Recast of the Single European Sky Regulation

Recast of the Single European Sky Regulation
Key EESC messages
  • Achieving the Single European Sky (SES) remains a key priority in European aviation policy, with the as yet unrealised potential to deliver savings and improvements in quality, safety, environmental impact and capacity for the aviation sector and indeed the European Economy as a whole. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has continuously raised the voice of civil society in the debate on SES over the past years and has adopted several thematic opinions  to which the broad range of aviation stakeholders have substantially contributed. In all of these opinions, the EESC has given strong support to the SES project.
  • The legislative proposals represent evolution, not revolution, and build on, and do not supplant, previous reforms. But they should significantly contribute to turning the European ATM system into a more efficient, integrated operating airspace in the coming years, building upon the results already achieved since 2004.
  • The EESC calls upon Member States to show courage and political will for rapidly creating the SES, and upon the European Commission to assume full leadership of the implementation process.
  • The realisation of a true SES, while presenting initial challenges, will drive the continued growth of European air traffic, creating significant new opportunities for employment and the prospect of a European career structure for controllers.
  • Full-scale social dialogue has to be put in practice without further delay. Only  a comprehensive HR partnership in European aviation can ensure the necessary uniform commitment on all sides and a harmonised approach to the realisation of a true SES, to the benefit of employment in all parts of the aviation value chain, the environment and, not least, European consumers.
  • The proposed strengthening of the Network Manager function, giving precedence to the European network benefit over the narrower national interest is strongly welcomed.
  • The Committee acknowledges the initiative to unbundle ancillary ATM services, thereby opening them up to greater competition. It insists that before such measures are applied the Commission organises without any further delay the preparation of an independent impact study about the effects, in particular relating to social and employment aspects, of these .
  • Defining objectives that enhance efficiency while maintaining the quality of working conditions and improving aviation safety.
  • The airspace users need to be more involved in policy formulation.
     

Contact the TEN Section secretariat for more information