The Single European Sky
European Community
Legislation to achieve a Single European Sky
Maurizio Castelletti
Single Sky Unit
Directorate General for Energy and Transport European
Commission
Kim O'Neil
Advanced Aviation Technology
Ltd.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of
the authors, are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of the European
Commission. First published March 2002.
Abstract
The European Commission has drafted legislation with
the objective of achieving the goal of a Single European Sky. The objectives of
the proposed legislation are to improve and reinforce safety, to restructure
European airspace as a function of traffic flow, rather than according to
national borders, to create additional capacity and to increase the overall
efficiency of the air traffic management system (ATM). This can be achieved by
a more effective and integrated air traffic management architecture and by
ensuring that this architecture is based on demand driven service provision.
The legislation also proposes to significantly enhance international
coordination and to remove many of the administrative and organizational
bottlenecks in the area of decision-making and enforcement processes in ATM.
1. The Air Traffic Management Package: four
legislative proposals
The European Commission's ATM legislative package
currently proposes four draft regulations covering the essential elements for a
seamless European Air Traffic Management System. These four elements are:
1.1 Framework for the creation of the Single European
Sky
This draft regulation fixes the end of 2004 as the
deadline for the creation of the Single European Sky. This target date applies
to the entry into force of the required legislation to set it up. From this
date on legislative works and stakeholders efforts will expand in parallel. It
proposes a new institutional framework for the creation of the Single European
Sky.
Broadly speaking, this framework proposes that the
European Community regulates, Eurocontrol prepares and implements, as
appropriate, and national authorities enforce the rules. This approach does not
prejudge Eurocontrol decision-making processes. It builds upon two parallel
streams of rule-making. The first one led by Eurocontrol will entail the
European Community to transpose Eurocontrol rules into its legal order. The
second one led by the European Community will allow it to go further and faster
beyond Eurocontrol achievements.
1.2 The provision of Air Navigation Services
This draft regulation aims to promote the safe and
efficient provision of air navigation services in a seamless and interoperable
manner across the European Community. It ensures a functional separation
between national regulators and air navigation service providers. This
separation is compatible with both public and private means of ownership and
service provision - whichever model is adopted within individual States. It
also allows the revision of the current charging system to encourage the
efficient use and the efficient provision of ATM infrastructure.
1.3 The Organisation and Use of Airspace
The draft regulations will create a European airspace
that behaves as a single operating continuum, where common procedures for the
design, planning and management of airspace ensure the safe performance of the
entire air traffic management network. The regulations define the principles
for the organisation and use of the airspace, for the co-ordination between
civil and military and for the management of air traffic flows.
1.4 The Interoperability of the European Air Traffic
Management network
A specific draft regulation defines the conditions
necessary to ensure interoperability in the European Union between the
different systems of the air traffic management network and of their upgrading
to new technologies as appropriate. A key pillar of this regulation is the
definition and management of the European ATM standardisation processes.
2. Working Methods
In order to make the above desirable objectives a
practical reality, it is necessary to put in place the organisation,
legislation and the defining principles for the operation of the Single
European Sky. In order to achieve this, the European Community will take
certain specific actions:
2.1 The Single Sky Committee
The European Commission will set up a "Single Sky"
committee to assist its regulation activities. Member States will be encouraged
to send both a civil and a military representative. The European Commission
will also launch both an industrial and a social dialogue with all relevant
actors in order to set the roadmap from research to implementation. The Single
Sky Committee itself, will be made up of representatives of the Member States
of the European Community, including: § Two participants per Member State.
§ Both civil and military. § Third Countries having bilateral
agreements with the European Community may be invited as observers.
2.2 Adopting ATM legislation into European Community
Law
The Single Sky Committee will have delegated powers
from the European Parliament and the Council to adopt implementing legislation
on its behalf, through directly applicable European Commission Regulations.
This will significantly improve upon the present arrangements, which have
operated with little success. Included in this arrangement will be the
participation of Eurocontrol, in particular for its:
- Advisory role.
- Link with countries not members of the European
Community.
