EU Aviation Strategy will succeed only with support of all stakeholders, insists the EESC

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shutterstock/iamshutter

"The Aviation Strategy should create a better climate for investment to encourage EU investors. This will increase the competitiveness of the sector and its overall role for the economy and, in consequence, promote growth and jobs", said Jacek Krawczyk, EESC rapporteur for the Aviation Strategy. In his opinion, instead of searching for financing from outside the EU and giving away market share, EU aviation should expand to emerging markets with growth potential.

Representatives of industry, policy-makers and various stakeholders gathered at the public hearing on delivering the EU Aviation Strategy, held by the EESC on 21 April. The hearing, which focused on the Commission's Aviation Strategy and its impact on job creation, economic growth and getting stakeholders on board, will contribute to the EESC's work on its opinion on the Aviation Package.  

The EESC fully endorses the holistic approach that the European Commission took in its Aviation Strategy for Europe, presented in December 2015. The strategy has a chance to succeed only with broad and strong support from ALL parts of the aviation value network. One of the aims of the EESC opinion on the Aviation Strategy will be to identify the incentives needed to make the strategy attractive and beneficial for all: EU Member States, airlines, airports, air navigation service providers (ANSPs), manufacturers, trade unions, environmentalists and consumer organisations.26/2016

The participants in the public hearing agreed that over the past decades European aviation has been a success story, but they warned that this success should not be taken for granted because nowadays aviation is facing different challenges, such as continuous fragmentation of the airspace, capacity restrictions, lack of access to growth markets in South East Asia and environmental concerns. The stakeholders, industry representatives and the EESC agreed that there was a need to raise political awareness of the importance and crucial role of aviation for the European economy – the aviation sector directly employs nearly 2 million people and its direct contribution to EU GDP is EUR 110 billon. The SESAR joint undertaking, which coordinates and concentrates all EU research and development activities in air traffic management, was cited as one of the successful examples of the European aviation policy so far.    

"We need to ensure that European aviation stays in the lead", said Violeta Bulc, European Commissioner for Transport, in her keynote speech. "2016 is the year of delivery in the field of aviation strategy." The Commissioner thanked the EESC for its opinion on the Integrated EU Aviation Policy, adopted in September 2015, which had been an important document for the Commission when drafting its Aviation Strategy. "We want to have sustainable, competitive aviation, but aviation is not only about business, it is also about people", added Violeta Bulc, confirming the openness of the Commission to consultation with stakeholders.    

EESC opinions:

         

For more information, please contact:

Siana Glouharova - EESC Press Unit

Email: press(at)eesc.europa.eu

Tel: +32 2 546 92 76/ Mob: + 32 (0) 473 53 40 02

 

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