Article 1 Objective and scope
1. The objective of the single European sky initiative is to enhance current air traffic safety tandards, to contribute to the sustainable development of the air transport system and to improve the overall performance of air traffic management (ATM) and air navigation services (ANS) for general air traffic in Europe, with a view to meeting the requirements of all airspace users. This single European sky shall comprise a coherent pan-European network of routes, network management and air traffic management systems based only on safety, efficiency and technical considerations, for the benefit of all airspace users. In pursuit of this objective, this Regulation establishes a harmonised regulatory framework for the creation of the single European sky. 2. The application of this Regulation and of the measures referred to in Article 3 shall be without prejudice to Member States' sovereignty over their airspace and to the requirements of the Member States relating to public order, public security and defence matters, as set out in Article 13. This Regulation and the measures referred to in Article 3 do not cover military operations and training. 3. The application of this Regulation and of the measures referred to in Article 3 shall be without prejudice to the rights and duties of Member States under the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation (the Chicago Convention). In this context, an additional objective of this Regulation is, in the fields it covers, to assist Member States in fulfilling their obligations under the Chicago Convention, by providing a basis for a common interpretation and uniform implementation of its provisions, and by ensuring that these provisions are duly taken into account in this Regulation and in the rules drawn up for its implementation. 4. The application of this Regulation to the airport of Gibraltar is understood to be without prejudice to the respective legal positions of the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with regard to the dispute over sovereignty over the territory in which the airport is situated.
Article 2 Definitions
For the purpose of this Regulation and of the measures referred to in Article 3, the following definitions shall apply: 2. ‘aerodrome control service’ means an ATC service for aerodrome traffic; 3. ‘aeronautical information service’ means a service established within the defined area of coverage responsible for the provision of aeronautical information and data necessary for the safety, regularity, and efficiency of air navigation; 4. ‘air navigation services’ means air traffic services; communication, navigation and surveillance services; meteorological services for air navigation; and aeronautical information services; 5. ‘air navigation service providers’ means any public or private entity providing air navigation services for general air traffic; 6. ‘airspace block’ means an airspace of defined dimensions, in space and time, within which air navigation services are provided; 7. ‘airspace management’ means a planning function with the primary objective of maximising the utilisation of available airspace by dynamic time-sharing and, at times, the segregation of airspace among various categories of airspace users on the basis of short-term needs; 8. ‘airspace users’ means operators of aircraft operated as general air traffic; 9. ‘air traffic flow management’ means a function established with the objective of contributing to a safe, orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic by ensuring that ATC capacity is utilised to the maximum extent possible, and that the traffic volume is compatible with the capacities declared by the appropriate air traffic service providers; 10. ‘air traffic management (ATM)’ means the aggregation of the airborne and ground-based functions (air traffic services, airspace management and air traffic flow management) required to ensure the safe and efficient movement of aircraft during all phases of operations; 11. ‘air traffic services’ means the various flight information services, alerting services, air traffic advisory services and ATC services (area, approach and aerodrome control services); 12. ‘area control service’ means an ATC service for controlled flights in a block of airspace; 13. ‘approach control service’ means an ATC service for arriving or departing controlled flights; 13a. ‘ATM Master Plan’ means the plan endorsed by Council Decision 2009/320/EC ( 9 ), in accordance with Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 219/2007 of 27 February 2007 on the establishment of a Joint Undertaking to develop the new generation European air traffic management system (SESAR) ( 10 ); 14. ‘bundle of services’ means two or more air navigation services; 15. ‘certificate’ means a document issued by a national supervisory authority in any form complying with national law, which confirms that an air navigation service provider meets the requirements for providing a specific service; 16. ‘communication services’ means aeronautical fixed and mobile services to enable ground-to-ground, air-to-ground and air-to-air communications for ATC purposes; 17. ‘European air traffic management network’ (EATMN) means the collection of systems listed in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 552/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2004 on the interoperability of the European air traffic management network (the interoperability Regulation) ( 11 ) enabling air navigation services in the Community to be provided, including the interfaces at boundaries with third countries; 18. ‘concept of operation’ means the criteria for the operational use of the EATMN or of part thereof; 19. ‘constituents’ means tangible objects such as hardware and intangible objects such as software upon which the interoperability of the EATMN depends; 20. ‘Eurocontrol’ is the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation set up by the International Convention of 13 December 1960 relating to Cooperation for the Safety of Air Navigation ( 12 ) 22. ‘flexible use of airspace’ means an airspace management concept applied in the European Civil Aviation Conference area on the basis of the ‘Airspace management handbook for the application of the concept of the flexible use of airspace’ issued by Eurocontrol; 23. ‘flight information region’ means an airspace of defined dimensions within which flight information services and alerting services are provided; 23a. ‘flight information service’ means a