ICAO, 7th December 2006

ECA has been at the forefront of calls to rationalise the safety structures in the single European aviation market and ensure the highest levels of safety using the most effective philosophies. We have been urging the European Commission to:

• be strong and effective leaders in safety culture
• ensure all of Europe's laws and regulations embrace a "just culture" particularly for incident reporting and accident investigation
• all agencies and companies have a comprehensive safety management culture and system
• all safety professionals such as pilots are able to exercise their responsibilities and authorities without fear or favour

The extension of the competence of EASA to operations and licensing is 10 years behind the creation of the single market in 1997; one market with many authorities responsible for safety oversight is inefficient and less effective. ECA will work tirelessly towards the creation of a "one stop shop" for aviation safety in EASA.