2011/01/28
EUROPEAN AERONAUTICS : M AIN POLICY
AND
OBJECTIVES [1]
Daniela Siqueira Gomes
Over the twentieth century, the human condition has suffered
a huge transformation, mostly due to innovative technological
developments undertaken by the aeronautics industry. Such
developments have contributed to a vast expansion of human
mobility by making very long distances reachable at great
speed and creating the perception that time has a key role in
regulating people’s lives.
Aeronautics is, and will always be, a crucial industry for the
EU: European aeronautics is a sector which represents multi-billions of Euros and one of the world’s
leading exporters of aeronautics-related services and products is Europe itself. Aeronautics gives an
outstanding contribution to EU’s economic growth, mainly through providing innovative and ecofriendly solutions in order to ensure a high-quality and sustainable mobility on a long-term basis,
fostering intensive investments on Research and Development (R&D) as well as increasingly and
directly employing a large number of high-skilled people.
In fact, when it comes to outline the main policy and objectives of aeronautics in the EU it is almost
impossible to do it separately. Both previous elements – policy/objectives – are interrelated. For
example, it would be difficult to analyze and understand the main policy of European aeronautics
without referring the sector’s main objectives as well as the organizations or authorities that contribute
to the implementation of such a policy.
As a highly competitive cross-border industry, where people’s demands tend to increasingly surpass
what is offered, European aeronautics is likely to face a range of challenges described as more
radical than those in the past. This radicalism is a consequence of the terrorist attacks occurred in
11th September 2001, the constant rise of oil prices, the concerns about environmental issues such
as global warming, and the current financial crisis.
The former EU Commissioner for Research, Philippe Busquin, launched «European Aeronautics: A
Vision for 2020» in 2000, an important document which established an ambitious vision not only to
respond society’s daily needs, but also to maintain Europe as a global leader in the field of
aeronautics. Such vision led to the launch of the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe
(ACARE), a research network that is in charge to define and review the Strategic Research Agenda
(SRA), and also to make Vision 2020 a reality. The SRA outlines two top-level objectives for the
European aeronautics industry:
To meet society’s needs for a more efficient, safer and environmentally-friendly air transport system;
To win global leadership for European aeronautics, with a competitive supply chain, including small
and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Obviously, to understand the high importance of both objectives we should also analyze the main
challenges that lie behind them. The challenges that European aeronautics faces today are
interconnected and each one of them contains specific but ambitious objectives.
The first challenge lies in environmental issues. The aviation sector emits almost one billion tonnes
of CO2 per year due to rising demands from the international society, particularly in the economic and
business field. It is clear that the impact provoked by greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere
must be reduced through the use of eco-friendly technologies, without compromising society’s needs.
The second challenge refers to global competition. As already mentioned, Europe is the world’s
leading exporter of aeronautics-related services and products. Our continent also possesses one of
the best aircraft engines and systems of the world. Although the position of European aeronautics,
together with American aeronautics, remains on top of world rankings, Europe must be aware of
emerging competitors such as the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China), with a strong ambition to
succeed in the aeronautical field. European aeronautics can only guarantee its global leadership by
continuously investing in alternative fuels and sustainable technologies without putting aside its
intensive investments in R&D.
Efficiency of the air transport system is the third and last challenge to be analyzed. One of Europe’s
objectives in aeronautics is to provide society a range of affordable and high-quality services,
including safe travels, so that people’s demands are efficiently met and not affected by air traffic
growth. A highly efficient air transport system will automatically contribute to an increasing customer’s
satisfaction and, therefore, society will give much more of its trust to European aeronautics.
Even though European air traffic has registered a rapid growth in the last fifteen years [2], the EU air
traffic management system was still highly fragmented until the Single European Sky initiative was
launched by the European Commission (EC) in 1999. It was created in order to increase the capacity
of European airspace and also to make it more efficient, cost-effective and safer by drastically
reducing the fragmentation of air traffic management. The European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) is
the competent organization to participate in the process of preparing legislation for the safety of air
traffic management.
There is no doubt that an extensive and ambitious policy such as the Single European Sky involves a
considerable number of decision-makers. Everything starts with the EC itself, which mandates
EUROCONTROL (The European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation) to develop a range of
Implementing Rules – which are in practice EC regulations – for the implementation of the Single
European Sky regulatory framework. EUROCONTROL, together with the European Standards
Organizations (ESOs), also draws up Community Specifications. If the Single Sky Committee (SSC)
accepts those Specifications, a reference to them is published in the Official Journal of the EU. Once
published in the Journal, the Implementing Rules become law and are directly applicable to the EU
Member-States.
The Single European Sky is divided into two parts: first Single European Sky package (SES I) and
second Single European Sky package (SES II).
SES I package, adopted by the European Commission and approved by the European Council, came
into force in 2004. It focuses on minimizing congestion in the airspace by creating a safer and less
fragmented air traffic management. On the other hand, SES II package, adopted by the European
Commission, came into force in 2008. It focuses on improving aviation’s performance as well as its
sustainability.
Overall, Europe as a whole is a global leading aeronautics player. Its highly privileged position in
aeronautics, particularly aviation, only shows that European economies are well positioned to profit
from a vast range of opportunities offered by globalization without ever ignoring and compromising the
environment and society’s needs.
[1] Research paper prepared at the request of Intelligence in Science, a Brussels-based company
dedicated to science and innovation.
[2] According to the Aerospace Policy Manifesto (November-December 2010), the European air traffic
will double by 2030. The Manifesto is available at http://www.eutrio.be/files/bveu/asdpolicy_manifesto.pdf.
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