3rd EMAC Steering Committee Meeting

Location: Brussels, Belgium
Dates: 28-29/04/2004

Key documents:
Programme (372Kb)

Summary:

EMAC (Europe Middle-East Air Traffic Management Coordination) is a regional mechanism to foster cooperation in air traffic management, between Cyprus, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. EMAC held its 3rd steering committee meeting on 28 and 29 April 2004 in Brussels, Belgium, under the chairmanship of Mr Vassiliou, Director of the Department of Civil Aviation of Cyprus.

Considering the objectives shared with the Euromed Transport Project Main Contract in terms of transport sector liberalisation, regulatory harmonisation, and regional integration, and in recognition of the project’s experience and expertise, the EMAC steering committee solicited our participation as an ad hoc observer.

All project stakeholders are convinced that EMAC is an essential link for regional cooperation in the transport sector among the concerned MEDA partner countries and with the EU. This was further reinforced by the international experts’ findings during their missions to the EMAC countries in view of the strong interest of governments and international organisations to join this initiative.

During the NCT 2 meeting, two potential actions related to EMAC activities have been proposed for the Regional Transport Action Plan:

	The identification of European funds available to finance the EMAC initiatives, with the collaboration of DG TREN and EuropeAid;
	A direct Euromed Transport Project support programme in terms of planning, technical assistance and training.

Mr Poulimenakos, International Air Transport Expert, took part in the 3rd EMAC Steering Committee meeting as the representative of the Euromed Transport Project Main Contract.
As an output of this meeting, a cooperation agreement was signed between Eurocontrol (European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation) and the EMAC participating states. This agreement has two strategic objectives:

	The development of mutually beneficial interregional cooperation on aviation related issues between Eurocontrol and the EMAC participating States collectively, and;
	The provision of support services by Eurocontrol to the EMAC participating states in order to enhance the efficiency and the safety of air traffic management in the region.

The following have been mentioned as potential areas of cooperation in relation with these objectives: air space structure and ATS route network, exchange of information on traffic forecast, aviation aspects of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM), collection of air navigation charges, training, and organising joint events such as workshops conferences, and studies.

The representatives of EMAC States and Eurocontrol committed to obtain approval and signature of the agreement from their national/institutional authorities by July 2004. Following this step, an action plan, developed by Eurocontrol in cooperation with the participating states, will be submitted for adoption to the participants.

Photo:

Mr Poulimenakos, International Air Transport Expert
(third from the left) and the other participants of the
Meeting