mr president i wish to thank our rapporteur for her hard work on this important dossier
i want to concentrate on two issues contained in the report firstly on how to improve the investigation of air accidents and secondly on the issue of the rights of victims and relatives of those involved in such accidents
the transport committee has i believe strengthened a number of provisions initially proposed by the commission
in particular we have as our rapporteur has said clarified the role of easa in air accident investigations to ensure that accident investigation is independent and above interference
we cannot allow the regulator also to be an investigator
hence the clear definition of easa's role as an adviser as defined by the icao in annex thirteen
we have also extended our support to the establishment of a european network of investigation authorities and the need for data to be analysed on a europe-wide basis so as to help improve the quality of air accident investigations across the whole of europe
it is also crucial to point out the need for an effective occurrence reporting system and the sharing of relevant information arising from incidents as well as for payment of adequate compensation
parliament has also in this revision raised an opportunity to revisit the area of protecting the rights of victims and relatives by insisting that assistance and information be made available within two hours
finally i would point out to the commission the need to revise the occurrence reporting directive so that the two directives can complement each other
i believe this to be an excellent piece of work and i congratulate our rapporteurs and the shadows for their efforts
