COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT - Action programme on the creation of the Single European Sky

(Presented by the Commission)

1. Introduction

This communication sets out the practical response proposed by the Commission to the report by the High Level Group on the Single European Sky in the form of an action programme to turn Europe's sky, from 2004 on, into an integrated airspace governed by the same principles and rules. Based on this programme, the Commission proposes a European Parliament and Council regulation laying down the principles and working methods and makes suggestions concerning a framework for cooperation in the military field where necessary to accompany the measures to reorganise the airspace. These measures must put air transport operators in a position to meet demand but must also form part of the global approach to sustainable development of the transport system.

1.1. In 1999 air traffic delays reached catastrophic proportions. The situation improved slightly in 2000 but the delays remain substantial: despite all the efforts made to reduce them, in 2000 one flight in five was still delayed by more than 15 minutes on average. However, the main thing is that the situation remains very precarious and the air traffic control system lacks the capacity to cope with the increase in traffic [1]. Air traffic management is still operating in an environment shaped back in the '60s, which is characteristically highly compartmentalised, despite harmonisation and integration developed within Eurocontrol [2], the intergovernmental organisation which now covers almost the whole of Europe in the geographical sense.

[1] It is true that the delays are not entirely attributable to dysfunctions in air traffic control, but that airports and airlines also play a part; the action programme must therefore include measures to improve practices in the other parts of the system. In this context, it must be added that airlines are showing signs of changing their practices in response to developments under the regulations on slots (Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993, OJ No L 14, 22.1.1993) and flow management and the common approach to airport capacity.

[2] Eurocontrol: intergovernmental European organisation which constitutes for its Member States, including the 15 Community Member States, the body for cooperation in air traffic management in order to create a seamless European air traffic management system for air traffic control in European airspace and on and around airports.

1.2. To follow up its communication at the end of 1999 on air traffic control [3] and with the support of the Council [4] and of the European Parliament [5], the Commission set up a High Level Group chaired by Mrs de Palacio and bringing together the civil and military air traffic control authorities in the Member States, plus representatives of Switzerland and Norway in view of the cooperation with these two countries in the air transport field. Eurocontrol contributed its technical expertise. The Commission also closely involved employers and employees from the branches of industry concerned (service providers, airlines, airports and equipment makers) and passengers' associations within the forum of the Industrial and Social Group. The High Level Group submitted its report in November 2000.

[3] Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament entitled "The creation of the single European sky" (COM(1999) 614 final).

[4] Conclusions of the Council meeting on transport on 9 and 10 December 1999: "The Council took note of the broader Commission approach for structural reform of ATM with a view to creating a single European airspace, and welcomed its intention to set up a high-level group which will examine the relevant issues and present a report to the Council next June."

[5] European Parliament resolution of 6 July 2000 on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament entitled "The creation of the single European sky" - Document A5 - 0141 / 2000.

1.3. Before that the Lisbon European Council had asked the Commission "regarding the use and management of airspace ... to put forward its proposals as soon as possible". At Feira in June 2000 the European Council called on the Commission "to continue the work of the High Level Group on a single European sky in order to present a final report in the first half of 2001 with a view to bringing forward appropriate proposals".

Main lines of approach in the report by the High Level Group

- Regulatory: set up a strong regulator for the Community, with adequate resources, independent of the various interest groups concerned, capable of setting objectives allowing traffic growth and preserving or improving safety. In particular, the regulator must have powers over airspace, which is defined as a common resource to which all users will have access and which will be managed as a continuum, starting with the upper airspace. The equipment, organisational arrangements and methods of payment of service providers will also be regulated.

- Institutional: develop a system in which the European Union's regulatory powers and the competence and expertise available within Eurocontrol complement each other and make arrangements for specific practical involvement by the military authorities in development and implementation of the regulatory framework, applying the mechanisms set up for the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) ("second pillar") in order gradually to achieve joint civil/military management of air traffic. The need for rapid, effective action is greatest at the heart of Europe, in the Community Member States and Switzerland. But it is also desirable to extend the action to the other European countries as far as possible, with the aid of their participation in Eurocontrol and bearing in mind the prospect of enlargement of the European Community.

- Technical: in close liaison with the industry, users and service providers, encourage the introduction of new technologies, making safety an absolute priority, and improve system and technical interoperability.