service provided for the purpose of giving advice and information useful for the safe and efficient conduct of flights; 23b. ‘alerting service’ means a service provided to notify relevant organisations regarding aircraft in need of search and rescue aid, and to assist such organisations as required; 24. ‘flight level’ means a surface of constant atmospheric pressure which is related to the specific pressure datum of 1 013,2 hectopascals and is separated from other such surfaces by specific pressure intervals; 25. ‘functional airspace block’ means an airspace block based on operational requirements and established regardless of State boundaries, where the provision of air navigation services and related functions are performance-driven and optimised with a view to introducing, in each functional airspace block, enhanced cooperation among air navigation service providers or, where appropriate, an integrated provider; 26. ‘general air traffic’ means all movements of civil aircraft, as well as all movements of State aircraft (including military, customs and police aircraft) when these movements are carried out in conformity with the procedures of the ICAO; 27. ‘ICAO’ means the International Civil Aviation Organisation, as established by the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation; 28. ‘interoperability’ means a set of functional, technical and operational properties required of the systems and constituents of the EATMN and of the procedures for its operation, in order to enable its safe, seamless and efficient operation. Interoperability is achieved by making the systems and constituents compliant with the essential requirements; 29. ‘meteorological services’ means those facilities and services that provide aircraft with meteorological forecasts, briefs and observations as well as any other meteorological information and data provided by States for aeronautical use; 30. ‘navigation services’ means those facilities and services that provide aircraft with positioning and timing information; 31. ‘operational data’ means information concerning all phases of flight that are required to take operational decisions by air navigation service providers, airspace users, airport operators and other actors involved; 32. ‘procedure’, as used in the context of the interoperability Regulation, means a standard method for either the technical or the operational use of systems, in the context of agreed and validated concepts of operation requiring uniform implementation throughout the EATMN; 33. ‘putting into service’ means the first operational use after the initial installation or an upgrade of a system; 34. ‘route network’ means a network of specified routes for channelling the flow of general air traffic as necessary for the provision of ATC services; 35. ‘routing’ means the chosen itinerary to be followed by an aircraft during its operation; 36. ‘seamless operation’ means the operation of the EATMN in such a manner that from the user's perspective it functions as if it were a single entity; 38. ‘surveillance services’ means those facilities and services used to determine the respective positions of aircraft to allow safe separation; 39. ‘system’ means the aggregation of airborne and ground-based constituents, as well as space-based equipment, that provides support for air navigation services for all phases of flight; 40. ‘upgrade’ means any modification that changes the operational characteristics of a system; 41. ‘cross-border services’ means any situation where air navigation services are provided in one Member State by a service provider certified in another Member State.
Article 3 Fields for action by the Community
2. The measures referred to in paragraph 1 shall apply subject to the provisions of this Regulation.
Article 4 National supervisory authorities
1. Member States shall, jointly or individually, either nominate or establish a body or bodies as their national supervisory authority in order to assume the tasks assigned to such authority under this Regulation and under the measures referred to in Article 3. 2. The national supervisory authorities shall be independent of air navigation service providers. This independence shall be achieved through adequate separation, at the functional level at least, between the national supervisory authorities and such providers. 3. National supervisory authorities shall exercise their powers impartially, independently and transparently. This shall be achieved by applying appropriate management and control mechanisms, including within the administration of a Member State. However, this shall not prevent the national supervisory authorities from exercising their tasks within the rules of organisation of national civil aviation authorities or any other public bodies. 4. Member States shall ensure that national supervisory authorities have the necessary resources and capabilities to carry out the tasks assigned to them under this Regulation in an efficient and timely manner. 5. Member States shall notify the Commission of the names and addresses of the national supervisory authorities, as well as changes thereto, and of the measures taken to ensure compliance with paragraphs 2, 3 and 4.
Article 5 Committee procedure
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Single Sky Committee, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Committee’, composed of two representatives of each Member State and chaired by a representative of the Commission. The Committee shall ensure an appropriate consideration of the interests of all categories of users. 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 3 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof. 3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof. The period referred to in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at one month. 4. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to (4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof. 5. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1), (2), (4),(6) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.
Article 6 Industry consultation body
Without prejudice to the role of the Committee and of Eurocontrol, the Commission shall establish an ‘industry consultation body’, to which air navigation service providers, associations of airspace users, airport operators, the manufacturing industry and professional staff representative bodies shall belong. The role of this body shall solely be to advise the Commission on the implementation of the single European sky.
