Brussels, 07/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - For her first steps in the arena, Violeta Bulc chose to re-establish confidence between the various players of the aviation sector and to call for flexibility to give a new boost to the completion of the Single European Sky, at a conference held by the Italian Presidency in Rome on 7 November.
This was the first public speech by the European Commissioner for Transport, on no less complicated and sensitive an issue than the completion of the Single European Sky. The project, which was launched around a decade ago, is at stalemate due to delays and a lack of commitment on the part of the member states. The situation is believed to have cost €5 billion and led to the emission of 18 billion tonnes of CO2 extra a year.
In Rome, Bulc sought to breathe new life into the project, calling on the stakeholders and, in particular, the member states, to devote themselves to it seriously. Firstly, she took pains to reassure them, by stating that the project did not jeopardise “European diversity or the sovereignty of the countries”, and did not come down to “procedures, powers or prerogatives”. “No, it comes down to the citizens, to find a system which supports what they need and what the aviation sector needs”, she told an audience made up of public figures (ministers and members of the European Parliament) and representatives of the private sector (air traffic controllers, airports, airlines). Pledging to be on the spot to seek solutions, she simply asked them at this stage to agree to “work together and make positive changes”. This is particularly true for the creation of functional air blocks (FABs), some of which she described as “empty structures, offering little change and few benefits”. Well aware of the problems at both the European Parliament and the Council over the 'Single Sky 2+', she is nonetheless aiming for an agreement under the Italian Presidency and calls upon member states to show flexibility in order to move towards compromise. (MD)