It is clearly intended that Eurocontrol will be
closely associated with this process. Eurocontrol necessarily ensures a
pan-European Framework. The European Community is committed to become a member
of this Eurocontrol in order to give it additional legitimacy for enabling the
necessary and required improvements in European Air Traffic Management. The
draft legislation will ensure that both civil and military needs will be taken
into account.
3. Provision of Air Navigation Services
There have been significant developments in recent
years in varying degrees in the arrangements for providing Air Navigation
Services. This has included steps towards separating service provision from
regulation and, in some States, further steps towards the privatisation of
service provision itself. True competition, of course, has yet to arrive. There
are significant differences between the individual approaches of Member States
of the European Community, yet these can be accommodated within the proposed
legislation - provided certain essential principles are observed.
The particular Air Navigation Services addressed in
the draft legislation include: Air Traffic Services (of course!) and relevant
services, such as: search and rescue, meteorological and aeronautical
information services. There are various other ancillary services, which will
also be addressed within the framework of the legislation (in the fields of
communication, navigation and surveillance).
3.1 Main Elements of the Regulations:
The proposed regulations will have a significant
impact on the way Air Traffic and related services are managed both overall and
within individual member States. For example:
3.1.1 Authorisation
The regulations will oversee the introduction of a
harmonised authorisation system setting the minimum conditions for the
provision of services at a European level. Individual Member States will
implement the system and will mutually accept authorisations given by other
Member States.
3.1.2 Air Traffic Services
Member States will retain their power to designate
service providers operating under monopoly conditions within a specific
airspace. However, ancillary services and other services will be opened to
competition.
3.1.3 Eurocontrol Safety Requirements
Eurocontrol Safety Requirements will be transposed
into European Community rules. This will give them true legal force and oblige
member States to implement them within defined timescales. Not only this will
speed up implementation of safety requirements and the harmonisation of the
European system, but it will also ensure their uniform interpretation by member
States.
3.1.4 Charging
The charging regime will be set in accordance with the
principles of non-discrimination, cost-relatedness and transparency. Incentives
will be provided to ensure safe, efficient and effective provision of services,
including a collective funding mechanism.
3.1.5 Controller Training
Harmonisation of the training and licensing procedures
for controllers will be implemented, removing some of the constraints that have
affected the existing system and improving the overall safety of Air Traffic
Service.
4. Organisation and Use of the Airspace
A number of actions are intended to improve both the
organisation and management of European airspace. These include:
4.1 European Upper Flight Information Region
Perhaps the most significant action here is the
creation of a European Upper Flight Information Region. This will replace the
corresponding existing national zones. It will ensure uniform organisation of
the airspace. The services operating therein will have to comply with the same
set of rules. Necessarily, this will require reconfiguration of the upper
airspace into functional airspace blocks of a minimum size, based on safety and
efficiency criteria - regardless of national boundaries. It will also be
helpful in ensuring the harmonisation of airspace classifications.
4.2 Enhanced co-ordination between civil and
military
Military airspace occupies a significant proportion of
the overall European airspace and does lead to the inefficient use of existing
civil airspace. Although sharing of this airspace does now occur, an action is
proposed for the efficient allocation and use of military airspace including
the opening of this airspace to civil flights. A safeguard clause exists,
allowing Member States to ask for suspension of European Community rules in
case of a conflict with National military requirements.
4.3 Air Traffic Flow Management
This action is aimed at the adoption of rules and
conditions for the efficient management of air traffic flow in co-operation
with service providers, airports and airspace users. Mechanisms will be
introduced, allowing for a more comprehensive and disciplined use of the
airspace aimed at integrating airports into the Flow Management process.
5. Interoperability of the European Air Traffic
Management Network
Interoperability is an issue that has impeded the
integration of European airspace in a seamless fashion. Specific actions are
proposed to address these problems:
5.1 Essential requirements, specifications and
standards
The regulations will establish the essential
requirements and European Community specifications and the associated
Implementation rules to enforce these requirements and secure their compliance,
taking account of operational and technical developments. The drafting of
European Community specifications will imply the consensual agreement of
stakeholders on those standards of voluntary application.