- Human resources: facilitate recruitment and greater mobility of air traffic controllers and develop training at European level, all based on extending the social dialogue to the air traffic control sector.

1.4. As a follow-on to the High Level Group's report, a proposal for a European Parliament and Council regulation laying down the principles and working methods for creating the single European sky is attached.

1.5. In particular, the Commission considers that all the measures described below must fit into a global common approach to creation of the single sky; the link between these different measures, their impact on organisation and management of the airspace in each Member State and the human resources mobilised on the part of all stakeholders for drafting and implementing these measures are all reasons for the Commission to establish the main lines of approach emerging from the High Level Group and the working methods to be used to put them into action. This is the objective of this proposal for a regulation.

1.6. The regulation is based on Article 80(2) of the EC Treaty, considering that it proposes the implementation of measures to reorganise the civil air navigation sector in order to improve transport safety, as provided for by Article 71(1)(c). Implementation of the regulation, once the specific provisions have been adopted, will also have an impact on military use of airspace, but this should not affect the legal basis for the instrument: this measure has no effect on application of Articles 296 (in so far as it applies to the field covered by this proposal for a regulation), 297 and 298 of the EEC Treaty which cover emergencies.

1.7. The military members on the High Level Group stressed the need for closer cooperation between them to make the most efficient use of the framework established by the Community regulations on use of airspace. In the context of implementation of the lines of approach laid down by the European Council in Feira and Helsinki, it would be useful to establish a framework for cooperation, for example in the form of an operational air traffic (OAT) group within the Council. It would be desirable for the Council to take account of this operational air traffic aspect and to decide to establish such a framework for cooperation, with adequate representation of the military authorities of the Member States, with a view to fostering operational cooperation in general and staff training, coordination of air force exercises and the creation of common military air training zones in particular. If necessary, the Commission might have to submit proposals along those lines.

1.8. Under this action programme the Commission will make more detailed proposals covering the practical aspects of creation of the single European sky in spring 2001, following the provisional list set out in Annex 2. These will have to be adopted rapidly so that they can be implemented fully by the end of 2004. These proposals will be highly technical while pursuing political objectives. However, before they can be drafted and implemented, it will be necessary to define structures and working methods taking account of the twin civil and military dimensions of use of airspace, of the necessary cooperation with Eurocontrol and, finally, of the interests of all concerned.

2. Development of regulatory activities in the Community

2.1. Paradoxically, air traffic is not very highly regulated; it is organised around operational constraints laid down by the air navigation service providers on a basis coordinated by Eurocontrol. This situation is no longer acceptable, partly because of the traffic growth and partly because of the increasing economic interests of these service providers, which are paid by the airspace users. These service providers, whether public or private, and users must be subject to binding rules backed up by financial incentives and operational measures to promote the public interest in maintaining and improving safety, in increasing capacity and in boosting the efficiency of the system.

2.2. One of the principal conclusions drawn by the High Level Group is the need for a strong, independent European regulator. This function will be performed by the Community by means of its decision-making mechanisms in close cooperation with Eurocontrol. The Community regulations produced in this way will cover three fields for action: organisation and use of the airspace, arrangements and procedures for payment of service providers, and equipment on the ground and onboard. Details of the various components of air traffic management which will be subject to Community regulations are set out in Annex 1.

2.3. For the purposes of establishing these technical regulations, the Community legislative procedure will apply: the Community legislator will lay down the basis for the Community rules, defining the essential requirements to apply in these fields and the decision-making and implementing mechanisms. Responsibility for implementing these rules will be assigned to the Commission, which will be assisted by a committee of representatives from the Member States - the "Single Sky Committee" - covering all the action on creation of the single sky.

2.4. The Community rules must cater for the interests of both categories of airspace user: civil and military. The framework created for drafting, adopting and administering the rules will therefore have to involve military users of airspace in order to take account of military constraints and objectives. The Commission considers that the Single Sky Committee must be able to take equitable account of the interests of both civil and military users. To this end, as an exception from the normal rules on the membership of such committees, the Commission wishes the Single Sky Committee to be made up of two representatives from each Member State to provide a real possibility of involving the military sector in the Committee's activities, while leaving each Member State to choose the composition of its delegation.

