on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of Amendment 1 to the Memorandum of Cooperation NAT-I-9406 between the United States of America and the European Union

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

•Reasons for and objectives of the proposal

Air transport is a priority for the European Union's transport policy. The Commission's objective is to achieve a high-performing air transport system that provides seamless, safe and efficient mobility of passengers and goods, for the benefit of citizens and industry. This requires highly performing air traffic management (ATM) systems capable of addressing the present and future challenges of air transport in terms of increasing capacity and safety, while reducing the environmental impact of flights and the costs for the provision of air navigation services.

Since 2004, the European Union has set out to improve the performance of ATM in Europe by reforming the way air traffic is managed and organised and also by modernising and harmonising the European ATM infrastructure through the Single European Sky (SES) initiative. The completion of the SES is a major objective of the Aviation Strategy for Europe adopted by the Commission on 7.12.2015, indicating it as one of the most fundamental challenges affecting the performance and competitiveness of the European Union's aviation system today. The SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) project is the technological component of the SES. It aims to define, develop, validate and deploy new technologies and operational procedures that contribute to enhancing the performance of ATM systems in Europe.

Air transport is a global business that strongly relies on global interoperability of ATM systems that ensures safe, efficient and cost effective flights across and between different regions of the world. Global interoperability can only be achieved through effective and continued cooperation with other regions. The USA is also addressing ATM modernisation, in particular through the NextGen programme managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). SESAR and NextGen are today the main worldwide references in ATM modernisation. Both initiatives aim to improve the capacity of their current systems through the increased use of automation, increased sharing of information, new approaches to flight plans and flight routings, new methods of separation and extensive use of satellite technology. In this context, global interoperability is an essential goal when planning the development of ATM systems and is consequently one of the key requirements of both SESAR and NextGen.

Sharing the common goal to develop safer and more efficient air transport, in 2011, the European Union and the United States of America signed the Memorandum of Cooperation between the United States of America and the European Union in civil aviation research and development (MoC). The cooperative activities carried out so far under the MoC mainly address ATM particularly cooperation in the field of research and development (R&D) between SESAR and NextGen.

At that time, these two programmes were both in their research and development phases, which justified the initial focus of cooperation on research, development and validation activities. Cooperation under the MoC, in particular between SESAR and NextGen, has reached a high level of maturity and has delivered important results in terms of promoting global interoperability of ATM systems. This led the two parties to explore the potential for extending the scope of cooperation to topics relating to the deployment of ATM systems. On this basis, the Council authorised the Commission on 8 May 2017 to negotiate with the FAA concerning an amendment to the MoC to extend its scope to cover deployment. The three main negotiating objectives were:

(1) to expand the scope of the existing MoC for civil aviation R&D to include the full scope of ATM modernisation (i.e. R&D, validation, demonstration, deployment) including emerging aviation areas and other ATM domains of the Single European Sky beyond technology;

(2) to streamline and optimise the governance arrangements of the MoC and its Annexes and Appendices;

(3) to negotiate specific arrangements for cooperation on ATM deployment while maintaining the existing arrangements on “SESAR-NextGen cooperation on global interoperability” and “Collaboration on ATM performance measurements”, duly adapted to the new framework.

The amendment to the MoC was negotiated between the Commission and the FAA and, on the basis of a corresponding Council Decision, has been signed on behalf of the Union while the present Decision follows its adoption process.

•Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area

The proposed Amendment to the MoC is fully consistent with the Aviation Strategy for Europe, the Single European Sky policy, the SESAR project and the related legislation. The strategy stresses the importance of completing the Single European Sky through the implementation of a fully optimised European air traffic management system that reduces the costs stemming from inefficiencies (delays and longer routes etc.). The implementation of the SESAR project plays a fundamental role in that implementation as well as a strong and efficient cooperation with the USA in order to ensure that the respective air traffic management systems are aligned and interoperable.

•Consistency with other Union policies

This initiative complies with the Commission’s political priorities with regards to the internal market, growth and jobs and the European Union as a global actor. The recommendation is consistent with the EU’s Research and Innovation policy and the Trans-European Networks policy on which the SESAR research and development and deployment frameworks are based.

2.LEGAL BASIS

•Legal basis