MONTRÉAL, 18 DECEMBER 2015 – The Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Dr. Fang Liu, exchanged post-COP21 views and other developments with the European Commissioner for Mobility and Transport, Ms. Violeta Bulc, during a visit to Brussels this week.
Following on discussions Commissioner Bulc held last week with ICAO Council President Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, she and Secretary General Liu exchanged further points on ICAO’s framework for its Environmental Protection activities and its planning leading up to the 39th ICAO triennial Assembly (A39). ICAO will be seeking the support of its 191 Member States at A39 next September on the proposed design and 2020 implementation of a new market-based measure (MBM) for international aviation emissions.
Also discussed during the meeting were ICAO’s ongoing No Country Left Behind (NCLB) initiative and related progress on State-by-State effective implementation of the UN aviation agency’s global standards and policies, and the productive cooperation now being fostered between ICAO and the European Commission more broadly.
Secretary General Liu was accompanied on her Brussels mission by the ICAO Regional Director for Europe and the North Atlantic, Mr. Luis Fonseca de Almeida, and she took advantage while in the ‘capitol’ of the European Union to conduct further talks with the Executive Director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Mr. Patrick Ky, and the Director General of the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL), Mr. Frank Brenner.
Topics discussed with EASA’s head included conflict zones, global flight tracking, cybersecurity, harmonized aviation safety audit systems, improved use of resources, coordination and collaboration on joint activities and task forces for specific projects, and EASA’s support of ICAO’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) and its NCLB initiative.
Discussions with EUROCONTROL Director General Brenner focused on the European organization’s potential contribution to the global air traffic flow management system, the ICAO conflict zone repository, overall performance of the air navigation system, EUROCONTROL’S centralized route charges system, and its support for ICAO projects related to airspace usage.
Both Secretary General Liu and Director General Brenner agreed to implement a cooperation agreement between ICAO and EUROCONTROL for the establishment of a steering committee to coordinate joint activities.
Resources for editors:
ICAO’s Aviation Development and No Country Left Behind initiatives
ICAO 2015 E-GAP Seminar on Aviation Partnerships and Environmental Action
ICAO Global Aviation Dialogues (GLADs) on an international aviation MBM
ICAO Environmental Protection
For more information please contact: communications@icao.int
