Brussels, 27/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Transport Ministers held a "long and intensive" debate on the Commission's proposals for the creation of a "Single European Sky" by 2004, said Spanish Minister Francisco Alvarez-Cascos, after the Transport Council session on Tuesday. He hoped the Council would adopt policy guidelines during its meeting in June.
The Commission's proposals provide for: 1) review of the European air space organisation, beginning with "upper space" and the formation of "air blocks" that would go beyond national frontiers in order to decompartmentalise the airspace that is currently divided up according to national boundaries on the ground; 2) harmonise the provisions of the specifications (authorisation system) for air navigation service provisions; and 3) ensure the interoperability of control equipment.
The Council president, who wanted a clear signal on this point, considered that the position of Eurocontrol, the pan-European air traffic control coordination body, came out of the debate "reinforced". The Commission negotiated a cooperation agreement with Eurocontrol which must still be approved at political level and completed by concrete cooperation modalities.
At this stage, the main difficulties concern the arrangements for coordination between civil and military users of airspace and the sovereignty of Sates on their air own space. Portugal, supported by Greece, presented a note in which it highlights the "constitutional" problems and "sovereignty" posed above all by the creation of transnational air blocks. According to a diplomat from another Member State, Portugal would mainly fear the possible sharing of sovereignty with Spain on control of their common space. Greece, moreover, raised problems linked to maritime space controls for the countries concerned, implicitly mentioning the case of Cyprus. Ireland and Portugal also expressed concern about the surveillance of the Atlantic area.
France, for its part, felt that the safeguard clause to ensure that airspace could be requisitioned for military needs is not enough. Commissioner Loyola de Palacio gave her assurance during a press conference that national defence interests will take primacy in the event of crisis.
Ministers are also to specify the arrangements for civilian and military cooperation, in order to secure continuity of airspace while safeguarding air force training zones. It is also a matter of involving military authorities in aspects linked to training and operational procedures. According to some Member States, such as Sweden, the issue may be dealt with under the first pillar of the Treaty, whereas, for others such as France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, it clearly comes under the second pillar and intergovernmental cooperation.
The Council president pointed out that the Commission should present concrete proposals for meeting the concerns expressed by Member States regarding sovereignty and civilian and military coordination. "It is clear that some Member States do have concerns, and must not be placed in a minority position on subjects that are important for their defence (…). A legal formula must be found as a guarantee for all Member States", admitted Commissioner de Palacio. Cooperation between civilian and military is one of the issues over which the Commission has no power, she said, moreover.
Subject to pressure from their air traffic control trade unions, France and Belgium insisted on the fact that harmonisation of the systems for authorising air traffic control service providers does not mean liberalisation or privatisation, as Belgian Minister Isabelle Durant put it. The Presidency considers it is clear that air traffic services come under public authority and that the Member States remain free to appoint the service provider. French Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot said the Commission was reassuring on this point.