2.5. The Community in turn will have to adopt organisational arrangements to put it in a position to implement the Community rules:

- The Commission will have to draw on the combined technical expertise of Eurocontrol and of the Member States: the Commission intends to call on the competence and expertise available within Eurocontrol but without ignoring the prospective enlargement of the Community.

- Preparation of the technical side of the Community rules will have to be left largely to the Eurocontrol Agency, based on an arrangement specifying the terms and objectives of this action, including aspects relating to stakeholder consultation. In order to achieve this, the Commission intends to establish a framework for cooperation with the Eurocontrol Agency, which, within the Eurocontrol organisation, is the body in charge of carrying out tasks resulting from the Eurocontrol convention under the authority of the general assembly and the council of Eurocontrol, defining their working relationship and procedures.

- The Eurocontrol Agency should also be given the task of implementing the Community rules, for example on airspace structure and management and routing in line with air traffic needs and the relevant Community rules.

- This reform of the air traffic control system cannot succeed without the support of the air traffic controllers who are responsible for maintaining high safety standards in Europe. Based on experience in other fields, the Commission will provide a framework for consultation between employers and employees on the direction which the industry should take and a common policy, which could lead to the conclusion of collective-bargaining agreements. The current channels of communication within the air transport industry will have to be broadened to include representatives of service providers [6] and the organisations representing staff in the sector.

[6] In particular, CANSO (Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation) and Eurocontrol, wherever it is responsible for the provision of air navigation services.

3. The role of Eurocontrol

3.1. The Convention establishing Eurocontrol was revised in 1997 to give the organisation a strengthened regulatory capacity. However, it was not possible to give the resultant regulations full binding status. The Commission has been given a mandate to negotiate accession by the Community to Eurocontrol, first because the Member States cannot transfer to Eurocontrol powers which they have previously transferred to the Community and second because incorporation of Eurocontrol's decisions into Community law would give them full legal force in Member States. Therefore the coming into force of the revised Eurocontrol Convention and the accession of the Community to Eurocontrol remain significant milestones on the way to achieving the single sky. However, the accession of the Community to Eurocontrol is a sine qua non for ratification of the revised Convention by the Member States; unfortunately, this accession has been blocked by a dispute between the United Kingdom and Spain on application of the Convention to Gibraltar. This must be resolved rapidly to clear the way for effective cooperation between the Community and Eurocontrol.

3.2. The effectiveness of regulation by Eurocontrol depends upon the separation of its regulatory functions from its tasks as service provider. Failing this, Eurocontrol would have neither the impartiality nor the confidence of the industry and of other service providers, which it needs if it is to assist the Commission with preparing and implementing Community rules. Proper organisation of relations between the Commission and Eurocontrol depends on such separation of these functions.

3.3. Although the Community must have its own objectives and resources for creation of the single sky, another concern for the Commission is to avoid duplication between the Community's and Eurocontrol's activities.

To avoid any risk of duplication:

- the Commission will entrust the Eurocontrol Agency with the work within its expertise necessary in order to draft the Community rules;

- to ensure consistency on a pan-European scale, the Commission wishes the rules of procedure of the Single Sky Committee to allow the participation of the Eurocontrol Agency as an expert in this Committee;

- the Commission will also call on Eurocontrol to enable the PRC [7] to ensure scrutiny and comparison of the performance of air navigation services and to enable the SRC [8] to specify requirements in the area of safety, until these aspects of air navigation safety can be taken over by the European Air Safety Agency [9] already proposed.

[7] PRC: Performance Review Commission set up under Eurocontrol.

[8] SRC: Safety Regulatory Commission set up under Eurocontrol.

[9] Pursuant to the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing common rules in the field of civil aviation and creating a European Aviation Safety Agency (COM(2000) 595 final), the scope of that regulation encompasses the design, production, maintenance and operation of aircraft and aeronautical products as well as personnel and organisations involved. In a later stage, it is to be enlarged to include the safety aspects of airport operations and air traffic management.

3.4. In this way, while drawing on the existing resources within Eurocontrol, the Community will preserve its decision-making autonomy: the assistance of the Single Sky Committee consisting of representatives of the Member States will enable it to propose, if necessary, the results of the technical work carried out by the Eurocontrol Agency. The Committee will also be able to give opinions, as required, on the measures submitted by the Commission, exercising the powers delegated to it by the Council for specific regulatory measures.

