Brussels, 08/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday during a diplomatic meeting at Eurocontrol HQ, representatives from the 31 Eurocontrol countries, Loyola de Palacio, Vice President of the European Commission and Flemming Hansen, the Danish President of the Council of Transport Ministers signed the European Community accession protocol to Eurocontrol, the European organisation for air navigation safety. This decision aims to ensure coherency between the two institutions and improve the regulatory framework for air traffic management. Ms de Palacio welcomed the accession, which would enable, "the harmonious execution of the European single sky project, for which the elaboration would not be possible without Eurocontrol expertise". She also called for the continuation of the ratification process of the revised Eurocontrol Convention, which aimed to broaden the organisation's competencies and allow it to implement different programmes on air security.