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Single European Sky

The Single European Sky is a European Commission initiative by which the design, management and regulation of airspace will be harmonised throughout the European Union. This is expected to benefit all airspace users by ensuring the safe and efficient utilisation of airspace and the air traffic management system within and beyond the EU. Airspace management is planned to move away from the previous domination by national boundaries to the use of 'functional airspace blocks' the boundaries of which will be designed to maximise the efficiency of the airspace. Within the airspace, air traffic management, while continuing to have safety as its primary objective, will also be driven by the requirements of the airspace user and the need to provide for increasing air traffic. The aim is to use air traffic management that is more closely based on desired flight patterns leading to greater safety, efficiency and capacity.

Air traffic management in the European Union is largely undertaken by member states, co-operating through EUROCONTROL, an intergovernmental organisation that includes both the EU member states and most other European states as well.

European air space is some of the busiest in the world, and the current system of air traffic management suffers from several inefficiencies, such as using air traffic control boundaries that follow national borders, and having large areas of European airspace reserved for military use when in fact they may not be needed.

In October 2001, the European Commission adopted proposals for a Single European Sky, to create a Community regulator for air traffic management within the EU, Norway and Switzerland. The Community regulator will merge upper European airspace, currently divided into national regions. It will organise this airspace uniformly, with air traffic control areas based on operational efficiency, not national borders. Also, it will integrate civil and military air traffic management.

There are discussions about enlarging the initiative to cover the Balkan and Mediterranean states.

European Common Aviation Area

Bilateral agreements between the EU and some external countries about this single market in aviation services were signed on 5 May 2006 in Salzburg, Austria. It would build upon the EU's acquis communautaire and the European Economic Area. The ECAA in effect would liberalize the air transport industry by allowing any company from an ECAA member state to fly between any airports in all ECAA member states (including the possibility for foreign company to provide domestic flights). It is expected by the year 2010 the market integration between EU and non-EU members to be completed.

On 9 June 2006 the ECAA agreement was signed by almost all of the 27 EU members, the European Community itself, Norway, Iceland, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo (UNMIK as Kosovo representative under Security Council resolution 1244). The last two EU member states to sign it were Slovakia and Latvia respectively on 13.06.2006 and 22.06.2006. Finally of the initially expected countries Serbia signed on 29.06.2006 and Montenegro on 05.07.2006. Currently the ratification process is ongoing in all of these countries (Hungary finished on 31.07.2006).

Further talks are expected with Switzerland, Turkey and probably the remaining EUROCONTROL members. With the Mediterranean countries are expected Euro-Mediterranean Aviation Agreements with similar content.