3.5. In this way the Community could move faster and go further than Eurocontrol to cater for the needs and the specific characteristics of air traffic in the Community's airspace. Accession by the Community to Eurocontrol will be a key element in securing the consistency between that international organisation and the Community. In practice, Eurocontrol makes it possible to put the Community's activities in a pan-European context. Although the Community is set to expand in the years ahead and a growing number of non-Community countries have already concluded association agreements with the Community's air transport policy, Eurocontrol offers a platform for bringing consistency to the airspace throughout Europe in the geographical sense. This does not mean that the same requirements will apply all over Europe since stricter approaches are required at the heart of Europe than on the fringes where congestion is less of a problem. However, once it becomes a member of Eurocontrol, the Community will have to share the approaches defined within this organisation, will have participated in drafting them. Eurocontrol's regulatory bodies could act on the groundwork done by the Eurocontrol Agency following the same lines and schedule as the Community.

4. Closer relations with stakeholders

4.1. The Commission's work to prepare the ground for the report by the High Level Group proved the value of a broad-based multilateral dialogue with the different industrial and social interests, conducted in parallel with the High Level Group within the forum of an Industrial and Social Group. For this reason the Commission wishes to retain this Industrial and Social Group and extend its remit to the whole air transport sector.

4.2. Similar consultation is needed to secure rapid introduction of new technologies and new working methods in air traffic management. Often it used to be difficult to raise support from all industrial stakeholders - service providers, airlines, airports and equipment makers - for projects of importance to Europe, with the result that there was no joint commitment or agreed timetable. When the Commission consults with industry and operators so that they can give their opinion on a common conception of the architecture of the European system of the future and of how and when to implement it, it avoids any duplication of existing efficient mechanisms within Eurocontrol.

4.3. The impact of the measures taken must be constantly assessed, and reliable, exhaustive data are needed in order to be able to adapt the measures where necessary. The Commission proposes a combination of a conventional system for monitoring and supervising application of the Community rules and a mechanism for evaluation by the stakeholders. In order to achieve this, it will be necessary to ask providers of air navigation services to supply regular reports and to carry out a permanent scrutiny of system performance which could suggest solutions, corresponding to the functions performed by Eurocontrol's PRC.

5. Support for technological development

5.1. If air transport is to develop in Europe under good safety conditions and without capacity restrictions, new technologies and working methods will have to be introduced rapidly. Air traffic control of the future cannot be purely a question of developing the existing components: a common vision of the changes required must be formed, together with the industry. These efforts call for extensive research and development work, followed by legislative activity to introduce these new technologies and procedures amongst civil and military users.

5.2. The Community will have to stimulate the efforts aiming at rapid introduction of new technologies based, in particular, on the precision satellite navigation made possible by the Galileo programme and on air-to-air and ground-to-air data transmission. While increasing cooperation with Eurocontrol in research, the Commission will regroup actions taken under the sixth framework programme for research and technological development activities and within the air traffic management section of the trans-European transport networks programme on the introduction of new technologies allowing better planning, greater punctuality and higher safety standards.

5.3. Such an increase in the capacity of Europe's air traffic control system will require funding exceeding the resources currently available from the Community programmes. Solidarity between users should make it possible to raise the funding needed by allocating some of the en route charges paid by airlines under the Eurocontrol common route charges system to these projects, inter alia with the aid of measures to reshape this route charges system to include criteria reflecting attainment of common policy objectives. This allocation would not exceed the costs saved as a result of the improvements in the efficiency of the system. The Commission will examine the feasibility of allocating some of the en route charges for measures to increase the capacity of Europe's air traffic control system, with a view to carrying out projects of common interest between 2002 and 2005.

6. Commission proposals for creation of the single sky

6.1. In addition to the proposal for a Regulation laying down the framework for the creation of the Single European Sky, as annexed to this communication, the Commission is submitting the following proposals to the Council and the European Parliament:

- proposal for a Regulation on the provision of air navigation services in the Single European Sky;

- proposal for a Regulation on the organisation and use of the airspace in the Single European Sky;

- proposal for a Regulation on the interoperability of the European air traffic management network.

The Commission will transmit in the near future two complementary proposals for the achievement of the Single European Sky:

- proposal for a Council Decision on the signature by the European Community of the Protocol of Accession of the European Community to the European Organisation for the safety of air navigation (EUROCONTROL) and its provisional application, as soon as the negotiations will be closed;

- proposal for the extension of the mandate of the European Air Safety Agency to the safety regulation of air traffic control services in the Single European Sky.

