Luxembourg, 09/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 19 October in Luxembourg, EU transport ministers adopted a resolution on launching the development phase of the SESAR programme (Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research), which aims to set a new air traffic control system in place in Europe and thus give a new dimension to European Single Sky. The development phase aims to set in place all tools needed for ensuring modern and computerised air traffic control, in line with the provisions of the ATM (Air Traffic Management) Master Plan that the European Commission is expected to present by the end of March 2009 (see EUROPE 9689). The second phase of the SESAR programme extends from 2008 to 2013 and will be financed in equal shares by the Community (7th framework programme for research and trans-European transport networks) and the provisional council of Eurocontrol, which will each make a contribution of €700 million. Fifteen current applicants for membership of the joint undertaking have made binding commitments to contribute at least the same amount to the development phase of SESAR.
The Council also reached general guidelines on the proposal for a regulation on constituting a joint enterprise for achieving the European new generation system for air traffic control. The text mainly aims to bring the status of this undertaking into line with the status of other joint undertakings and to grant it the status of a Community body. Consequently, all the personnel of the enterprise will have the status of temporary EU agents and the same privileges and immunities as European officials. This provision was criticised by the German delegation which, in a declaration, considers that application of the status of European official to all personnel of Community bodies should be dealt with in a restrictive way. Germany calls on the Commission to re-examine the principle of application of the status. The regulation proposed also extends the undertaking's date of operation to eight years after approval of the ATM Master Plan to 31 December 2016. (A.By./transl.jl)