"EU Approves Stringent Rules To Standardize Air Security"

Monday, December 9, 2002 

EU Approves Stringent Rules To Standardize Air Security
By DANIEL MICHAELS 
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL


Almost 15 months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks transformed
global aviation, the European Union is finally getting a new
air-security law.

The regulation sets out one set of rules aimed at preventing terrorist
and criminal attacks on civil aviation for all 15 EU member states.
Traditionally, these issues have been handled at the national level,
with some big differences among countries.

The regulation has been hotly debated in European capitals and Brussels
for more than a year, during which time the U.S. shook up its airport
and airline security. Despite tough battles to get the EU's new
regulation approved, it still won't do anything nearly as dramatic as
the changes made in the U.S.

In part, that is because Europe was already far ahead of the U.S. in
many areas of air security. At the same time, however, it shows the lack
of teeth behind the EU edict. Some experts even question whether the EU
can implement fully the narrow scope of its new order, since EU
governments still haven't agreed on how to fund the new measures.

"We welcome that the EU has finally agreed on the substance" of new
regulations, said Horst Bittlinger, who handles aviation security and
other technical issues at the 30-member Association of European
Airlines, an industry trade group in Brussels. But he said EU
politicians "clearly do not live up to their commitments" on funding.

SAFER SKIES?
 
Critics say the law has only a modest impact without a resolution on how
to pay for millions of euros of new scanning equipment, additional staff
and airport modifications. "It's a big fudge that doesn't change a lot,"
said Chris Yates, an aviation-security specialist at the British
transportation-analysis group Jane's.

The European Parliament approved the legislation last Thursday. The
rules are slated to go into effect in January, and not just in the EU.
The 26 non-EU countries that sit alongside EU members in the European
Civil Aviation Conference, a body that sets standards, have agreed to
abide by its provisions, creating a single set of guidelines as far east
as Azerbaijan.

Jacqueline Foster, a member of the European Parliament from Britain who
sponsored the bill, says it achieves some key successes. These include
mandating 100% screening of all staff going into restricted areas at
airports and introducing the prospect of unannounced visits by EU
inspectors at airports to ensure they are complying with European rules.

Others say the law is positive because it gives governments greater
authority to press for tighter security; in some countries, even this
has been difficult. The law also should save airlines money by
standardizing rules across 41 countries.

But turning the new powers into everyday practice and ensuring that all
EU countries comply fully will be difficult because the law doesn't
create any pan-European enforcement body. Instead, responsibility for
enforcing the new rules still lies with the member states' air
authorities, who are the same people now enforcing national rules. To
bring all countries up to a single, higher standard, the EU will send
multinational audit teams to airports to check on compliance.

That kind of enforcement is a new task for the European Commission, the
EU's executive arm -- and one it has yet to show it can do successfully.
EU leaders are often ambitious in theory about enforcing Europe-wide
standards and then slow on follow-through. The EU has created a new
European Food Safety Authority and a European Maritime Safety Agency but
hasn't decided where to put them, hampering efforts to recruit staff
because they don't know where they will live.

Such authorities are also typically less powerful than regulatory bodies
in other countries. The food-safety agency will provide scientific
advice on food-policy matters, but politicians still will make the final
decisions. The maritime-safety agency will supervise national
enforcement efforts rather than enforce EU rules itself, and the degree
to which national agencies will let themselves be controlled remains a
question. As with many intra-EU conflicts, the members fear a further
erosion of national sovereignty by Brussels.

Airlines, airports and security experts have expressed disappointment
about the unresolved funding issue. Politicians from EU countries have
made several pronouncements this year about the need to fund security,
but haven't coughed up cash.

Ronan Anderson, a spokesman for Airports Council International Europe in
Brussels, a trade group, points out that the U.S. has earmarked some
$1.5 billion (euro1.5 billion) in government money for new security
expenses since Sept. 11.

The problem is further complicated by differing security levels and
policies across the EU, which create competitive differences among
airlines and airports. Those required to pay for tight security have
bigger expenses than rivals from countries with more lax screening.

This imbalance may provide a means to force governments to pay evenly
for the new expense, Ms. Foster said. The commission soon will begin
studying security policies and practices across the union, and
differences could be tackled by EU competition authorities because of
their impact on the commercial playing field. EU competition regulators
have a track record of forcing changes on governments and companies,
though this is a slow route to achieving uniform aviation security.

New EU aviation-security rules would require:

   . Screening of all staff going into secure airport areas
 
   . Screening of all checked and carry-on baggage
 
   . Spot checks by EU inspectors to monitor compliance
 
   . Preflight security searches of aircraft
 
   . Background checks on all staff with secure-area access
 
   . Standardized security requirements for airport design

But they don't:

   . Create a single EU body with enforcement power
 
   . Provide funding for the new measures
 
   . Specify penalties for noncompliance

Source: European Union


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