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Single European Sky (RP2025)

(A.) Policy and legislation

(A.1) Policy objectives

The EU has established the Single European Sky (SES) framework, aimed at harmonising and improving the performance of ATM through five pillars: Economic regulation, airspace organisation/network management, technological innovation, safety and human dimension. These pillars are interrelated and interdependent.

The technological pillar of the SES is the SESAR project (Single European Sky ATM Research), an essential enabler for all other components of the SES. The SES and SESAR are also key enablers for the EU’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, which fosters the green and digital transition of the transport sector. The objective of this twin transition is to reduce emissions and to facilitate connectivity in a seamless and resilient multimodal transport network. This is crucial in reaching climate neutrality by 2050 and a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

SESAR aims to modernise ATM and to develop and deploy technological and operational innovations in support of the SES and EU policies. The SESAR project comprises three interrelated collaborative phases that define, develop and deploy innovative technological systems and operational procedures in view of achieving the Digital European Sky.

These phases constitute the ATM Innovation Cycle:

  • The definition phase is based on the European ATM Master Plan (ATM MP), the roadmap for ATM modernisation. It defines the Digital European Sky, which is the Union’s vision for establishing a safe, sustainable and efficient ATM system and sets development priorities and deployment objectives to be achieved by 2040. The ATM MP is regularly updated through collaborative process, in order to respond to the evolving aviation needs and constraints.
  • The development phase relies on a public-private partnership, the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking (currently the third edition), established under the Horizon Europe Research programme. This EU body is tasked to coordinate the tasks of the SESAR definition phase, to implement the R&D aspects of the ATM MP, and to facilitate an accelerated market uptake of SESAR solutions, notably by organising and coordinating large-scale demonstrations activities and by supporting the related standardisation activities, in close cooperation with standardisation bodies and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
  • The Deployment phase: a SESAR deployment framework has been developed to facilitate and accelerate the implementation of essential ATM functionalities based on solutions stemming from the development phase. Under this framework, the SESAR Deployment Manager is responsible for the coordination of the implementation of the most essential SESAR operational improvements through Common Projects. A Common Project is an extraction from the European ATM MP, based on mature SESAR Solutions to be deployed in a synchronized and timely manner across Europe, translated into EU legislation.

Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2021/116 on the establishment of a first common project to support the implementation of the ATM Master Plan (“CP1 Regulation”) has mandated the deployment of a group of ATM functionalities that required standardisation. The CP1 regulation has replaced the previous Pilot Common Project, but the functionalities were not significantly changed. These functionalities are as follows:

  1. Extended Arrival Management and integrated arrival management (‘AMAN’)/ departure management (‘DMAN’) in the High Density Terminal Manoeuvring Areas;
  2. Airport Integration and Throughput;
  3. Flexible Airspace Management and Free Route Airspace;
  4. Network Collaborative Management;
  5. System Wide Information Management;
  6. Initial Trajectory Information Sharing or i4D.

The deployment of the SESAR solutions by Air Navigation Services Providers (ANSPs), airports and airlines require in many cases the use of standards, recognised within the EASA certification and declaration frameworks to ensure safety and interoperability of the systems deployed. In this context, standards remain a fundamental part of the ATM innovation cycle to ensure the seamless and timely transition from the R&D phase to deployment.

The standardisation related activities in support of SES are coordinated by the European ATM Standards Coordination Group (EASCG). It works to develop, monitor and maintain an overarching European ATM standardisation rolling development plan (A-RDP), based on the standardisation needs stemming from the SESAR framework, and inputs from its members. The group facilitates the sharing of work among the European Standardisation Organisations (CEN & CENELEC, ETSI) and other sectoral standards developing organisations such as EUROCAE or Eurocontrol, thus avoiding overlapping developments and identifying gaps. Although the coherence between the standardisation needs in Europe and internationally is already addressed in the European ATM MP, the EASCG takes into account information regarding progress and issues and raise them to the appropriate bodies for follow up as necessary. Two additional groups have also been set up to develop, coordinate and maintain similar Standardisation Rolling Development Plans in the areas of unmanned aviation and aviation cybersecurity.

(A.2) EC perspective and progress report

The new legislative initiative on the overall SES framework (SES2+) that is expected to be adopted in October 2024 will bring several improvements in the performance, organisation, and management of European airspace. In particular, this initiative recognizes the ‘SESAR project’ as an essential enabler for the SES: the project to modernise air traffic management in Europe, which aims providing the Union with a high performance, standardised and interoperable air traffic management infrastructure.

