Brussels, 06/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - Europe's leading position in the aerospace industry cannot be maintained without “sustainable investment” in research and technology, says the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD). In a political declaration adopted on 3 December after a series of conferences held in Brussels last week, ASD has called for the development of an EU industrial policy for aeronautical matters. It also pleads in favour of the deployment of SESAR (the programme aiming to develop new air traffic management technologies in Europe) and of the inclusion in the eighth framework programme for research of a specific thematic line on aeronautics.
The association, which is made up of the main consortia of the European aeronautical industry (such as EADS Astrium, Airbus, BAE Systems, Dassault, Finmeccanica, Safran and Thales), also recommends: - paying closer attention to aviation in Europe, both in the framework of research and innovation policies and of environmental policies; - drafting the roadmap on future commitments in terms of research and technology, with a view to developing a new generation of aircraft (taking account, amongst other things, of tests carried out in the sector to develop aircraft which are capable of using bio-fuel instead of kerosene); - reinvesting the revenue generated by the European system for trading in emissions quotas (ETS), which is due to enter into force in 2012, in aeronautical research and technology and air traffic management infrastructure in Europe; - creating a programme to ensure the large-scale production of bio-fuel for aviation. As regards the SESAR programme, ASD believes that European support (on top of private funding) will be necessary to ensure economies of scale and technological harmonisation at European level. The deployment phase of the programme is likely to cost the industry some €30 billion over 15 years (€23 billion for the civil industry and €7 billion for the military industry), an effort which ASD proposes should be supported by EU funding of €4 billion from the next financial framework of the EU (2014-2020). For the purposes of comparison, the investment announced by the United States in the NEXTGEN system - the American equivalent of SESAR - will be around €50 billion over a similar period. (A.By./transl.fl)