Activites

• 2006/04/27 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Directive 2006/23
  • OJ L 114 27.04.2006, p. 0022-0037
• 2006/04/05 Final act signed
• 2006/04/05 End of procedure in Parliament
• 2006/02/15 Results of vote in Parliament
  • Results of vote in Parliament
  • T6-0059/2006 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Christine DE VEYRAC (EPP-ED, FR), approving the Council's common position.

• 2006/01/25 Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading
  • A6-0007/2006
• 2006/01/24 Vote in committee, 2nd reading
• 2005/11/17 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 2nd reading
• #2689
• 2005/11/14 Council Meeting
  • 10724/2/2005 summary

    The common position reflects the outcome of informal contacts between the Parliament, the Commission and the Council. Although the proposal has been restructured to make it more logical and readable, in essence the common position text retains all the principal elements proposed by the Commission. The main changes made to the Commission’s proposal are as follows:Scope: The impact of the Directive on civil air traffic controlled by service providers primarily dealing with military traffic was adjusted to align the approach with that taken under the Single Sky Regulations; Social questions: The recitals were used to clarify, in response to concerns from the European Parliament, that the Directive would not impact upon existing national provisions governing the employment relationship between controllers and employers, and that further implementing measures would involve consultation of the social partners at European level.Language requirements: Although the basic requirement for language proficiency at operational level (level 4) proposed by the Commission is retained (for English and, when deemed necessary for safety, for a local language), the common position also permits expert level (level 5) for imperative reasons of safety.Improved mutual recognition: Licences and all their associated ratings, rating endorsements, language endorsements and medical certificates are clearly made subject to the principle of mutual recognition without conditions. Only the geographically specific unit endorsements, for which particular conditions can be imposed by the national authority, remain outside this automatically recognised "community passport". In addition a licence holder working in a Member State other than the one which issued his/her licence, has the right to exchange the licence for one issued by the country in which he/she is working. Roles of the national supervisory authorities in cross-border cases: The common position clarifies that it is only the national authority which issues licences, ratings and endorsements that has the power to withdraw them. However, the national authority of the Member State where the controller is working is responsible for the maintenance of ratings and endorsements and can also suspend them temporarily.Transitional arrangements for existing licence holders: Existing licence holders are exempted from the age and educational requirements for accessing the profession and from the requirement to complete approved initial training. Minimum and maximum ages: The minimum age (for a student licence) is fixed at 18, but the recognition of licenceholders from other Member States is only obligatory for those aged 21 and above. A Member State retains the freedom to impose a maximum age, but only as a condition relating to a specific unit endorsement.Additional harmonization: The common position includes some additional harmonisation regarding the specifications for licences (a new Annex I) and requirements for training providers (an expanded Annex IV). Deletion of unnecessary provisions on accounting standards for training providers: The provisions of Article 11 of the Commission proposal on accounting management for training providers were considered excessive and unnecessary by both Council and Parliament, and do not feature in the common position text.The Council has noted the undertaking given by the President of the Parliament's TRANSPORT Committee, in the context of these contacts, to recommend this text for approval by the Parliament without amendment in second reading, following which the Directive will be deemed to have been adopted in accordance with the common position.

• #2671
• 2005/06/27 Council Meeting
• 2005/06/23 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(2005)0293 summary

