2010 and beyond
“The first 50 years of our existence have set in place the groundwork for a more efficient, harmonised European airspace and a template for SES. The next 50 years may well see this vision adopted on a more global scale” David McMillan, Director
With particular focus on partnership and transparency, EUROCONTROL’s main objective for the next decade is to encourage European aviation stakeholders to work together and to steer the Agency’s work for high-performance European air traffic management in the context of the Single European Sky.
In 2010, EUROCONTROL is undergoing a modernisation process, separating its operational and regulatory activities and assuming new roles, to strengthen its contribution to the Single European Sky (SES). In that context, the European Commission has mandated EUROCONTROL with the development of implementing rules to support the regulatory dimension of the SES legislation.
The Single European Sky second package sets out a number of specific areas where actions must be performed on a European network level, such as the design of a European route network. EUROCONTROL is already associated with several network management functions - the European Aeronautical Information Database, the ground-ground pan-European communications network and aeronautical data-sharing.
Within this framework, EUROCONTROL may be nominated by the Commission to become the future Network Manager in 2011. It could then build on its solid operational and network expertise to provide Member States and the aviation industry with the tools and services needed for a unified air traffic management system.
We will keep bringing a substantial contribution to research on the future air traffic management system, as the biggest single contributor to the SES ATM Research programme, equalling the European Commission’s financial contributions. As a founding member of the SESAR Joint Undertaking, EUROCONTROL is leading 5 of the 16 work packages designed to modernise the airspace network in Europe.
We will also continue to develop as a reliable partner on the international scene. Many EUROCONTROL projects and programmes have been accepted as setting industry standards or have been used as examples for others to take on to the next stages. EUROCONTROL is looking forward to strengthen its cooperation with the international ATM stakeholders, such as ICAO or FAA, to make the European air transport industry more performant and competitive.
