- Madam President, I listened with great interest to what Mr Cornelissen had to say and I have a great deal of sympathy with the points he made. The position is that the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation does provide that air navigation services, including air traffic control, lie in the responsibility of states, who have to decide how to provide them. That is, of course, broadly similar to the situation with regard to other modes of transport, where states decide on the necessary infrastructure and other services.

Although that is the legal position as it stands, I do not think, nor does the Commission, that the present situation with regard to air traffic control is satisfactory. It is not. One of the reasons for establishing the internal market in aviation has been to support and promote economic integration within the Union. That requires a reasonable infrastructure in the whole of the Union with regard both to quantity and to quality, and that we do not currently have. The difficulties which were experienced this summer, which resulted in serious delays for air transport, in particular to the southern Member States, have created real economic problems which show the interdependence between Member States which exists in the air transport field. We do therefore need to act together in the Union and look for solutions which transcend purely national solutions. I hope that a debate of principle on this very issue will take place in the Transport Council at the meeting this November, particularly given the new powers e

stablished for the Union by the Maastricht Treaty in respect of planning and coordination of transport infrastructures.

In response to your first question, therefore, I have to say the Commission does not believe that the present situation is satisfactory. We have taken a number of initiatives in respect of air traffic control which are not mentioned in the question, and which I think need to be stated. Our first proposals in this area, which aimed to give the then European Community a certain practical standing in this area, go back to 1988. The problems continue to exist and there are difficulties in the Council. So we have adopted a more pragmatic approach, trying to achieve progress wherever possible towards a situation where the air traffic control will operate as an integrated system for the whole of the Union, thereby remedying congestion problems.

With this in mind - and now I am dealing with the second part of the question - the Commission proposed and the Council adopted a directive on common standards for the purchase of air traffic control equipment in order to further easy connections between the national air traffic control systems. That will improve integration and increase the capacity of the global system. But, of course, the aviation market is not limited to the countries that are in the Union. At present it covers also the EEA countries, and in time will cover even more European countries, which we believe can all benefit from an integrated system. With this in mind, the Commission is supporting the standardization efforts undertaken by Eurocontrol in coordination with other European organizations.

With regard to the third question, the Commission is working towards a definition of guidelines for a network of air traffic management for the Union which would also be integrated into a trans-European network in cooperation with the European Civil Aviation Conference. That is not just a short-term venture. Air traffic will grow significantly, and it is necessary to go further than the integration of existing systems. So we have as an objective the creation of a unified air traffic control system based on new technologies. That objective is pursued in particular through the Fourth Framework Research Programme. The ATC research activity, known as a ECARDA, is coordinated with work carried out by the Member States, by Eurocontrol and by the European Space Agency. One area to which we intend to devote a special effort is the creation of a European satellite navigation system which would serve not only the air transport industry but also various other modes of transport.

Finally, in regard to the fourth question, I would say that in addition to these efforts, we believe that it is highly desirable to develop further the institutional framework for air transport management. The Commission has stated this several times, most recently in its communication of 1 June of this year on the way forward for civil aviation in Europe. Although it would be wrong to move ahead too quickly and to try to adopt solutions which are over-simple, the Commission is aware of the urgency of the matter and is seeking to make the maximum progress as quickly as possible. In doing so we will need the support, not just of the Member States, but also of Parliament. I hope that we can rely on receiving it. The European Ministers of Transport accepted in June this year, at the meeting in Copenhagen, that it is necessary to examine the institutional framework for air transport management. The Commission is participating in this work and will ensure respect for the Union's interests. In 1995 the Commission

expects to be able to make the necessary proposals and we will of course keep Parliament informed.