The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is to set up head-quarters in Cologne, Germany as part of a shake-up of European Union establishments.
Cologne and Finland's capital Helsinki had both reached the shortlist, but agreement was not expected before the end of 2004. The agency now shares a building with its maritime counterpart in Brussels.
Many within the organisation are thought to have wanted the decision to have been delayed, in the hope that Brussels would be established as the agency's de facto permanent base. "We could have some stability if we stayed at the present location," says EASA executive director Patrick Goudou. EASA's forerunner, the Joint Aviation Authorities, has its seat in Hoofddorp, Netherlands and most of EASA's staff are expected to be drawn from JAA personnel. No date has been set for a move from Brussels to Cologne.
Claude Probst, a French national, has been recruited as the agency's rulemaking director. He assumed his new role on 1 January. Probst is a trained engineer and pilot, and joins EASA from the European Commission, where he has assisted in developing EC activity in air traffic management, aviation safety and security. Before this he managed Lyons airport and headed the Economic and International Department of French civil aviation administration DGAC.
Norbert Lohl joined EASA on 1 January as certification director. He formerly worked at German regulator LBA as head of its commercial operators department and previously held other roles there.
Head of EASA's administration from 1 February will be Markku Junkkari, who now works for the European Training Foundation, a European Union agency in Turin, Italy.
Source: Flight International
