Air carrier liability in case of air accidents

The rapporteur, Mr Sanchez Garcia (ARE, E), was critical of the system introduced by the Warsaw Convention, which had been superseded by national regulations on air carrier liability to the extent that the internal market for civil aviation was at risk of breaking up. While believing that the proposal for a regulation did satisfy the need for the adoption of common standards establishing equal treatment for all passengers, the rapporteur pointed out that the amendments being proposed sought to modify certain parts of the text without altering the spirit of the document. This applied, for example, to the proposal aimed at increasing strict carrier liability from ECU 100 000 to ECU 120 000. Such an amendment should not cause surprise, since the sum in question was the same as that which was already being applied. Commissioner van den Broek said that the rules being put forward by the Commission applied to all flights, both national and international, undertaken by European airline companies. Besides, he added, the proposal in question complemented the Warsaw Convention. As regards the amendments being proposed, the Commission could take over Amendments Nos 1, 2, 4 to 6, 8, 9, 16 and 18 in full and Amendments Nos 7, 11 and 13 to 15 in part. It was also prepared to accept in principle Amendments Nos 3, 10, 12, 17 and 19.