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Still unresolved, RI airlines on EU ban list until April
All Indonesian airlines will remain on the European Union's blacklist at least until next April due to dozens of unresolved problems in the country's troubled aviation industry, a Foreign Ministry official said Friday
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All Indonesian airlines will remain on the European Union's blacklist at least until next April due to dozens of unresolved problems in the country's troubled aviation industry, a Foreign Ministry official said Friday.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will discuss this in a meeting with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso during the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Beijing, China on Oct 24-25.
"It needs to be underlined, however, that even Barroso can't influence decisions made by the EU and its internal bodies because lifting the ban requires approval from all EU members," said Dian Wirengjurit, director of intraregional cooperation for America and Europe.
He said the EU had listed 69 problems with Indonesia's aviation industry with 36 remaining unresolved, including revised aviation legislation the EU wants to be more thorough and explicit.
"The next review by the EU is in November, while the House of Representatives estimates the legislation won't be ready until December. That means we'll remain on the list for another review in April," said Dian.
The EU placed a ban on all Indonesian airlines from flying to Europe in July last year following a string of fatal accidents at home. In response, Indonesia decided to delay signing a much-anticipated Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with the EU.
In May, Indonesia proposed a "fast-track" program to have four carriers -- two passenger and two cargo carriers -- lifted in a first step toward the removal of all the country's carriers.
But the EU maintained the full ban in its July review.
No Indonesian airlines currently serve Europe, but the government says the ban ruins the country's image because the EU list includes lesser-developed countries such as Sudan, Afghanistan, Congo, Kyrgyz Republic, Sierra Leone and Swaziland.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda discussed the flight ban with his European counterparts during the UN General Assembly sessions in New York late last month.
"So it's an ongoing process," he said.
During the Beijing meeting, Dian said President Yudhoyono would give a speech on climate change, another on the rise of Cold War-like military tensions in the world and a lecture at Beijing University.
The summit, he said, would be split into four main sessions -- global issues (food security, disaster management), promoting of Asia-Europe trade and investment, sustainable development (Millennium Development Goals and climate change), and strengthening dialogue among continents.
ASEM is an interregional forum which consists of the European Commission, the 27 members of the EU, the 13 members of the ASEAN Plus Three grouping (China, Japan and South Korea), as well as India, Mongolia and Pakistan.
It was established in 1996 in Bangkok with the aim of strengthening relations between the two continents. The members come together at biannual meetings of heads of state, alternately in Europe and Asia, as well as at ministerial meetings.
