Brussels, 11/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - Given the delays incurred in setting the Single European Sky (SES) in place, Siim Kallas, European Transport Commissioner, is losing patience and is promising a new legislative package in spring 2013, and possibly also infringement proceedings in February. It is above all urgent to set nine Functioning Airspace Blocks (FABs) in place, only two of which are on track.
The commissioner, who was invited by the Cypriot Presidency of the EU Council to take part in a high level conference on the theme “Single European Sky - Time to Act!”, has given a very pessimistic view of what has been achieved regarding Single European Sky. He asks “have we really lost a decade?”, when the advantages are supposed to reach €5 billion in time and of CO2 savings. He acknowledges that “there are some signs of change but overall progress is too slow and too limited. We need to think of other solutions and apply them quickly. There is too much national fragmentation. Promised improvements have not materialised”.
FAB infringements. Early 2013 Kallas plans to present legislative proposals to speed up the implementation of FABs, complement initiatives not yet completed and strengthen existing legislation. However, he does not rule out the triggering of infringement proceedings, and mainly has in his sights the delays incurred in setting FABs in place. Although nine are to be operational for 5 December, only two have been set up at present (between Denmark and Sweden, and between the United Kingdom and Ireland). Large member states, like Germany or France, would be concerned by such infringement proceedings, which may be launched in February next year. As things stand, the commissioner states, it is obvious that their contribution to integration and to defragmentation of airspace will be negligible, if not inexistent.
Review in sight. On the subject of performance objectives, although the commissioner regrets that most of the countries have not taken the trouble to revise their objectives as expected in July this year, he plans to raise the level of ambition for the period 2015-2019. The legislative package next spring should also strengthen the powers of the network manager and Eurocontrol could be empowered with the management of the infrastructure. Legislative proposals should also strengthen the separation between air service providers and their national regulators. Finally, the technological arm of the Single European Sky, the SESAR programme, should also have its governance and funding programmes revised.
Aviation applauds. The aviation sector has reacted swiftly, applauding the initiative and the firmness shown by Siim Kallas. The Association of European Airlines (AEA) believes it is a good thing that the Commission is deciding to launch infringement proceedings and strengthen legislation but calls on the European Commission “to revisit the regulation by building on the existing elements and put more focus on enforcement in order to eliminate unnecessary delays, decrease average flight-time and reduce the environmental impact of aviation”, explains Athar Husain Khan, AEA acting Secretary General. Tony Tyler, Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), sums up by saying that “the SES is not a panacea for the problems of Europe's beleaguered airlines. But solving this €5 billion waste would go a long way to improving the sector's prospects and boost the competitiveness of doing business in Europe”. (MD/transl.jl)