6.2. The Commission takes note of the recent understanding reached between the United Kingdom and Spanish authorities on Gibraltar airport which will be addressed in the Council through a specific provision on the scope of the measures for the creation of the Single European Sky.

7. Conclusions

7.1. The Community framework offers instruments for implementing the lines of approach advocated by the High Level Group: creation of the single sky calls for measures of the same type as creation of the single market. However, development of these measures requires technical expertise not available within the Commission departments but which could be provided, within the framework of arrangements with Eurocontrol. It also requires consideration by the European Council of the possible setting-up of a framework on military cooperation.

7.2. The Commission therefore proposes to the European Parliament and the Council to adopt the proposal for a regulation. The Commission will also take all appropriate initiatives for setting up the institutional framework necessary to organise military cooperation.

ANNEX 1 Work programme

This Annex gives details of the individual fields in which the Commission intends to propose action, using arrangements with Eurocontrol as specified in this Communication, and of the form which the action on each subject will take. A list of the proposals planned is set out in Annex 2.

1. Safety

1.1 Safety is one imperative which must be maintained and reinforced in the regulatory approach put into place. All the measures proposed hereinafter take account of this absolute constraint to maintain and reinforce safety standards.

1.2. For the time being the Commission plans to make proposals designed:

* to make the Eurocontrol Safety Regulatory Requirements (ESARRs) adopted by the SRC mandatory [10], where they are suitable as binding regulations;

[10] At the moment these regulatory requirements can, in theory, be incorporated into Community law under Council Directive 93/65/EEC of 19 July 1993 on the definition and use of compatible technical specifications for the procurement of air-traffic-management equipment and systems; however, since the objective of this Directive is to lay down the conditions for calls for tender for equipment procurement, the actual possibility of incorporating ESARRs into Community law is limited to requirements regarding equipment and systems.

* to support implementation of the safety regulations by the Member States and establish a framework guaranteeing that the scenarios for releasing extra capacity meet the safety requirements;

* to establish a mandatory, harmonised occurrence-reporting system for service providers, based on a non-punitive system for reporting by air traffic controllers.

2. Organisation and management of airspace

2.1. The Single European Sky without frontiers must also be conceived as a single airspace without frontiers. The first thing which this harmonisation implies is adoption of Community legislation providing a basis for organising the upper airspace for all Member States and ensuring consistency between the national organisations responsible for the lower airspace.

2.2. The Commission therefore plans to draft proposals in the following fields:

* definition of airspace categories, inter alia for developing the architecture of this airspace and route and sector design and for ensuring a supply of reliable, full information for regulators and airspace users alike;

* organisation and management of airspace with a view to allowing allocation of sectors to service providers and organisation of transfers of airspace between providers; the delimitation of the sectors of airspace allocated to service providers will have to be consistent with the definition of the airspace adopted at European level;

* rules for organising flow management, including better planning, rules on priority-setting in the event of congestion, relief routes and a crisis mechanism; Eurocontrol's existing Central Flow Management Unit is a useful tool which could be developed by enshrining its tasks and mandate in Community legislation;

* mechanisms for more disciplined use of airspace, to integrate airports into airspace management and improve coordination between airport and airspace slots.

These proposals should set the general framework and broad lines for action. Responsibility for implementing the texts adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in the abovementioned fields should be assigned to the Commission, which will be assisted by a committee, the Single Sky Committee, of representatives from the Member States allowing equitable representation of the interests of both civil and military users.

3. Integration of military requirements

3.1. Use of airspace must be organised in a manner recognising the specificity of military uses. Without impinging on defence imperatives, efficient use of airspace warrants closer coordination between the two categories of user: civil and military.

Although the European Community is responsible for regulating airspace, this by no means precludes participation by military users in the Community decision-making process. Each State is free to organise how it is represented on Council bodies and to decide on the competent authorities within its administration, depending on the content of the proposal.

Furthermore, the Commission will use, in order to implement the rules once they have been defined by the Community legislators, the "Single Sky Committee" which will not only assist the Commission but also provide a means of taking account of the different interests, whether civil or military. Taking account of military interests in the work of the Committee in this way will also help to ensure consistency with the activities of the CMIC [11] within Eurocontrol and therefore prevent any duplication between Eurocontrol and the Community on this aspect.

