The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the communication from the Commission, 'Developing the agenda for the Community's external aviation policy' (COM(2005)0079),

–   having regard to the Council Conclusions of 27 June 2005 on developing the agenda for the Community's external aviation policy(1),

–   having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A6-0403/2005),

A.   whereas aviation is still a growing industry with great economic potential, both in Europe and elsewhere,

B.   whereas the Court of Justice has ruled that some of the existing bilateral aviation agreements concluded by Member States contravene principles of EC law and should therefore be amended,

C.   whereas, when concluding aviation agreements with third countries, the Community can bring its full economic and political influence to bear and prevent discrimination between EU airlines,

D.   whereas convergence of regulations is particularly important, and is indeed a precondition for the conclusion of such agreements, especially regulations on safety, security, competition, state aid, the environment and the social rights of workers,

E.   whereas, when negotiating agreements, the Commission should draw on the expertise and information of Member States and other interested parties and should involve them before, during and after negotiations with third countries,

General principles

1.  Recognises the global nature, economic importance and continuing growth of the aviation sector, as well as the need to manage the effects of this growth on air traffic management, safety and the environment, and therefore the need to develop a common external aviation policy;

2.  Insists on the need for a coherent strategy for developing a common external aviation policy and considers agreements with the USA, Russia and China respectively as prerequisites;

3.  Recognises the need to bring existing bilateral agreements into line with Community law, on the basis of the ruling of the Court of Justice, through adaptation by the Member States themselves or, preferably through the conclusion of Community agreements under the so-called horizontal mandate, drawing on the expertise and information of Member States and other interested parties;

4.  Stresses the need to avoid preventing Member States from negotiating whilst active negotiations are underway on Community agreements;

5.  Emphasises that bilateral agreements should be adapted as soon as possible in order to avoid legal uncertainty;

6.  Recalls that the commencement of negotiations on Community agreements, which, by nature, take more time than horizontal negotiations, can only be supported if a clear, coherent negotiation strategy exists;

7.  Recognises that this approach can be complemented by a more fundamental change in external aviation policy, which would provide benefits to European consumers and the EU industry through the adoption of new and ambitious agreements between the Community and third countries;

8.  Considers that in the event of long, drawn-out negotiations, with partner countries showing a protectionist attitude, bilateral coordination of traffic rights would be a possibility;

9.  Fully supports the principle of a double and indivisible agenda for such negotiations, linking the opening-up of markets to regulatory convergence;

Market opening

10.  Emphasises that new agreements should be balanced in terms of market access, and might include issues such as cabotage, rights of establishment, ownership and control, competition rules and state aid, but only on a basis of strict reciprocity;

11.  Recognises that, although open skies agreements are desirable, they may not always be possible;

12.  Recognises that, where an open skies agreement is not possible, the continuation of the existing bilateral regimes should be preferred, albeit as a temporary solution;

13.  Calls on the Commission to develop fair and transparent mechanisms for the distribution of traffic rights among Member States in such cases;

14.  Calls for a realistic agenda for negotiations, with the selection of the countries to negotiate with being based on clear and sound criteria and an analysis of their economic and regulatory situation;

15.  Suggests that these criteria include economic aspects, with priority being given to countries of substantial importance for the European market, such as the USA, Russia and China, and also geographical aspects, with priority being given to countries in the vicinity of Europe so as to extend the European Common Aviation Area or implement the new neighbourhood policy;

Regulatory convergence

16.  Emphasises that the opening-up of markets should always follow regulatory convergence, and that the degree of liberalisation should be linked to the degree to which a level playing field is achieved;

Safety and security

17.  Recognises that safety and security standards are of vital importance to passengers, crew and the aviation sector in general, and that the standards of third countries may not always be equal to those in the European Union; notes that the EU could play a pioneering role in applying and upholding internationally recognised standards on a global scale;

18.  Suggests, therefore, that references to the International Civil Aviation Organization ('ICAO') and EU safety regulations be made in agreements with third countries and that Member States increase their efforts, through bilateral cooperation and the European Aviation Safety Agency ('EASA'), to help third countries which lack a sufficient safety level to attain such a level;

19.  Calls on the Commission, in order to improve safety in the short term, to propose, by no later than the end of 2006, better procedures under Directive 2004/36/EC ('the SAFA Directive')(2) for monitoring the safety of the aircraft of third-country carriers;

20.  Calls on the Commission to submit a proposal to extend the competence of EASA in this field;

21.  Underlines the importance of the development of an EU security policy for transport, which should be included in the negotiating agendas for aviation agreements;

Environment

22.  Recognises that the aviation sector has several negative environmental effects, in particular as a source of noise and as a significant contributor to climate change, but recognises also that airports and air carriers have already made, and will continue to make, significant efforts to reduce and avoid noise and emission pollution;

23.  Welcomes, in this respect, the communication from the Commission on possible measures reducing the climate change impact of the aviation sector (COM (2005)0459), and looks forward to the adoption of clear policies for better air traffic management and for the operational procedures and infrastructural circumstances of airports; also looks forward to other measures, such as the integration of aviation into the European emissions trading system with equal treatment of EU and non-EU air carriers;

Social policy

24.  Urges the Commission, therefore, to insist on the introduction of references in new agreements to relevant international legislation relating to social rights, in particular the labour standards embodied in the fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO 1930-1999), the OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (1976, revised 2000) and the Rome Convention on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations (1980);

25.  Insists that Community social legislation should be applied to employees recruited and/or employed in EU Member States, in particular the Directives on consulting and inform employees (2002/14/EC, 98/59/EC and 80/987/EEC), the Directive on the organisation of working time of mobile staff in civil aviation (2000/79/EC) and the Directive concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services (96/71/EC);

Conduct of negotiations

26.  Stresses that negotiations should be carried out in close cooperation with the Member States, which have the necessary expertise and experience to carry out such negotiations;

27.  Calls on the Commission to ensure that the European Parliament and all relevant stakeholders are fully informed and consulted before and throughout the negotiations, by means of an agreed consultation road-map;

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28.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.

(1) OJ C 173, 13.7.2005, p. 1. (2) OJ L 143, 30.4.2004, p. 76.