inspection of vessels calling at EU ports and calls upon the USA to recognise that security provisions in European ports are sufficient and that, should any tightening up of these provisions be required, such measures should be negotiated not with individual Member States, but with the Union, and should be implemented in concert with the Union;

19.  Considers that, when assessing the implementation of these new standards, parallel regulations in other parts of the world, especially in the USA, have to be carefully observed;

20.  Asks the Commission and the Member States to give effect to the demands made by the European Parliament in its resolution of 21 November 2002(8) on the Prestige disaster;

21.  Considers the latest maritime agreement with China to be a significant step forward but calls upon the Commission to continue its dialogue with China in this field in order to solve several remaining problems such as free access to markets;

22.  Asks the Commission to look at the tax anomalies concerning seafarers in short sea shipping and considers that Member States should work towards harmonising the levels of taxation within the maritime sector;

Short Sea Shipping

23.  Highlights the role of short sea shipping as an environment-friendly transport mode which can help to prevent road congestion, and insists that the Commission stimulate innovative solutions in this area, with a view to developing links with neighbouring countries;

Inland waterways

24.  Calls on the Commission to foster the integration of inland waterway transport markets in the enlarged European Union and to contribute to a harmonised pan-European inland waterway transport system by proposing the accession of the Community to the Danube Commission;

25.  Calls on the Commission to take action to set up a Europe-wide River Information System (RIS), in order to facilitate safe, efficient inland waterway transport throughout Europe;

Immediate neighbour countries

26.  Urges the Commission to work closely with North African and East European neighbour countries of the Community and to ensure that transport relationships with these countries are kept at a high level;

27.  Calls for a close cooperation between customs services at the borders between EU and third countries in order to speed up customs procedures which still too often delay deliveries in all transport modes;

Railways

28.  Calls on the Commission to pursue a policy with countries of Eastern Europe that liberalises the area of rail freight services and aims at the rapid establishment of interoperability and high safety standards in that area;

29.  Insists that in the area of international rail passengers the Commission pursue a policy of open access to all rail networks and rapid establishment of interoperability and high safety standards in Eastern European countries;

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30.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments of the Member States.

(1) OJ C 323, 21.12.2002, p. 1-8. (2) OJ L 374, 31.12.1987, p. 1. (3) OJ C 167, 1.6.1998, p. 298. (4) OJ L 220, 29.7.1989, p. 1. (5) OJ L 17, 25.1.1995, p. 18. (6) OJ L 40, 13.2.1999, p. 1. (7) P5_TA(2002)0374. (8) P5_TA(2002)0575.