[11] CMIC: Civil and Military Interface standing Committee set up under Eurocontrol.

3.2. However, it would be useful to take further account of military requirements turning to all appropriate instruments for any matter regarding air traffic and air navigation services for exclusively military purposes. In particular, military cooperation should be able to open up the possibility of making more efficient use of airspace, which can no longer be reserved for exclusively military use. This cooperation would cover training, exercises and the specific regulations applying to military operations. To achieve this, the conclusions reached in Helsinki could be followed up in order to establish a body with responsibility for operational air traffic.

To ensure consistent action, it would be desirable for the military representatives who will be involved in the work of the Single Sky Committee (either by participating directly or by being consulted before finalisation of their Member State's position) to be the same persons as the representatives on any such body on operational air traffic.

In particular, the objective of integration of the military component in joint management of European airspace would be to allow consistent, harmonised implementation of the concept of flexible civil/military use of airspace. This joint management will also require greater integration of civil and military air traffic control.

3.3. At the same time, it would also be desirable to define a programme, including financial support and based on voluntary cooperation, to stimulate integration of civil and military requirements. Inter alia, this should include relocation of military training operations to areas with less dense civil traffic, greater cooperation between air forces in the form of joint exercises in transnational sectors of airspace, fitting military aircraft with equipment yielding gains in capacity (for example, to reduce the vertical safety minimum to be kept between two aircraft [12]) or relocating certain military air bases.

[12] RVSM system being developed for civil aircraft and yielding considerable gains in capacity.

3.4. Some of these measures will have financial implications. The expenditure entailed will have to be evaluated and the Commission could examine the financial implications of these measures.

4. Systems and operations

4.1. The Community has decision-making mechanisms allowing harmonisation and standardisation at European level. To achieve this, it must adopt a text enshrining the principle of standardisation, even on its own initiative (subject to compliance with the international commitments already given), by amending or replacing Directive 93/65/EEC; the essential requirements, particularly on safety, will also have to be enshrined in a legal instrument. The objective is to put in place an instrument which will be effective and comprehensive but also rapid and flexible to allow harmonised Europe-wide definition and implementation of the technical regulations necessary. The Single Sky Committee, which should replace, inter alia, the existing committee set up by Directive 93/65/EEC, will be indispensable for the success of this action.

4.2. Creation of a common, integrated airspace means being able to develop at European level the solutions which are best both technically and commercially and which are best suited to the needs of airspace users and passengers in general. This implies establishing mechanisms for technical and economic examination and evaluation of new systems and techniques; these mechanisms must be comprehensive and impartial and provide the industry with a clear, exhaustive basis for its choices. A diagnosis procedure meeting this requirement must be developed at Community level, involving the PRC and on the basis of industry consultation.

4.3. The Community can provide decisive support in this field, not only by helping to establish the mechanism and structures and laying down a timetable but also by reconsidering its own financial aid procedures (particularly for the trans-European network (TEN) programme) in order to attain closer integration from upstream to downstream and genuine synergy between the different Community financial instruments. In this connection, it is particularly important that the European interest should predominate for the purposes of selecting TEN projects and that interoperability should be considered a major criterion for project selection and evaluation.

4.4 The EU's fifth Framework Programme on research and development (1998-2002) supports research and development projects in air traffic control. In its proposal for the next Framework Programme on research (2003-2006), the Commission has included aeronautical research as a priority particularly with a view to increasing capacity and safety in the air transport system to support the implementation of the Single European Sky. Air traffic control and management systems constitute an area where Community research delivers European added value, by helping to remove fragmentation and better coordinating research and development efforts in Europe. Community research actions should also trigger further research efforts in Member States.

4.5 In this way the Commission plans to provide a framework for projects of European interest, for example on satellite navigation (Galileo), flight data processing (FDP), data communication and the supply of aviation data and planning tools.

