One of the European Commission’s 10 key priorities, as set by the Commission’s President Jean-Claude Juncker, is that the EU becomes a stronger global actor. In line with this, the Commissioner for Transport and Mobility Violeta Bulc has therefore tasked EASA to become global leader in the area of aviation safety.
The international work of EASA, which has always been a core element of our activities, could thus only intensify. The proposed new EASA Basic Regulation sets a framework for better coordination towards the International Civil Aviation Organization of the United Nations (ICAO) and foresees more flexibility when accepting third country certificates and concluding working arrangements.
One of EASA’s priorities is to ensure better recognition of regional aviation systems in the ICAO framework. This is the topic of the conference we are organising, together with ICAO, in March 2017 in Swaziland.
Our objective is also to support the aviation industry through the conclusion of new agreements at the EU or EASA’s level. After the United States, Canada and Brazil, two new bilateral agreements are currently being negotiated between the EU and China and the EU and Japan, with the support of EASA. With regards to China, EASA is working ever closer with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), and the two authorities will be co-hosting in April 2017 the first EASA-CAAC aviation safety conference in Shanghai.
Increasing our technical assistance and cooperation to support countries and regions around the globe is a key element of EASA’s international activity. Several new EU-financed projects are planned to be launched in 2017.
Finally, the international presence of EASA is expanding: after Washington, Montreal and Beijing, a fourth permanent representation in Singapore will open in the course of 2017, reflecting also the ever closer ties between the EU and South-East Asia in the area of aviation.
Patrick Ky
EASA Executive Director