Article 7 Relations with European third countries
The Community and its Member States shall aim at and support the extension of the single European sky to countries which are not members of the European Union. To that end, they shall endeavour, either in the framework of agreements concluded with neighbouring third countries or in the context of agreements on functional airspace blocks, to extend the application of this Regulation, and of the measures referred to in Article 3, to those countries.
Article 8 Implementing rules
1. For the development of implementing rules the Commission may issue mandates to Eurocontrol or, where appropriate, to another body, setting out the tasks to be performed and the timetable for this and taking into account the relevant deadlines laid down in this Regulation. The Commission shall act in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 5(2). 2. When the Commission intends to issue a mandate in accordance with paragraph 1 it shall endeavour to make the best use of existing arrangements for the involvement and consultation of all interested parties, where these arrangements correspond to Commission practices on transparency and consultation procedures and do not conflict with its institutional obligations.
Article 9 Penalties
The penalties that Member States shall lay down for infringements of this Regulation and of the measures referred to in Article 3 in particular by airspace users and service providers shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
Article 10 Consultation of stakeholders
1. The Member States, acting in accordance with their national legislation, shall establish consultation mechanisms for appropriate involvement of stakeholders, including professional staff representative bodies, in the implementation of the single European sky. 2. The Commission shall establish a consultation mechanism at Community level. The specific Sectoral Dialogue Committee set up under Decision 98/500/EC shall be involved in the consultation. 3. Consultation of stakeholders shall cover, in particular, the development and introduction of new concepts and technologies in the EATMN. The stakeholders may include: — air navigation service providers, — airport operators, — relevant airspace users or relevant groups representing airspace users, — military authorities, — manufacturing industry, and, — professional staff representative bodies.
Article 11 Performance scheme
2. In accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 5(3), the Commission may designate Eurocontrol or another impartial and competent body to act as a ‘performance review body’. The role of the performance review body shall be to assist the Commission, in coordination with the national supervisory authorities, and to assist the national supervisory authorities on request in the implementation of the performance scheme referred to in paragraph 1. The Commission shall ensure that the performance review body acts independently when carrying out the tasks entrusted to it by the Commission. 5. The establishment of the performance scheme shall take into account that en route services, terminal services and network functions are different and should be treated accordingly, if necessary also for performance-measuring purposes.
Article 12 Supervision, monitoring and methods of impact assessment
1. The supervision, monitoring and methods of impact assessment shall be based on the submission of annual reports by the Member States on implementation of the actions taken pursuant to this Regulation and to the measures referred to in Article 3. 2. The Commission shall periodically review the application of this Regulation and of the measures referred to in Article 3, and shall firstly report to the European Parliament and to the Council by 4 June 2011, and at the end of each reference period referred to in Article 11(3)(d) thereafter. When justified for this purpose, the Commission may request from the Member States information additional to the information contained in the reports submitted by them in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article. 3. For the purposes of drafting the reports referred to in paragraph 2, the Commission shall request the opinion of the Committee. 4. The reports shall contain an evaluation of the results achieved by the actions taken pursuant to this Regulation including appropriate information about developments in the sector, in particular concerning economic, social, environmental, employment and technological aspects, as well as about quality of service, in the light of the original objectives and with a view to future needs.
Article 13 Safeguards
This Regulation shall not prevent the application of measures by a Member State to the extent to which these are needed to safeguard essential security or defence policy interests. Such measures are in particular those which are imperative: — for the surveillance of airspace that is under its responsibility in accordance with ICAO Regional Air Navigation agreements, including the capability to detect, identify and evaluate all aircraft using such airspace, with a view to seeking to safeguard safety of flights and to take action to ensure security and defence needs, — in the event of serious internal disturbances affecting the maintenance of law and order, — in the event of war or serious international tension constituting a threat of war, — for the fulfilment of a Member State's international obligations in relation to the maintenance of peace and international security, — in order to conduct military operations and training, including the necessary possibilities for exercises.
Article 13a European Aviation Safety Agency
When implementing this Regulation and Regulations (EC) No 550/2004, (EC) No 551/2004, (EC) No 552/2004 and Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 February 2008 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Aviation Safety Agency ( 16 ), Member States and the Commission, in accordance with their respective roles as provided for by this Regulation, shall coordinate as appropriate with the European Aviation Safety Agency to ensure that all safety aspects are properly addressed.
Article 14 Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .