Archive

BY KEITH NUTHALL
GUIDELINES have been issued by the European Commission, advising local authorities on how they can promote social concerns by incorporating them in their public procurement procedures. Brussels’ Communication explains how this can be done without breaking EU laws on the subject, which are manly designed to ensure fairness and openness in bidding for public contracts.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has finally bit the bullet and launched the creation of the much-vaunted European Single Sky. Its detailed proposals reflect the wishes of national governments to continue handling air traffic control, but importantly, they involve the creation of a “European upper airspace,” where flight management would not be based upon national borders.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE AVIATION tragedies in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, have led to the European Union developing a wide-range of air security regulations and policies, with ministers agreeing to fast-track their passage onto the EU statute book.

Meeting in Luxemburg, the Council of Ministers for transport granted political approval to a hastily drawn-up proposed regulation on aviation security.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
The decision was given impetus by a flurry of emergency meetings held in the wake of the disasters. In an extraordinary European Council in Brussels, the highest decision making body in the EU, presidents and prime ministers told the EU Council of Ministers for transport and for justice and home affairs to press ahead with pan-European security reforms “as a matter of urgency.”…

BY BEATA PLONKA, in Cracow, Poland
THE POLISH Ministry of Defence has banned irregular civilian flights from the airspace above the capital Warsaw. Only controlled regular traffic has been allowed in from October 15, along with aircraft owned by the military and emergency services.…

BY SWINEETHA DIAS WICKRAMANAYAKE
A CONSORTIUM led by Thailand’s Italian-Thai Development Plc has won a tender to construct the passenger terminal at the country’s second international airport, Nong Ngu Hao. The group had submitted the lowest bid at 36.67 billion Baht, the Thai government said.…

BY MONICA DOBIE, in Montreal
THE INTERNATIONAL Civil Aviation Organisation is planning to reform global aviation security standards by thoroughly reviewing and strengthening the current standards in place in response to terrorist attacks, which occurred in the United States in September.…

BY MONICA DOBIE, in Montreal
THE INTERNATIONAL Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is planning to strengthen current aviation security standards in place, in response to terrorist attacks, which occurred in the United States. A high level meeting will take place before the New Year to discuss setting global rules on security issues such as cockpit door locking and making domestic regulations as tight as international flights.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE AUSTRALIAN government has issued the most comprehensive formal proposal favouring the liberalisation of the shipping industry yet made in the ongoing World Trade Organisation round on services.

Its paper said: “Significant barriers to trade and investment in maritime transport services still exist in many member economies.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Parliament has raised concerns about the financial viability of the Galileo global positioning project, passing a critical motion calling on Brussels to “ensure sufficient private sector participation during each step of the project” and guarantee “the financial consequences of a lack of participation by the private sector should not be passed on to the EU or national budgets.”…