Well written, effective regulation in commercial aviation, based on thorough impact assessment, is crucial. Without it, we could not maintain or improve levels of safety. Nor would we maintain healthy economic competition or the financial wellbeing of a crucial infrastructure industry.

The industry has changed significantly since the days when a Government Regulator worked with Government owned airlines/airports/air navigation service providers and Government employed safety professionals to improve safety levels. For all these players, safety was the main priority.

Following a wave of privatisations; many airlines, airports and even air navigation service providers are today owned by private shareholders. Shareholders have a different "highest priority" - profit. In addition, regulators have liberalised the commercial marketplace to great effect, with the consumer now having more choice, and at a lower cost than ever before.

ECA believes that with these gains has come a very great risk. The gentlemen's agreements and light touch regulation of the past, effective when there was less competition and no demanding shareholders, need to be replaced by tough, unambiguous and consistent regulation across our single market.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) must continue to grow and develop as a key part of a strong, independent safety regulator. That is strong in financial and human resources, independent from political and commercial pressures - yet responsive to the needs of the industry and its customers, and a regulator which insists on the highest safety standards through unambiguous regulations which cannot be "interpreted" by national or commercial interests.

Without a strong, independent, one stop shop for aviation safety embedded in a coherent institutional safety architecture, the European Commission will not achieve their aim of a 10 fold increase in safety levels.

The challenges will continue to grow: further planned rounds of liberalisation, growing traffic volumes, increasing commercial pressure, consolidation and mergers; these will continue to put pressure on safety levels and therefore threaten the interests of the industry, passengers and crews.