Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament — Action programme on the creation of the Single European Sky,the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the framework for the creation of the Single European Sky,the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the creation of the Single European Sky,the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of air navigation services in the Single European Sky,the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the organisation and use of the airspace in the Single European Sky, andthe Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the interoperability of the European Air Traffic Management network
Date: 2002-11-14
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: air space, air traffic, air transport, organisation of transport, trans-European network, transport regulations

14.11.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 278/13

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:

— the ‘Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament —

Action programme on the creation of the Single European Sky’,

— the ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down

the framework for the creation of the Single European Sky’,

— the ‘Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on

the creation of the Single European Sky’,

— the ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the

provision of air navigation services in the Single European Sky’,

— the ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the

organisation and use of the airspace in the Single European Sky’, and

— the ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the

interoperability of the European Air Traffic Management network’

(2002/C 278/04)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament
— Action Programme on the creation of the Single European Sky and the Proposal for a Regulation of
the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the framework for the creation of the Single
European Sky [COM(2001) 123 final — 2001/0060 (COD)];

having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament
on the creation of the Single European Sky the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and
of the Council on the provision of air navigation services in the Single European Sky, the Proposal for a
Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the organisation and use of the airspace in
the Single European Sky, and the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council
on the interoperability of the European Air Traffic Management network [COM(2001) 564 final — 2001/
0235-0236-0237 (COD)];

having regard to the decision of the Council on 15 November 2001 to consult the Committee on this
subject, in accordance with Article 80, paragraph 2 of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

having regard to the decision of its Bureau on 12 June 2001 to instruct Commission 3 — Trans-European
Networks, Transport and the Information Society to draw up the relevant opinion;

having regard to the Draft Opinion adopted by its Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy (1) on
5 March 2002 (CdR 4/2002 rev.) (rapporteur: Mr Verburg, Member of the Noord-Holland Provincial
Executive) (NL-EPP);

whereas the achievement of a Single European Sky is in the interests of the safe and efficient provision of
air transport at higher altitudes;

whereas the large number of delayed flights in past years shows that improved efficiency, while
maintaining the highest possible level of safety,
is highly desirable in order to enable European air
transport to continue to fulfil the quality requirements that must be met in order to secure the economic
competitiveness of Europe and its regions and, where possible, improve it;

whereas increasing the capacity of air routes at higher altitudes and making the provision of transport
more efficient, in addition to various other measures, is necessary in order to bring about the desired
improvements,

(1) Re-organisation of the commissions and their terms of reference, 6 February 2002.

C 278/14

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

14.11.2002

adopted the following opinion unanimously at its 44th plenary session of 15 and 16 May 2002 (meeting
of 15 May).

The Committee of the Regions

1. welcomes the Commission’s proposals. A Europe without
internal frontiers should in any case make the unhampered
transport of persons and goods also possible in the air. The
existing serious shortfalls in punctuality when providing air
transport cause economic and environmental disadvantages
for airports and the surrounding regions. The Committee
considers the Commission’s proposals to be a necessary
component of the measures that are necessary in order to find
a solution to these problems. The Committee advocates the
following three objectives when preparing further measures:

— the maintenance and, where possible, improvement of

safety,

— the increasing of capacity in the air transport system and

— the improvement of efficiency in accordance with the
possibilities of continuing to maintain the environmental
standards applying to air transport;

2.
is in favour of rationalising the use of upper airspace. The
organisation of Air Traffic Management should be recast in
such a way that the number of air traffic control centres can
be drastically reduced and instructions harmonised. As regards
co-ordinating the civil and military use of airspace, the
Committee advocates an optimisation based on the demands
which, from both sectors, must be tailored to the actual
possibilities of use. In general, and particularly on these points,
a Single European Sky can only be achieved by removing
existing institutional and organisational barriers. The Com-
mittee calls upon the European Council to do something about
this;

thinks that independent and effective regulation is the
3.
first requirement for a safe and efficient use of airspace. As
regards the improvement of efficiency, the Committee sup-
ports the Community’s proposed entry into Eurocontrol in

Brussels, 15 May 2002.

order to promote a situation where regulatory decisions
rapidly become law in the Member States. As regards indepen-
the responsibilities for
dence,
regulation, implementation and supervision be separated, in
accordance with generally prevailing administrative principles;

the Committee urges that

4.
is aware that the success of the Single European Sky
depends largely on the concrete measures that will be taken
on the basis of the regulations being proposed now. For
these to be implemented smoothly, it is important that all
operational requirements and desires are set out during the
preparation of the implementing measures. The Committee
therefore advocates consultation of the various sector organis-
ations. The interests of regional authorities with an airport
within their jurisdiction can be looked after here by the Airport
Regions Conference; the Airport Regions Conference (ARC)
should be recognised as a spokesman together with regional
and local authorities. The participation of regional and local
government in airport planning must be guaranteed;

5.
proposes that the process of creating the Single European
Sky reflect the specific needs of peripheral and island regions,
whose distance from major economic and urban centres
puts a substantial brake on development. In particular, the
Committee recommends, wherever possible, action aimed at
making connections between transport nodes in the island
regions and centres of economic, social and administrative
activity more efficient and economic, if necessary by way of
derogation from overall programmes;

6.
urges that the implementation of the Single European Sky
be pursued with vigour. The Committee calls upon all the
bodies concerned in all the Member States to work together to
make the Single European Sky a reality by December 2004 at
the latest. The Community should already become a member
of Eurocontrol in 2002 (1).

(1) The Barcelona summit on 15 and 16 March already concluded in

the same sense.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE