Brussels, 14/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas is hoping that the forty-four director generals representing the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) will fully commit to implementation of the Single European Sky, urging them on 13 December to take greater ownership and responsibility for the Single European Sky to help put it in place. Next year, he said, would be critical and the Commission needs full commitment to the Single European Sky from the ECAC. The project has fallen behind despite the many potential advantages for European competitiveness (reducing delays, cost and carbon emissions) because none of the new Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs) have been put in place by the member states. Kallas says that work is ongoing at the Commission to decide which member states to issue infringement proceedings against in this connection.
Kallas said the ECAC was a key ally in catching up and ironing out inefficiencies because it coordinates the participation of 44 European states in international bodies dealing with aviation - ICAO, Eurocontrol and the EU institutions. He says the EU and ECAC could draw up a joint timetable and ECAC could aid the EU in preparing draft EU rules. (MD/transl.fl)
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