(BRUSSELS) - EU Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani warned airlines in Europe Tuesday that they could come under the microscope following the crash of a passenger jet in Madrid last month.

EU experts responsible for compiling the bloc's blacklist of airlines banned in the 27 European Union countries "will closely inspect certain European transporters" at a meeting on November 5, he said.

"There is no favouritism for European companies, you don't mess around when it comes to human lives," he told members of the European Parliament's transport commission.

When asked about the Spanair crash in Madrid, which killed 154 people, Tajani said it would be "premature to draw conclusions about the cause of the accident," on which Spain is due to present a preliminary report in a month.

However he said that work must be done "to boost the level of air safety in Europe".

"I believe in free competition and a free market, but it is unthinkable to cut safety margins," he said.

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