Hamburg, 29/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - As pointed out earlier (see EUROPE of 26 January, p.16), Commissioner Philippe Busquin presented on Monday, during the "2001 Hamburg Aeronautics Days" (Germany), the European aeronautics strategy that a group of personalities has developed at his request. Mr Busquin considers the rationale behind this vision is clear: "The competitiveness of our aeronautics industry depends on research. If Europe wants to stay a global player in the aeronautics world it cannot afford to fragment its research effort or to waste resources through duplication or lack of coordination. The way research is organised at the moment has failed to keep pace with changes in the industry's own structures. I offer my help in this coordination effort by making aeronautics a showcase for the implementation of the European Research Area and by making it a priority in the proposal for the next Framework Programme for Research, which the Commission should adopt in some weeks". He went on to state that "the days of 'higher, further, faster' are definitely counted and must be replaced by 'more affordable, safer, cleaner, quieter'". It is in this context that the "Vision 2020" paper defines ambitious aims, that will require major investment in research and technological development: - a five-fold reduction in accidents; - the halving of perceived aircraft noise; - a 50% cut in CO2 emissions per passenger kilometre (halving of fuel consumption); - an 80% cut in nitrogen oxide emissions; - and an air traffic system capable of handling 16 million flights a year with 24-hour operation of airports and more comfort for passengers.
The Vision 2020 report also recommends: (1) the creation of an Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe as well as (2) the use of different forms of cooperation, between national programmes and the European Union, as well as transnational partnerships in the best possible way to achieve the above goals.
The Commission intends to set up the Advisory Council by mid 2001 and will explore the ways to enable reinforced cooperation between Member States, if problems can neither be solved at national level nor tackled at Community level. This would therefore mean that the Commission should exploit the possibility provided by the Treaty -but never yet used - of taking part in joint programmes implemented by several Member States.
The Vision 2020 document and complementary information on European aeronautics research are available at the following address: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/research/growth/gcc/kaO4.html.