Sixteenth Meeting of the DANUBE FAB Governing Council
The DANUBE FAB Governing Council members held their sixteenth meeting online on 28th April. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Adrian FOGHIS, Secretary of State, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Romania and Mr. Hristo SHTERIONOV, Director General CAA Bulgaria, and attended by representatives of the Ministries of Transport, Civil and Military Aviation Authorities, National Supervisory Authorities and ANSPs from both countries. Delegates were also welcomed from the European Commission and the Republic of North Macedonia.
The Council was briefed on the progress of the latest round of DANUBE FAB strategic planning and reporting, status of the FAB procurements, the NSA Board Activity Report and the progress made on the FAB’s High Priority projects.
Participants adopted the Strategic Programme 2021 – 2025, Annual Plan 2021 and Annual Report 2020, which had been updated based on interviews with DANUBE FAB experts and project managers. These documents identified areas for developments within the FAB to enable a quick and efficient recovery from the impacts of COVID-19 and to ensure the High Priority projects are significantly progressed in 2021.
Members discussed the main ongoing regulatory initiatives taking place at European level and their potential impact on the FAB. The SES 2+ proposals and the Airspace Architecture Study Transition Plan, with a particular focus on ATM Data Services, were explored in detail. The members of the Council also recognised the impacts of COVID-19 on the FAB, for example the updates to the Performance and Charging Scheme Regulation currently being discussed to allow for revised targets to be submitted by States. Attendees expressed their gratitude to the European Commission for participating to the meeting as an Observer and hearing first-hand the challenges faced and solutions implemented by DANUBE FAB to mitigate the impact of the current crisis.
A great emphasis was also given to enlarging DANUBE FAB. The Council was pleased to hear of the intentions expressed by the representatives of the Republic of North Macedonia that by the end of 2021 a decision on the way forward will be presented to the DANUBE FAB partners.
The next round of DANUBE FAB Governing Bodies meetings are planned for late 2021.