A campaign to update the European ATM Master Plan was launched in October 2023, with a target date for adoption of the updated version in December 2024. This updated Master Plan, which will focus on the activities to be undertaken from now on till 2040, will have sustainability at its core, given the urgent need to decarbonise the aviation sector to make Europe’s economy carbon-neutral by 2050. It will set out the vision to modernise Europe’s air traffic management system to make the SES the most efficient and environmentally-friendly sky to fly in the world. In that context, standardisation activities represent an important enabler for an accelerated market uptake by a critical mass of early movers on innovative solutions.

With the adoption of the new EASA Basic Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2018/1139), Regulation (EC) 552/2004 was repealed and the essential requirements for interoperability of ATM systems and constituents have been transferred to it. A new framework for conformity assessment of ground equipment used for ATM to assess compliance with applicable requirements for safety and interoperability has been adopted in 2023. It addresses several aspects, including the conditions and procedures for certification and declaration of ATM/ANS equipment, or the establishment of the detailed specifications that systems must meet. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) can make extensive use of standards as the central element of the detailed specifications it adopts as the technical requirements against which certification or declarations are performed.

The EUSCG is continuing to coordinate works to determine standard development needs and priorities in support of SESAR implementation, in particular those related to the CP1 implementation, and the different activities performed by the standards development organisations.

(A.3) References

  • Single European Sky initiative
  • Regulation (EU) 2024/…of the European Parliament and of the Council of xxx on the implementation of the Single European Sky
  • Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and amending Regulations (EC) No 2111/2005, (EC) No 1008/2008, (EU) No 996/2010, (EU) No 376/2014 and Directives 2014/30/EU and 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 552/2004 and (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91
  • Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014
  • Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 409/2013 of 3 May 2013 on the definition of common projects, the establishment of governance and the identification of incentives supporting the implementation of the European Air Traffic Management Master Plan
  • Commission implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/116 of 1 February 2021 on the establishment of the Common Project One supporting the implementation of the European Air Traffic Management Master Plan provided for in Regulation (EC) No 550/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 409/2013 and repealing Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2014
  • Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/116 of 1 February 2021 on the establishment of the Common Project One supporting the implementation of the European Air Traffic Management Master Plan provided for in Regulation (EC) No 550/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 409/2013 and repealing Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2014
  • Implementing Regulation (EU) No 116/2021 on the establishment of a first common project to support the implementation of the ATM Master Plan (“CP1 Regulation”)
  • Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1768 of 14 July 2023 laying down detailed rules for the certification and declaration of air traffic management/air navigation services systems and air traffic management/air navigation services constituents
  • Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1769 of 12 September 2023 laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures for the approval of organisations involved in the design or production of air traffic management/air navigation services systems and constituents and amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/203
  • European ATM Master Plan online portal

(B.) Requested actions

 

(C.) Activities and additional information

(C.1) Related standardisation activities

EUROCAE

The Commission decided to award periodic financial support in a form of grants to EUROCAE in support of the development of standards and technical specifications for ATM systems and constituents, including SESAR technologies and standards using EGNOS and Galileo in aviation. These grants are in support of the development of the required standards or revision of existing ones in support of the Single European Sky with a view to accelerating the transition from development to deployment of SESAR solutions, and supporting end-to-end product/system standardisation.

Coordination activities EASCG / EUSCG / ECSCG

European ATM Standards Coordination Group (EASCG) coordination of ATM standardisation activities in support of SES and SESAR deployment maintains a Rolling Development Plan (A-RDP) that can be found in the link: https://www.eascg.eu/rdp/

European Unmanned Standard Coordination Group (EUSCG) coordination of drone standardisation activities and their integration with UTM and ATM maintains a Rolling Development Plan (U-RDP) that can be found in the link: https://www.euscg.eu/rdp/

European Cybersecurity Standard Coordination Group (ECSCG) coordination of cybersecurity standardisation activities maintains a Rolling Development Plan (C-RDP) that can be found in the link: https://www.ecscg.eu/rdp/ (note that this Group is confined to ATM cybersecurity issues)

The three above mentioned SDPs are regularly updated to reflect the current situation of standardisation developments.

CEN-CENELEC-ETSI

The Commission has mandated European Standardisation Organisations to develop some standards, consistent with the ATM Master Plan in support of the SES.

EASA

In accordance with the Basic Regulation, EASA issues certification and detailed specifications as applicable requirements for design and manufacturing of ATM/ANS systems and constituents. When developing these specifications EASA will make use of industry standards as acceptable means of compliance. In order to ensure timely availability of industry standards that can be referred to by EASA in these regulatory activities, close coordination among all organisations developing relevant standards and EASA is key, and the EASGC is an appropriate forum for this activity.

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