OREANDA-NEWS. May 29, 2015. The European Commission has referred Germany to the EU Court of Justice for failing to regularly monitor all aviation security measures at some German airports, as required by EU legislation (Regulation (EU) No 300/2008). Security measures are in place to help prevent criminal acts and in particular are expected to protect airports and planes against terrorist attacks with arms or explosives. Inspections by the Commission have shown that Germany does not comply with the minimum frequency and the scope of controls required under EU legislation.

Such controls are necessary to quickly detect and correct potential failures in the implementation of security measures, and to make sure that airports, airlines and other entities are in line with common EU standards. This referral does by no means imply that German airports did not take adequate security measures. The Commission's concerns relate to the way Germany exercises the controls required under EU legislation.

Background

An inspection by the Commission in Germany revealed that some security measures were not adequately monitored by the national authorities. During the various stages of the infringement procedure, the Commission had already requested Germany to ensure compliance with EU law. However, Germany did not take the necessary steps and is therefore unable to ensure that potential security shortcomings are swiftly detected and corrected at all German airports.