WRITTEN QUESTION E-6532/09
by Frieda Brepoels (Verts/ALE)
to the Commission

According to figures supplied by Eurocontrol, Belgocontrol, the Belgian business responsible for managing and controlling air traffic, is the least efficient air traffic controller in EU‑27. It has the highest costs per composite flight-hour (EUR 730), well above the European average of EUR 474 and also well above the level in neighbouring countries.

These high costs are a problem for the European aviation industry, which has to help foot the bill for them. Moreover, these costs also damage the attractiveness of Belgium and Flanders as locations for enterprise.

1. Will the Commission take measures under SES (the Single European Sky initiative) to compel Belgocontrol to reduce the costs, on the basis of ambitious objectives relating to safety, cost-efficiency, capacity and flight efficiency? If so, what and when can they be expected?

2. Can the Commission indicate what additional steps it will take in relation to the Federal Government in Belgium in order to prevent any further escalation of costs at Belgocontrol?

3. What measures will the Commission take to prevent the Belgian Federal Government from using revenue from Belgocontrol for the federal budget?

4. How will the Commission guarantee genuine independence of the planned national supervisory authority, in view of the precedents in Belgium, where the Federal Government does not allow regulators to be independent (e.g. in the electricity industry)?

OJ C 10 E, 14/01/2011