European Parliament Backs EU-U.S. Aviation Accord

European Parliament backs EU-U.S. aviation accord

BRUSSELS, March 14 (Xinhua) — The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Wednesday to back the recent draft aviation agreement between the European Union (EU) and the United States.

The resolution calls on the decision-making EU Council of Transport Ministers to endorse the March 2 draft agreement.

The parliament recognizes the draft agreement as an important step toward an integrated transatlantic aviation market and calls upon EU and U.S. negotiators to reach a balanced aviation agreement as soon as possible.

The parliament emphasizes that a new EU-U.S. aviation agreement should be balanced in terms of market access. Europe wants its airlines to be able to operate between points within the United States as U.S. carriers now do in Europe.

It also calls on the European and U.S. negotiators to review the efficiency of the additional security measures enforced since 2001 so as to eliminate overlapping and weak links in the security chain.

Parliament members advocate the concept of “one stop security,” checking passengers and luggage only at the start of their journey and not again at every transfer.

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