5.2 Procedures
It is essential that the implementation of ATM rules
by Eurocontrol must follow transparent procedures. European Community
specifications, whether these are European Standards or Eurocontrol technical
specifications, should be adopted by consensus within a formal public enquiry
process. This will enable product manufacturers and service providers to make a
declaration of conformity and verification to the essential requirements of
these specifications. This will, in turn, benefit and streamline public
procurement in ATM and ensure an open market in products and services.
6. Research and Development
The draft regulations will provide a platform for
technological progress. Research and Development will benefit through the
optimisation of the European Community's financial aid procedures, such as the
Trans-European Network programme and the R&D Framework programme. In
particular, the regulations will provide a Framework for projects of European
interest through the current 6th R&D Framework programme.
7. Military aspects of the package
The actions defined in the draft regulations,
reinforces the integration of civil and military air traffic control.
Specifically, that:
- military organisations will participate in the
preparation of ATM legislation,
- military presence will be positively encouraged in
the Single Sky committee,
- although no proposal is made for joint military
action under Common Foreign and Security Policy at this stage, informal
co-operation and initiatives by Member States will be encouraged,
- new rules on segregation and flexible use of
military airspace will be developed,
- the integrity of military operations will be
safeguarded by protection mechanisms.
This will ensure that the needs of both the civil and
military communities are respected and properly taken into account, where there
are areas of common interest, yet safeguarded where there may be conflicting
needs. Recent experience shows a significant convergence of interest, which
will enhance this process. Changing needs have also shown the need for greater
levels of cooperation within a more formal European framework.
8. Enhanced Industry Participation
The aim of inviting industry participation flows from
many direct and practical needs. Industry has the knowledge and expertise that
can help set the roadmap for the development of ATM toward the future European
system. Industry expertise is essential to both guide the direction taken and
to identify those specific steps required to achieve the future European
system. Industry can help to define the investment needs for research and
technical development (RTD) and its implementation.
Industry can also be particularly helpful in
supporting the standardisation process, where much work yet remains to be done.
It is intended to invite industry to advise the European Commission and the
Single Sky Committee. Membership will be made up of representatives of the Air
Traffic Service Providers, Airspace Users, Manufacturing Industry, Professional
Associations, Airports, and RTD Organisations.
9. Eurocontrol
The participation and cooperation of Eurocontrol is an
essential element for the successful implementation of the Single Sky
Initiative. It is proposed that Eurocontrol and the European Commission work
together to ensure an efficient and effective European ATM system. As part of
this process, it is intended that the European Community joins Eurocontrol and
subsequently ensure the enforcement of the revised Eurocontrol Convention,
which, even today is still a voluntary arrangement with no legal meaning. The
main areas where it is anticipated where more formal cooperation with
Eurocontrol will be most beneficial are:
- Co-operation on Research and Development
funding,
- Participation in the Single Sky Committee and
the
- Enhanced Industry Participation process
It is intended that Eurocontrol will be in charge of
the preparation of proposals for European Community legislation to be
implemented through mandates from the European Commission, e.g:
- Standardisation,
- Airspace redesign and
- Interoperability requirements.
This is a significant role and includes new and
necessary responsibilities for that organisation.
10. Summary
Europe has launched itself on an ambitious but
essential programme for the achievement of a Single European Sky. This
programme involves significant institutional and legislative changes to
overcome the barriers that presently stand in the way of a more unified and
efficient Air Traffic System, that is able to cope with the demands placed upon
it. The Single European sky programme aims to improve both the means and the
methods of Air Traffic Management in order to achieve this common goal.
Much change is both required and necessary, if Europe
is to avoid gridlock as traffic continues to grow. Existing processes and
procedures are simply not sufficient to ensure that safety, capacity and
efficiency is maintained in the face of this continuing growth. Recent sad
events may have reduced the pressure on the system in the very short term, but
growth looks set to recover and continue far into the future. |
