EUROCONTROL

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European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation

Contents 1 European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation 2 Mission 3 Governance 4 Strategic Objectives 4.1 Safety 4.2 Capacity 4.3 Efficiency 4.4 Security 4.5 Environment 5 Way of Working 6 Safety Related Activities 7 Further Reading

Mission

EUROCONTROL's mission is to harmonise and integrate air navigation services in Europe, aiming at the creation of a uniform air traffic management (ATM) system for civil and military users, in order to achieve the safe, secure, orderly, expeditious and economic flow of traffic throughout Europe, while minimising adverse environmental impact.

Governance

EUROCONTROL is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 Member States. It also counts the European Community as a member.

EUROCONTROL is governed by an international convention. The current version, which is in the process of ratification, is known as the "Revised Convention". The Organisation is divided into three bodies: two governing bodies, the EUROCONTROL Commission and the Provisional Council, and one executive body, the Agency. The governance structure also comprises specialised entities which report to or advise these three bodies.

Strategic Objectives

The organisation’s strategic objectives are classified in six specific areas:

Safety

• Implement pan-European tools for improving ATM safety in cooperation with stakeholders;
• Raise the safety maturity level of air navigation service providers and national regulators to 70 % by the end of 2008;

Capacity

• Match capacity with air traffic growth to achieve the economic optimum in delays (one minute en-route delay per flight during summer season);
• Implement the Dynamic Management of European Airspace Network (DMEAN) programme in coordination with stakeholder programmes;
• Improve airport air traffic management capacity;

Efficiency

• Achieve performance targets set for European ATM by the EUROCONTROL Performance Review Commission (PRC);
• Improve cooperation with air navigation service providers;
• Reduce the inefficiencies at operational and technical levels through EAD, the world’s largest aeronautical information system;
• Facilitate the most efficient interfaces between functional airspace block (FAB) initiatives to further the Single European Sky initiative;

Security

• Strengthen ATM contribution to aviation security by improving ATM and airspace security levels and performance;

Environment

• In cooperation with stakeholders, continue implementing and accelerating ATM measures that contribute to mitigating aviation's environmental impact.

The objectives have been identified and approved by the Provisional Council, one of two EUROCONTROL governing bodies. They are the result of close cooperation with European aviation stakeholders. Achieving these objectives is a shared responsibility of both the EUROCONTROL Agency and the Member States.

Way of Working

To achieve its mission and objectives EUROCONTROL initiates, develops, and coordinates short-, medium- and long-term pan-European air traffic management strategies and their associated action plans. This is done in a collective effort involving civil and military aviation stakeholders (national authorities, air navigation service providers, civil and military airspace users, airports, industry, professional organisations), the European institutions, and international aviation bodies.

Safety Related Activities

EUROCONTROL's core activities span the entire range of gate-to-gate air navigation service operations - from strategic and tactical flow management to controller training; from regional control of airspace to development of leading-edge, safety-proofed technologies and procedures, and the collection of air navigation charges. The key safety activities are related to harmonisation and implementation of:

• ATM Safety Regulation - development and implementation of harmonised safety regulatory requirements for the European Air Traffic Management (ESARRs);
• The European Safety Programme (ESP);
• Safety enhancement initiaitves;
• Safety Nets;
• Airborne collision avoidance systems; and
• Runway safety initiaitives and measures.

Further Reading

• Skyway magazine: SES II - EUROCONTROL's regulatory support role

Refer to the relevant areas of the EUROCONTROL website:

• Safety Regulation web-page;
• The European Safety Programme (ESP);
• Safety Enhancement web-page;
• Safety Nets web-page;
• Airborne collision avoidance systems web-page;
• Airport safety web-page