5. Operation of provision of service

5.1. The Community must set up an economic regulatory framework meeting users' needs as fully as possible. The Member States remain in control of the statutes of air navigation service providers. By contrast, whatever the national solutions adopted, a Community framework must be ensured, imposing the same obligations and offering the same opportunities to all providers. These provisions will address relations between service providers and the regulator (separation and transparency), between the various providers (cooperation), between these providers and airspace users (consultation) and between service providers and other operators, including the military (coordination). The role and obligations attached to each of these functions - linked to service provision and to the implementation and management of equipment and systems for air navigation - will have to be clarified to guarantee safety at all times. In this context, there will be a need for a common performance target in order to ensure that services meet needs at a Community level.

5.2. In this context, the Commission plans to propose establishment of an authorisation system for civil air navigation service providers, setting the minimum conditions for exercising this function at European level but leaving it to the Member States to implement the system. This should make it possible to enforce the overriding Community principles and to harmonise the essential conditions which must be imposed on service providers, while respecting the Member States' right to decide the statutes and structure for providers best suited to their specific national conditions. This should also facilitate cooperation between service providers, if they all have to abide by the same rules and, as a result, have a clear picture of the others' rights and obligations.

5.3. In parallel, the Commission intends to propose amendments, within the context of the common route charges system of Eurocontrol, to the structure of charges for use of airspace in order to add efficiency incentives for service providers plus incentives to optimise the capacity of the system as a whole for providers and users; the inclusion of other factors, such as environmental considerations, should also be examined, as the Commission indicated in its communication "Air transport and the environment" [13].

[13] Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Air transport and the environment (COM(1999) 640 final).

5.4. Finally, a Community framework applicable to ancillary services [14] will have to be defined, based on the principles laid down in the EEC Treaty. As a second stage, the Commission plans to make specific proposals on these services.

[14] Provision of communication, navigation and surveillance infrastructure, and meteorological services for airspace users, search and rescue services and aeronautical information services.

6. Social aspects

6.1. The shortage of air traffic controllers is expected to become more acute in the years ahead, due to the age pyramid in this profession. The solution to this problem is a matter for the service providers and depends on the performance requirements established by Community regulation. However, the Community can contribute, liasing with Eurocontrol, towards identifying the reasons which militate against recruitment of new controllers.

6.2. Besides the number of controllers, the Group's report highlights another cause for concern: the disparities in procedures and training which, in practice, rule out any real mobility of staff within Europe and prevent any flexibility. One solution could be to introduce harmonisation at Community level of licences for air traffic controllers as well as progressive harmonisation of training. The Commission will request the Eurocontrol Agency to study this option.

6.3. Air traffic controllers have irreplaceable expertise on how the systems and techniques work. At the moment this expertise is not fully harnessed. Air traffic controllers and air navigation staff in general should be far more closely involved at two levels:

* in evaluation of new systems and techniques, for example in the diagnosis mechanism (see above);

* in the discussions on the general framework governing air navigation, by extending to the air navigation sector the Europe-wide social dialogue already existing in other sectors of air transport.

ANNEX 2 Proposals to be drafted

First stage:

- Define Europe's upper airspace and the interface with the lower airspace, including rules for management of this upper airspace; this proposal could provide for strengthening flow management by the CFMU [15];

[15] CFMU: Central Flow Management Unit, managed by Eurocontrol for the coordination of air traffic flow management at pan-european level.

- Replace Directive 93/65/EEC [16] by a text on technical regulations allowing rapid adoption at Community level of standards on air navigation;

[16] Council Directive 93/65/EEC of 19 July 1993 on the definition and use of compatible technical specifications for the procurement of air-traffic-management equipment and systems.

- Draft a proposal harmonising the rights and obligations of providers of air navigation services, including, in particular, the essential requirements to be met by the owners/managers of air navigation systems and by air navigation service providers throughout Europe and the granting of authorisations for service providers; the Commission hopes to include proposals on route charging to take account, in particular, of the concept of performance; it would be useful to add the possibility of evaluation to provide the input needed, in particular, for the deliberations on route charges;

- Accession by the Community to Eurocontrol, particularly so that the revised Eurocontrol Convention can enter into force;

- Arrangement with Eurocontrol, giving details of the equitable cooperation procedures necessary to create the single sky and to develop genuine, effective synergies with Eurocontrol.

Second stage:

(depending on progress with the first stage)

- Development of the new concepts of free routing and flexible airspace;

- Harmonisation of access to the profession of air traffic controller;

- Associated economic aspects (for example, ancillary services);

- Action to develop a more European approach to new techniques and technologies.