It may be perilously early to say so, but the reorganised European Commission (EC) appears to be doing well, at least for air transport. Little more than six months ago the new Commissioners were sworn in amid promises to smarten up the act in Brussels, avoiding the patronage and mismanagement that had led to the unprecedented mass resignation of their predecessors.
Few outsiders, at the time, had faith that much would change. But there may be cause to reserve the cynicism. There appears to be a genuine attempt to shake up the administration, which has too often tended towards a cliquey insiders club. Symbolically, the directorate generals are already no longer numbered but named - it is now DG Transport and not DGVII. The Commissioners are working alongside their officials, rather than set adrift in separate buildings - a move which Brussels insiders say is already raising the tempo.
The transport directorate, in particular, has clearly emerged with an able and energetic operator in the shape of Loyola de Palacio. Not only is she running transport and energy, but as the EC's vice president is also charged with handling relations with the European Parliament - the body which effectively ousted the previous regime a year ago.
That she is busy may be no bad thing. In the past, transport was criticised for taking on too many issues and resolving too few. Projects, once launched, risked tailing off into protracted studies and eventual compromise, or simply fading into the ether.
Palacio has set out her agenda more sparingly. Heading the list are four critical initiatives, each with a strong single-market flavour: a unified air traffic control (ATC) system; a common air market with the USA; a single European Air Safety Authority (EASA); and a coherent policy on the environment.
Such issues have, among others, been on agendas for a while. What could be different now is a real determination to steer through solutions. Already the inherited compromise over EASA, which would have set the organisation up as a vague multinational body, has been torn up and pressure applied to create a more solid European structure. Palacio has also cut through the fog surrounding Europe's crippling delays, spelling out, in no uncertain terms, the underlying need for a unified ATC system and launching a "single sky" initiative. Likewise Palacio did not blink as the USA challenged the world to rewrite the regulatory framework. At Chicago she responded with a forthright commitment to opening markets and laid out the concept of a Trans-atlantic Common Aviation Area (TCAA).
A minor reshuffle is already in progress among the directorate's air transport arm. A new unit, headed by Ben van Houtte will take up the single sky initiative. That leaves Frederik Sorensen with the brief for aviation policy and single market issues, presumably with the TCAA high on the agenda, while Claude Probst concentrates on safety and environment stays with Eckard Seebohm.
Another cause for cheer, is that Brussels appears to be making a genuine effort to build bridges with the air transport industry. The new agenda is largely in line with that which the aviation community itself has been calling for, not least on ATC reform. Historically, the relationship has been at best ambiguous and at worst hostile - soured by general mistrust over areas such as competition or alliance policy. While there are few signs that the new competition directorate has changed track, its transport counterpart has been showing every sign of seeking partnership rather than conflict with industry. That may not last, but while it does it could be useful for both parties.
While the EC may write policy proposals, the final say remains at the mercy of the member states, and therefore prey to the vagaries of national politics. A sound proposal can easily find itself frustrated by cross-fire from unrelated disputes as diverse as mad cow disease or Spain's territorial claims to Gibraltar.
Yet the politics need not be insurmountable. Flag carriers and their hubs are, after all, well positioned to lobby their national transport ministers. If they can now make common cause with Brussels that might just provide a winning combination.
Source: Airline Business
