Germany Sent to EU Court over Airport Security

The EU referred Germany to court Thursday for failing to regularly monitor security measures at some airports, but said it was not related to the Germanwings crash.

Germany failed to act on repeated requests from Brussels to comply with EU law on airport security and the case will now go to the European Court of Justice, the European Commission said.

"Inspections by the Commission have shown that Germany does not comply with the minimum frequency and the scope of controls required under EU legislation," the Commission said in a statement.

"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."

The referral to the EU's top court "does by no means imply that German airports did not take adequate security measures", but meant that it failed to carry out proper controls on how security checks are carried out, the Commission said.

The Commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation EU, first warned Germany about the problem at the end of 2014.

Germany, the EU's biggest economy, could face a fine if found in breach by the court.

European Commission spokesman Jakub Adamowicz said the decision was not connected with the crash of the Germanwings Airbus A320 that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately slammed into the French Alps in March, killing all 150 people aboard.

"Today's referral has nothing to do with the ongoing evaluation of responses we received from German authorities on medical certificates of pilots" after it emerged Lubitz received treatment for severe depression, Adamowicz told reporters.