    The European Parliament adopted 21 amendments, of which the Commission accepts 18. However, the Commission is not able to accept three of the Parliament amendments.The Commission supports all amendments relating to drafting or highlighting the importance of safety standards. It also supports the position of the Parliament with regard to amendments where a delicate balance is struck between safety requirements and mobility expectations, covering “national” endorsements and the linguistic regime.In addition, the amended proposal introduces a specific approval procedure of the linguistic test instead of a complete certification procedure, as suggested by Parliament. A reformulation of Article 8 par. 4 is needed. It should state that Member States may impose local language requirements when deemed necessary for safety purposes. Member States may in certain cases and for reasons of safety, require level 5 of the language proficiency rating scale, as specified in Annex II, in English and/or the local language where the operational circumstances of the rating or the endorsement so require. Any such requirement must be objectively justified, non-discriminatory, proportionate and transparent. Proficiency shall be demonstrated by a certificate issued after a transparent and objective assessment procedure approved by the national supervisory authority. With regard to accounting standards, the Commission supports the amendment proposing thedeletion of Article 11 par. 1.As regards the amendments accepted in part or in principle by the Commission, it supports the idea of follow-up of the implementation of the Directive by social partner organisations and of the reference to national social law and regulations in case of mobility, on the condition that these ideas are reflected in recitals in the appropriate form of legal drafting. The idea of security training and crisis management would be referred to in Annex I Part A dealing with initial training issues.Further amendments would lead to the following reformulation of recital 16 and annex I Part A and to the introduction of a new recital 16(a): this Directive may have an impact on the daily working practices of air traffic controllers. The social partners should be informed and consulted in an appropriate way on all measures having significant social implications. Therefore, the Sectoral Dialogue Committee set up under Commission Decision 1998/500/EC of 20 May 1998 on theestablishment of Sectoral Dialogue Committees promoting the dialogue between the socialpartners at European level has been consulted and should be consulted on any further developments. On Annex I Part A, initial training shall cover the following subjects: Aviation Law, Air Traffic Management, including Procedures for Civil-Military Co-operation, Meteorology, Navigation, Aircraft and Principles of Flight, including an understanding between air trafficcontroller and pilot, Human Factors, Equipment and Systems, Professional Environment, Unusual/Emergency Situations, including security and crisis management, Degraded Systems, Linguistic Knowledge, including radiotelephony Phraseology.Member States should ensure that the rights and obligations applicable to the employment relationship between the air traffic controller and employer are governed by the provisions applicable in the Member State where the air traffic controller usually performs his/her work, irrespective of the airspace under his responsibility.Lastly, concerning the amendments refused, the Commission cannot support the amendment concerning the international accounting standards as it is of the opinion that these are sufficiently covered by other Community legislation. Furthermore, the Commission does not support the amendment which would lead to a delay of the introduction of the Community standards and the co-existence of both the Community and the national systems of licences. Another amendment is rejected as it deviates from the standard clause on sanctions.

  • DG ['Energy and Transport'],
• 2005/03/08 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T6-0063/2005 summary

    The European Parliament adopted the report by Ingo SCHMITT (EPP-ED, DE). (Please refer to the summary dated 02/02/2005).

• 2005/03/07 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2005/02/11 Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
  • A6-0038/2005
• 2005/02/02 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
• #2629
• 2004/12/09 Council Meeting
  • 2629
• 2004/10/13 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2004/07/12 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2004)0473 summary

    PURPOSE : to increase safety standards and to improve the operations of the Community air traffic control system through the issuance of a Community air traffic controller licence.PROPOSED ACT : Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council.CONTENT : this proposal aims to introduce a Community licence for air traffic controllers. The decision forms part of the implementing rules of the Single European Sky and will contribute to safety and the cross-border provision of air navigation services.The adoption of the Single European Sky legislation earlier this year triggered off a range of implementing regulations. Furthermore, this legislation paved the way to the development of a specific proposal for a Community licence for air traffic controllers in order to ensure common qualification levels. It will enable the necessary harmonisation of the current patchwork of national licensing schemes that the existing international standards developed in the framework of ICAO and Eurocontrol have not adequately addressed up to now. Nonetheless the proposal builds on material developed by Eurocontrol and is fully consistent with it, in order to facilitate its integration into national law.The new Community license aims at harmonising the licensing systems for controllers and promoting the mutual recognition of national licences. This is an important social aspect of the Single European Sky. The proposal will equally reinforce safety levels of air traffic management by introducing common standards for the European training system. Finally a more flexible use of manpower is likely to facilitate the organisation of cross-border service provision and the establishment of functional airspace blocks.Every link of the licensing chain is regulated: the institutional framework; the conditions for access to the profession; the structure of competences to ensure transparency and comparability; training standards appropriate to the complex and dense European air traffic environment, including linguistic and medical requirements.Lastly, the adoption of the four regulations composing the Single European Sky package will fundamentally change the air traffic management landscape. This complementary proposal for a Community air traffic controller licence is important for several reasons.- The licence contributes to the balance between the different elements of the Single European Sky package, to ensure that not only institutional, economic or technical aspects are dealt with, but also social aspects.- The licence is part of a wider safety policy enshrined in the package: it should provide the opportunity to revise or reinforce safety aspects of air traffic management and introduce high standards for the training system.- The Single European Sky legislation will lead to the establishment of cross-border functional airspace blocks. The consolidation process of air navigation service providers will require more flexible use of manpower. The licence will facilitate the organisation of transnational work.- The proposal will recognise training as a specific service and contribute to the quality of the different types of training. The certification process would effectively create a level playing field for training services.

  • DG ['Energy and Transport'],

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2004)0473
• Debate in Council: 2629
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A6-0038/2005
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T6-0063/2005
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(2005)0293
• Council position published: 10724/2/2005
• Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading: A6-0007/2006
• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading: T6-0059/2006
• : Directive 2006/23
• : OJ L 114 27.04.2006, p. 0022-0037

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)