2 Aviation security charges
| (30645)
9864/09
+ ADDs 1-2
COM(09) 217
| Draft Directive on aviation security charges
|
| Legal base | Article 80(02) EC; co-decision; QMV
|
| Document originated | 11 May 2009
|
| Deposited in Parliament | 14 May 2009
|
| Department | Transport |
| Basis of consideration | EM of 17 June 2009
|
| Previous Committee Report | None
|
| To be discussed in Council | Possibly 8-9 October 2009
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information requested
|
Background
2.1 Regulation (EC) No 300/2008 updated legislation establishing
common standards for civil aviation security and creating a system
of inspections.[16] During
conciliation before adoption of the Regulation the European Parliament
requested that the Commission report on the principles of financing
the costs of civil aviation security measures and on adoption
of the Regulation the Commission undertook to do this.
2.2 In February 2009 the Commission published this
Report and indicated that it would continue preparing a legislative
proposal based on the assessment in it. The key themes of the
Report were:
- the extent to which aviation
security charges are linked to the cost of providing security;
- the transparency of this link where it exists;
- the impact of aviation security and its financing
on competition between airports and between airlines; and
- the distribution of the costs of security between
taxpayers and users. [17]
2.3 In March 2009 Directive (EC) No 12/2009 on airport
charges in general was adopted. However the question of security
charges was not addressed during the negotiation of this Directive,
as the findings of the Commission's Report were still awaited.[18]
The document
2.4 The Commission now presents this draft Directive
on aviation security charges which would require:
- airport managing bodies to
provide each user annually with information on the components
serving as a basis for determining the level of all security charges
levied at an airport;
- Member States to undertake impact assessments
for all new and current measures that are more stringent than
the standard Community-wide requirements;
- Member States to ensure that security charges
are used exclusively to meet security costs; and
- Member States to nominate or establish an independent
body to ensure the correct application of these measures.
2.5 The Airport Charges Directive, Directive (EC)
No 12/2009, sets out principles for how airports should set airport
charges and their relationship with airports. It covers many of
the same areas mentioned in the draft Directive, such as non-discrimination,
consultation requirements, providing information about underlying
costs and how charges are set and a right of appeal to a regulator.
However, the draft Directive differs from the Airport Charges
Directive in a number of ways, including that:
- the Airport Charges Directive
only covers airports with an annual traffic of five million or
more passenger movements, but there is no size threshold in this
proposal; and
- the Airport Charges Directive allows multi-annual
agreements whereas this proposal requires annual agreements.
The Government's view
2.6 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 17 June the
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport
(Paul Clark) says that the Government welcomed the broad thrust
of the Commission's Report on aviation security charges and that
the policy and operational implications of this draft Directive,
including whether it conforms to the subsidiarity principle, are
still being considered. But he says that the Government has concerns
about some of the provisions in the draft Directive, including
that it:
- appears to restrict Member
States' ability to swiftly put in place More Stringent Measures
for aviation security, by requiring an impact assessment to be
carried out first — the Government is committed to carrying
out risk assessments of such measures and to completing impact
assessments for new measures, but not where this would impede
swift imposition when needed;
- proposes that the requirement for impact assessments
for More Stringent Measures is retrospective, which the Government
does not consider appropriate;
- proposes differences to the Airport Charges Directive,
including the lack of an annual traffic threshold for airports
that would be included in the scope of the new Directive;
- has a potential impact on small airports, including
those in the Highlands and Islands;
- does not align with the provisions in the Airport
Charges Directive on consultation and transparency of costs; and
- requires a separate security charge where there
is none at present, which could be, given that a number of UK
airports do not currently have separately identified security
charges as these are part of general airport charges, an additional
burden on airports.
The Minister adds that the Government will be seeking
clarification from the Commission on the various issues and says
also that it will be seeking the views of stakeholders to inform
its negotiating position.
2.7 Finally, the Minister notes that the Commission's
impact assessment accompanying the draft Directive:
- says that the cost of aviation
security has increased over recent years;
- estimates that in 2002 more than 90% of this
cost was recovered through security charges or taxes levied on
air passengers, airlines and cargo shippers;
- says that in 2007 these security charges yielded
an estimated revenue of €1.6 billion in the Community; and
- considers security costs constitute 1% of the
air fare.
The Minister says that the Government is still analysing
the impact assessment and considering the financial implications
for the UK.
Conclusion
2.8 Clearly, although the matter of aviation security
charges has to be addressed, this draft Directive presents some
problems. So before considering it further we should like to hear
from the Government about developments on:
- its view of subsidiarity;
- More Stringent Measures;
- the differences between the Airport Charges
Directive and this proposal;
- the potential impact
on small airports;
- separately identified security charges;
- the Government's analysis of the Commission's
impact assessment and of the financial implications of the proposal;
and
- its consultations.
2.9 Meanwhile the document remains under scrutiny.
16 (26861) 12588/05: see HC 34-viii (2005-06), chapter
4 (2 November 2005), HC 34-xv (2005-06), chapter 2 (18 January
2006) and HC 34-xxi (2005-06), chapter 1 (8 March 2006) and Stg
Co Deb, European Standing Committee, 7 March 2006, cols 3-16. Back
17
(30429) 6074/09: see HC 19-xi (2008-09), chapter 14 (18 March
2009). Back
18
(28346) 5887/07 + ADDs 1-2: see HC 41-xi (2006-07), chapter 3
(28 February 2007), HC 16-ii (2007-08), chapter 4 (14 November
2007) and HC 16-iv (2007-08), chapter 22 (28 November 2007). Back
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