The European Union's (EU) transport ministers last week approved the enabling legislation for the creation of the Single European Sky (SES). Denmark's transport minister Flemming Hansen, who chaired the meeting, subsequently said that "the agreement marks a great day for the European aviation sector", as it will shorten air routes and improve fuel efficiency.
The agreement can come into force three months after publication by the European Parliament, which will be handed the draft by Greece when it takes over the rotating European presidency in January.
On 5 December in Brussels the ministers approved the four legislative mandates necessary to enable the SES to become a reality, making minimal changes to the wording defining the rights of military airspace users. The European Commission (EC) says the objective of the SES is to "enhance current safety standards and overall efficiency for general air traffic in Europe, to ensure an increase in capacity...and minimise delays".
The four regulations are:
The framework regulation, expected to take effect on 31 December 2004, will establish the EC as regulator for the civil sector, ensuring that, in the EU, regulations are enforceable. In forming regulation the EC will be assisted by experts from member states in the Single Sky Committee, but total consensus from all states will not be a prerequisite for decision-making as it has been in the past; The air navigation service provision regulation establishes a common licensing system for all civil air traffic service providers and strengthens the role of civil aviation authorities as safety watchdogs; The organisation and use of airspace regulation establishes a single European upper flight information region (UIR), which initially will cover the 15 EU states, but it may eventually extend to cover the 31 Eurocontrol states. A single set of airspace rules will prevail within the UIR and the regulation provides for it to be divided into "functional airspace blocks" that are based on practical air traffic management considerations and may go beyond national boundaries; The interoperability regulations will require that all the new technology coming into use in the next 15 years and beyond is completely compatible, and that it conforms to approved performance specifications so the system can be a truly integrated one.Source: Flight International
