AIRCRAFT NOISE - AMERICAN OFFENSIVE AGAINST EU PLANS

(Europe Environment) - The Americans have declared war on the EU's

decision to gradually phase out noisy aircraft from Community

airports, including those fitted with special engine mufflers of

"hush-kits". A delegation from the Federal Aviation Administration

(FAA), visiting Brussels on December 10, indicated to the press that

the US is determined to delay the implementation of any such measures

and will if necessary appeal to the WTO (World Trade Organisation).

At issue is the proposal for a Regulation aiming to prevent all new

entries of such aircraft onto Community registers from January 1,

1999, and to ban their use after 2002.

The American authorities have denounced the proposed restrictions,

insisting they would penalise the US economy and totally disregard on-

going efforts to reduce aircraft noise and comply with

recommendations issued by the ICAO (International Civil Aviation

Organisation). The Americans argue that the installation of hush-

kits has enabled a change in the classification of the aircraft

concerned in accordance with ICAO recommendations. The Organisation

has decreed that by 2002 at the latest, all aircraft should comply

with the environmental standards outlined in Chapter III of its

Convention. The Americans are therefore challenging the very grounds

for the action advocated at the EU level.

The European Commission responded immediately through Transport

Commissioner Neil Kinnock's spokeswoman. She recalled that ICAO

standards are not binding and that the EU's sole intention is to pre-

empt these measures in order to reduce the disturbance caused by

noisy aircraft around Community airports. She added that the

Commission is seeking strike a balance between environmental concerns

and economic constraints, insisting that American attempts to delay

the adoption of the Community text are doomed to failure since work

on the draft Regulation is already well advanced. (Transport

Ministers arrived at a political agreement on October 1, a position

endorsed by the Council on November 16. The European Parliament is

due shortly to hand down its second reading Recommendation under the

cooperation procedure.).