WRITTEN QUESTION P-1797/99 by Maria Sanders-ten Holte (ELDR) to the Commission. Age discrimination against foreign pilots in France.
C 203 E/50 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 18. 7. 2000 Can the Commission confirm or deny that the UK violated the 13 September embargo on the sale of arms to Indonesia in the light of reports that three British Hawk warplanes were delivered secretly to Indonesia last week? If these reports are correct, can the Commission explain what action will be taken against the United Kingdomís breach of the embargo? Does it recognise the urgent need for the EU to strengthen the 1998 Code of Conduct on the export of arms and, more importantly, the adoption of measures to prevent any attempts to circumvent the Code of Conduct? Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission (20 October 1999) Trade in arms has, up to now, on the basis of Article 296 of the EC Treaty (ex Article 223) been exempted from the scope of application of Treaty rules, thereby preventing Community action. The arms trade is currently discussed in the context of the Common foreign and security policy (CFSP), with which the Commission is fully associated. The Commission possesses neither the authority nor the means to confirm or deny possible violations of embargoes. Full responsibility for the licensing of arms exports belongs to national governments. The Code has completed one year of existence and, as acknowledged in the first annual report, initial experiences of the Member States from its operation during this period are positive. It is undeniable, however, that there are grounds for continued strengthening of the code and its implementation. The aim of the annual review process is to identify such potential improvements. Naturally, any amendments to the Code need the support of all Member States. (2000/C 203 E/060) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1797/99 by Maria Sanders-ten Holte (ELDR) to the Commission Subject: Age discrimination against foreign pilots in France (1 October 1999) An article in The Times of 2 September headed French age rule clips wings of British pilotsí says that the French government operates an age limit of 60 for commercial pilots, whereas the age limit in other Member States is 65. As a result, commercial pilots aged between 60 and 65 are denied access to French airspace because of differences in age limits. This discrepancy prevents people from exercising their fundamental rights, in this instance the right not to be discriminated against on grounds of age. The question of discrimination on grounds of age is of topical importance in view of the forthcoming talks on a European charter of fundamental rights. 1. 2. 3. Is the Commission aware of this situation? Does the Commission agree that this situation could be damaging to the commercial pilots affected? Are such discrepancies in rules between Member States undesirable? 4. What does the Commission intend to do about this state of affairs? Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission (26 October 1999) The Commission can inform the Honourable Member that it is fully aware of the situation in France with regard to age limits for pilots. The Commission does not condone this situation but is unable to intervene at present because currently flight crew licences are recognised for the purpose of overflying and landing of flights, provided they are issued in accordance with Annex I to the Chicago Convention. This Annex contains a standard which prohibits the exercise of pilot-in-command duties on international civil 18. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 203 E/51 commercial flights beyond the age of 60 years and carries a recommendation that over-sixties should not fulfil co-pilot duties on such flights. Accordingly, while certain states have filed a ádifferenceí to Annex I to the Convention in order to allow their own licences to remain valid for exercising duties on board commercial airplanes beyond this limit, there are no powers which can oblige other states to accept this difference for the overflight of their territory. The Joint aviation authorities (JAA) work on the harmonisation of flight crew licensing rules produced a compromise which would allow licences to remain valid for exercising duties on board commercial airplanes until their holders are 65, provided that they operate such duties on multi-crew airplanes where the other pilot is aged less than 60 years. Nevertheless such a compromise is not binding on JAA member states and they still can decide not to accept overflight of their territory by commercial planes in which the pilot in command is more than 60 years of age. The Commission is currently working on a proposal to harmonise standards and requirements for flight crew licensing throughout the Community. This proposal will clearly have to pass through the normal Community process, and issues such as the age limit can be further discussed in the Parliament and the Council. (2000/C 203 E/061) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1798/99 by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (1 October 1999) Subject: Application of the partnership principle in the drawing up of the 2000-2006 Regional Develop- ment Plan for Spainís Objective 1 Autonomous Communities, such as Galicia I have already written to Mr Michel Barnier, Commissioner, to point out that, in drawing up and adopting its 2000-2006 Regional Development Plan for Spainís Objective 1 region, the Spanish central government did not apply the partnership principle since social and economic operators were not involved and there was no provision for democratic participation by the parliaments of the Autonomous Communities concerned, which were even prevented from exercising their political and economic powers. How does the Commission intend to ensure that the partnership principle is upheld and that the Autonomous Communities (such as Galicia) are able to exercise their powers in the drawing up of the 2000-2006 Regional Development Plan and the administration of the 2000-2006 Community Support Framework, which will provide most of the funding to be invested in economic development, job creation and transport networks during the period in question? Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission (28 October 1999) The Commission has not yet received the regional development plan to which the Honourable Member refers. As soon as it does, it will examine the document attentively, especially as regards compliance with the principle of partnership provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (1). Articles 15 and 16 of the above Regulation stipulate respectively that áthe plans shall be submitted by the Member State to the Commission after consultation with the partnersí and that they should include áan account of arrangements made to consult partnersí. (1) OJ L 161, 26. 6. 1999