International activities
The Republic of Bulgaria became a member of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) through the accession of the State to the Chicago Convention, which was published in the State Gazette, No. 55/94 (the Chicago Convention has been in force in Bulgaria since 8 July 1967). A Decree of the Presidium of the National Assembly No. 596 dated 4 August 1966, published in the State Gazette, No. 62/66, was signed on this occasion. As an ICAO member, pursuant to the provisions of Article 28 of the Chicago Convention, the Republic of Bulgaria shall provide radio navigation services, air navigation aids, meteorological and other services on its territory according to the standards and recommended practices laid down in the Annexes to the Convention.
The European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) is the largest organisation among the European civil aviation organisations. Currently it has 44 members. Bulgaria joined the ECAC in June 1991. During the 50-year period since its establishment the ECAC has become a major forum for intergovernmental cooperation in the field of transport in Europe.
On 1 June 1997 the Republic of Bulgaria became a member of the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL). EUROCONTROL was established under the International Convention relating to co-operation for the safety of air navigation signed in 1960. The accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the EUROCONTROL Convention came into force by the ratification act adopted by the 37th National Assembly on 30 January 1997. The ratification of the Multilateral Agreement on Route Charges came into force by the same law. The Republic of Bulgaria ratified the Revised EUROCONTROL Convention with an act of ratification of the Protocol consolidating the EUROCONTROL International Convention passed by the 38th National Assembly on 21 March 2001. EUROCONTROL coordinates the implementation of the SES legislation package with the development and application of the European Single Sky Implementation Plan (ESSIP) which is the basis for the development of the local plans of the member states (LSSIP). These plans define the specific tasks to be executed by each member state for the development and improvement of its national ATM system and are enablers for increased capacity of the European ATM system. As a Performance Review Body nominated by the European Commission EUROCONTROL monitors the implementation of the performance scheme in four key performance areas: safety, capacity, environment and cost-efficiency as well the network management of ATM in Europe.
BULATSA became a full member of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) in August 2004. CANSO membership includes air navigation service providers, civil aviation administrations, the ATM industry, consultants and customers of the aviation industry. The main objective of the organisation is the promotion of safe, efficient and cost effective air navigation service provision through definition of the key issues for the development of ATM and collaborative decision making.
BULATSA is a co-founder of the coordinating platform for regional cooperation between air navigation service providers (ANSPs) in Central and Eastern Europe – GATE ONE. The Cooperation Agreement was signed officially on November 6, 2013 in Sofia, Bulgaria, by the CEOs of the ANSPs of Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. GATE ONE was joined by the ANSPs of Bosnia and Herzegovina in January 2014, and by the ANSPs of Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro in 2015.
The platform comprises 3 functional airspace blocks (FAB) – Baltic FAB, DANUBE FAB and FAB CE and 2 non-EU Flight Information Regions (FIR) – FIR Belgrade and FIR Skopje. The aim of GATE ONE, representing one of the largest regional ANSPs platforms, is to increase the European ATM efficiency by enhancing the cooperation between its partners, setting common strategic objectives and defending them during the processes of decision-making at European level. For more information – https://www.gateone.aero/