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| Europe |
| EU unveils plane ’blacklist’ deal |
| 2004-01-28 |
| EFL The EU will be able to name and ban airlines causing concern. An initial report is expected to be compiled by the end of this year, using information from member states. The EU members, individually, know which airlines airlines are unsafe. They may decide to tell each other which airlines those are within a year’s time. MEP Nelly Maes, the European parliament’s rapporteur on the safety of foreign planes, welcomed the move but attacked the EU for waiting for a tragedy before acting. While not perfectly satisfied, she agree that it is a positive step that the EU might take action in a year. Under the new regulations, any EU country which finds a plane or company so dangerous it deserves to be banned will be able to alert the European Commission. Countries will have the option to let their friends know about incredibly dangerous transportation carriers. If the commission recommends an EU-wide ban to the council of ministers, it is believed the airline’s name would be made public at this stage, even if no ban was agreed. We might even tell the public. The European transport commissioner Loyola de Palacio recently told MEPs she supported EU-wide bans and wanted holidaymakers to know which charter company they were scheduled to fly with We’ll tell you next year. Could you remind us? We get off-track sometime. Keep flying, though. We think the other carriers are safe. |
| Posted by:Super Hose |
| #3 Having flown several thousands of miles on Seaboard World, the US government's primary carrier to/from Europe and elsewhere, and still able to sit here and talk, I wonder if this isn't another EUseless tempest in a teapot. We don't have to wait to know which airlines aren't doing proper maintenance - the daily newspaper keeps us pretty well informed. If that's not enough, there are a couple of websites online that post all airline problems, from crashes to maintenance problems to on-time statistics. I wouldn't trust the EU bureaucrats to tell me whether the sun was still shining or not. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2004-1-28 9:31:48 PM |
| #2 another reason for Americans to See America First. |
| Posted by: B 2004-1-28 1:56:57 PM |
| #1 Actually I see this as a way to pressure America. Suddenly someone in the EU can have concerns about an American carrier, make it public, and do nothing about it that might require the concerns be substantiated. Nicely avoids WTO restrictions. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2004-1-28 1:42:57 PM |