Of the 10 new EU members, six are already in Eurocontrol. Of the remaining four, Poland is set to join and the three Baltic countries are keen to follow as quickly as possible.
But before they join, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are still obliged to raise their standards to comply with the Eurocontrol safety regulatory requirements (ESARR); to adopt capacity and efficiency measures like reduced vertical separation minima; and as EU members, to take part in the programmes that will create the Single European Sky (SES). Meanwhile the EU, which itself is a Eurocontrol member through direct participation by the European Commission, will assist members that need help to comply with ESARRs.
There has been a demand for some time to change Eurocontrol's organisational structure to ensure smooth delivery of the SES in the core area of north-western Europe while still harmonisating and co-ordinating with non-EU members. These demands are likely to become louder now the number of non-EU member states of Eurocontrol has reduced.
DAVID LEARMOUNT / LONDON
Source: Flight International
