EU transport and home affairs ministers yesterday unanimously endorsed a plan to tighteninternational air cargo security, in response to the incidents of 30 October, when two explosive
devices were found in shipments originating from Yemen.The Transport Council and the Justice and Home Affairs Council both welcomed the report onstrengthening air cargo security, submitted by a high-level security group that was set up by theJustice and Home Affairs Council last month, in response to the discoveries of parcel bombs withinthe air cargo system.
The EU presidency asked the Commission and member states to “speedily implement” the action planattached to the report, and invited the Commission to report back at the next Transport Councilmeeting in March 2011 on progress made.
An EU Transport Council spokesman told CEP-Research that member states had agreed to implementsome of the measures immediately, while the Commission would draw up any necessary legislativeamendments and look at areas that required additional funding. No immediate changes to legislationwere required, meaning that there was no need for clearance from the European Parliament.
The aim of the plan is to close security gaps and to develop a coordinated approach at EU andinternational level for additional security measures. It includes actions designed to strengthenand harmonise EU rules, improve coordination and information exchange within the EU, and enhanceglobal standards.
At EU level, this includes measures such as upgrading detection methods and cargo securitycontrols, establishing common criteria for assessing risks posed by cargo from non-EU countries,reviewing procedures for the designation of “trusted” consignors and carriers, and improvingsecurity training for operators and inspectors. At international level, global regulatory standardsshould be promoted, especially through the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), andfurther initiatives should be taken to help certain countries outside the EU to enhance theirsecurity capacities.
The Transport Council spokesman told CEP-Research that one important short-term aim was toaccelerate member states’ compliance with existing EU air cargo security legislation within EC300/2008 – which came into force in April, replacing EC 2320/2002.
