By Henrietta Billings - 27th January 2004
Parliament and national government negotiators are set to reach a deal over new EU rules on the safety of foreign aircraft on the opening day of official talks on Tuesday.
The proposal, drawn up by the European Commission two years ago, establishes a mechanism for assessing the safety levels of foreign aircraft and a system of information collection and exchange.
It was given added urgency after the Flash Airlines crash in the Red Sea earlier this year which killed 148 people.
Although French authorities had inspected the plane and found it safe to fly, after the crash Swiss officials revealed that they had banned it in 2002 due to safety concerns.
EU insiders are confident that an agreement will be reached on the last remaining sticking points between MEPs and the Council which led negotiators to enter into "conciliation" talks in an attempt to hammer out an agreement.
Sources from both sides told EUpolitix that disagreements over the scope of the Commission's power to ban flights and the implementation date of the new law - now set for two years time - were ironed out at Friday's meeting of EU ambassadors.
Under the deal, Brussels will be able to recommend that an airline be banned from the whole EU-bloc, not just one member state, but this decision will be assessed and put to the vote by a committee of member state representatives and the Commission.
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