EAEU to set up aviation watchdog to probe air incidents

YEREVAN. KAZINFORM The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) intends to set up an independent body to probe air incidents, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at a Eurasian Inter-Governmental Council meeting on Wednesday, TASS reports.

"The issue of investigating air incidents was raised. We have plans to establish an independent international body to investigate impartially such incidents, taking into account the close integration of the economies of the Eurasian Economic Union," the Russian premier said.

The talk is about creating the analogue of the CIS Interstate Aviation Committee, which exists today but has been deprived of some powers.

As was reported, the Eurasian Economic Commission, which is the EAEU regulating authority, plans in late October to start agreeing on a draft agreement on establishing the analogue of the Interstate Aviation Committee.

The draft will be examined in a special working group set up from among experts from the EAEU member states.

Russia's Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov earlier said that the new structure would be open for countries outside the EAEU and would begin its work in 2018.

The need to establish the EAEU aviation body was prompted by the fact that the format of the Interstate Aviation Committee does not allow for making decisions by consensus, the transport minister said.