I welcome in particular the adoption of two specific measures that demonstrate, fortunately, that Europe still often adopts very balanced legislation that takes account of the smaller parties involved: charter flights, research airplanes and small airlines will be able to continue to fly without having to worry about the binding provisions in the Directive; the proceeds generated by the auctioning of 15% of the CO2 emission allowances will be used for research and development in the aviation sector.

This activity shall not include: (a) flights performed exclusively for the transport, on official mission, of a reigning Monarch and his immediate family, Heads of State, Heads of Government and Government Ministers, of a country other than a Member State, where this is substantiated by an appropriate status indicator in the flight plan (b) military flights performed by military aircraft and customs and police flights (c) flights related to search and rescue, fire-fighting flights, humanitarian flights and emergency medical service flights authorised by the appropriate competent authority (d) any flights performed exclusively under visual flight rules as defined in Annex 2 to the Chicago Convention (e) flights terminating at the aerodrome f ...[+++]rom which the aircraft has taken off and during which no intermediate landing has been made (f) training flights performed exclusively for the purpose of obtaining a licence, or a rating in the case of cockpit flight crew where this is substantiated by an appropriate remark in the flight plan provided that the flight does not serve for the transport of passengers and/or cargo or for the positioning or ferrying of the aircraft (g) flights performed exclusively for the purpose of scientific research or for the purpose of checking, testing or certifying aircraft or equipment whether airborne or ground-based (h) flights performed by aircraft with a certified maximum take-off mass of less than 5 700 kg (i) flights performed in the framework of public service obligations imposed in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 on routes within outermost regions, as specified in Article 299(2) of the Treaty, or on routes where the capacity offered does not exceed 30 000 seats per year (j) flights which, but for this point, would fall within this activity, performed by a commercial air transport operator operating either:

If ten years ago we had initiated the arrest warrant, if we had defined the crime of terrorism, if we had made European judges and police forces work together, if Europe had accepted ten years ago that defeating terrorism requires joint action and not only solidarity with those who directly suffer its blows and if we had confronted terrorism with the entire might of European democracy, today ETA would be a thing of the past.

If we had used the title ‘Cultural and social research’, it might have been easier to include research on women, and not just research carried out by women, as in the paragraph ‘Science and society’.

This is how we must follow up the declarations made at the Lisbon European Council. We were charged with turning the European Union into the most dynamic and successful economy in the world, whilst also aiming at full employment. After all, what use would research be if we did not make that our common aim?

Moreover, Key Action 4 (Aeronautics) of the specific research Programme 'Competitive and Sustainable Growth' (FP5) is devoting major research activities to the enabling technologies for the abatement/mitigation of the atmospheric impact of aircraft emissions, such as CO2, NOx, particulates (smoke) and aerosols, the latter two of which together with the emitted water vapour (as CO2 a basic product of the combustion process of fossil fuel) form contrails and cirrus clouds at cruise altitude of the aircraft in the upper troposphere and l ...[+++]ower stratosphere.