According to the EU Press Room, “Fragmentation of the aviation regulation system still remains a problem. Today high level representatives of the national civil aviation administrations, aviation industry and the Commission met in Brussels to find ways to improve the efficiency of the system, cut costs and cover possible gaps in safety. The conference brought together the highest executives of both regulators and the industry stakeholder to formulate new and more efficient policies.Vice-President Jacques Barrot, Commissioner in charge of Transport stated: “This conference builds on the recent successes of the Community initiatives in aviation and aims to bring us from the current patchwork approach to an integrated framework that gives Europe the regulatory capabilities it needs in a globalising world”.Rapidly growing traffic and the success of air transport liberalisation in Europe have changed the environment where national legislators operate. The aviation industry is becoming more and more cross-border in its operations, but Europe’s regulatory structures have not kept up with the challenge. Many actors take responsibility for parts of the aviation system, in a way that is not always clear or efficient.The European Community has already taken action by tackling some of the most burning problems, be they in passenger rights or creating capacity and maintaining safety in an evolving marketIn order to modernise the European air traffic management sector, the Commission has also launched measures and initiatives such as the Single European Sky or SESAR, a new-generation air traffic management system (IP/05/1435). The extension of tasks of the European Aviation Safety Agency also aims to bridge existing gaps by including issues such as flight crew licensing, operations, airports and air traffic management (IP/05/1422).Further Information on the Conference will be made available on the following webpage:http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air_portal/2006_09_20_conference_en.htm”
