The European Parliament’s Sky & Space Intergroup on Wednesday 30 September adopted a series of recommendations to revive the aviation and space sector, which has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and to prepare it for the next decade.
MEPs therefore are calling for the adoption of a European recovery plan for aviation and aeronautics with increased public funding for research and innovation (such as Clean Sky and SESAR), as well as increased public co-financing to 100% over the next 3-5 years.
The recovery plan, they say, should include the establishment of an environmental incentive scheme for aircraft operators to replace old aircraft and the launch of a European public investment plan for sustainable aviation fuels.
Focusing on the issue of increased funding, the Intergroup recommends, inter alia, a budget of at least EUR 5 billion for aeronautics research in the next Multiannual Financial Framework and support for the deployment of sustainable fuels for the aviation sector through the next programme of the Connecting Europe Facility (see EUROPE 12567/11).
As for the space sector, the intergroup recommends that a co-programmed partnership (CPEP) linked to ‘Space’ competitiveness be set up in the Horizon Europe framework in the next European budget. This partnership would be led by industry associations (Eurospace, SME4Space, ESRE, EARTO, and EASN) and aims to accelerate the commercialisation of innovations.
To consult the recommendations: https://bit.ly/3jBcls3 (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki and Pascal Hansens)