The European Parliament adopted by 633 votes to 52, with 20 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of Amendment 1 to the Memorandum of Cooperation NAT-I-9406 between the United States of America and the European Union.

Parliament gave its consent to the conclusion of the agreement.

Amendment 1 of the Memorandum of Cooperation extends the scope of cooperation between the Parties to all phases of ATM modernisation (i.e. R&D, validation, demonstration and deployment), with the objective of ensuring global interoperability, and modifies the structure and governance of the Memorandum so as to optimise the implementation and management of the cooperative activities carried out thereunder.

Text adopted by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading

The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy adopted the report by Rolandas PAKSAS (EFD, LT) on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of Amendment 1 to the Memorandum of Cooperation NAT-I-9406 between the United States of America and the European Union

The committee recommended that the European Parliament give its consent to the conclusion of the agreement.

Amendment 1 to Memorandum of Cooperation NAT-I-9406 between the United States of America and the European Union was negotiated between the Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and, on the basis of a corresponding Council Decision, was signed on 13 December 2017, at the same time as the process of adopting this decision.

The amendment builds entirely on the same objectives and principles that underlie the existing Memorandum of Cooperation between the EU and the United States in the area of research and development in civil aviation.

The activities carried out so far under the Memorandum mainly address air traffic management (ATM) systems, in particular the cooperation in the field of research and development (R&D) between the SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) project, the technological component of the Single European Sky (SES) initiative and NextGen, the programme managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

As stated in the explanatory memorandum accompanying the report, the extension of the scope of cooperation between the Union and the USA to all phases of ATM modernization, including deployment, represents the natural evolution of the work successfully carried out under the current Memorandum of Cooperation.

The proposed Decision aims to authorise the entry into force of Amendment 1 to the Memorandum signed by the representatives of the Union and of the United States on the basis of a corresponding Council Decision. The Amendment includes the revised main text of the Memorandum of Cooperation and a revised Annex 1 ("ATM modernisation and global interoperability"). This initiative complies with the EU’s political priorities with regards to the internal market, growth and jobs and the European Union as a global actor. The recommendation is consistent with the EU’s research and innovation policy and the Trans-European Networks policy on which the SESAR research and development and deployment frameworks are based. It is in the EU’s interest to give the consent to the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of Amendment 1 to the Memorandum of Cooperation NAT-I-9406 between the United States of America and the European Union.

Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading

PURPOSE: conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of Amendment 1 to the Memorandum of Cooperation NAT-I-9406 between the Union and of the United States.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

BACKGROUND: since 2004, the European Union has set out to improve the performance of air traffic management (ATM) in Europe by reforming the way air traffic is managed and organised and also by modernising and harmonising the European ATM infrastructure through the Single European Sky (SES) initiative.

Sharing the common goal to develop safer and more efficient air transport, in 2011, the European Union and the United States of America signed the Memorandum of Cooperation between the United States of America and the European Union in civil aviation research and development (MoC) .

The cooperative activities carried out so far under the MoC mainly address ATM particularly cooperation in the field of research and development (R&D) between SESAR and NextGen programme managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Cooperation under the MoC, in particular between SESAR and NextGen, has reached a high level of maturity and has delivered important results in terms of promoting global interoperability of ATM systems . This led the two parties to explore the potential for extending the scope of cooperation to topics relating to the deployment of ATM systems.

On this basis, the Council authorised the Commission on 8 May 2017 to negotiate with the FAA concerning an amendment to the MoC to extend its scope to cover deployment . The Amendment 1 to the Memorandum of Cooperation NAT-I-9406 between the United States of America and the European Union was signed on 13 December 2017, subject to its conclusion at a later date.

CONTENT: the proposed Decision aims to authorise the entry into force of Amendment 1 to the Memorandum of Cooperation NAT-I-9406 signed by the representatives of the Union and of the United States on the basis of a corresponding Council Decision.

The Amendment 1 to the Memorandum of Cooperation extends the scope of cooperation between the Parties to all phases of air traffic management modernisation , including deployment activities, with the goal of ensuring global interoperability and modifies the structure and governance of the Memorandum so as to optimise the implementation and management of the cooperative activities carried out thereunder.

The research, development and validation activities related to the MoC will continue to be planned and monitored by the SESAR Joint Undertaking. The deployment activities will be planned and monitored by the SESAR Deployment Manager under the specific grant agreements signed with the Commission.

Preparatory document

PURPOSE: conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of Amendment 1 to the Memorandum of Cooperation NAT-I-9406 between the Union and of the United States.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

BACKGROUND: since 2004, the European Union has set out to improve the performance of air traffic management (ATM) in Europe by reforming the way air traffic is managed and organised and also by modernising and harmonising the European ATM infrastructure through the Single European Sky (SES) initiative.

Sharing the common goal to develop safer and more efficient air transport, in 2011, the European Union and the United States of America signed the Memorandum of Cooperation between the United States of America and the European Union in civil aviation research and development (MoC) .

The cooperative activities carried out so far under the MoC mainly address ATM particularly cooperation in the field of research and development (R&D) between SESAR and NextGen programme managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Cooperation under the MoC, in particular between SESAR and NextGen, has reached a high level of maturity and has delivered important results in terms of promoting global interoperability of ATM systems . This led the two parties to explore the potential for extending the scope of cooperation to topics relating to the deployment of ATM systems.

On this basis, the Council authorised the Commission on 8 May 2017 to negotiate with the FAA concerning an amendment to the MoC to extend its scope to cover deployment . The Amendment 1 to the Memorandum of Cooperation NAT-I-9406 between the United States of America and the European Union was signed on 13 December 2017, subject to its conclusion at a later date.

CONTENT: the proposed Decision aims to authorise the entry into force of Amendment 1 to the Memorandum of Cooperation NAT-I-9406 signed by the representatives of the Union and of the United States on the basis of a corresponding Council Decision.

The Amendment 1 to the Memorandum of Cooperation extends the scope of cooperation between the Parties to all phases of air traffic management modernisation , including deployment activities, with the goal of ensuring global interoperability and modifies the structure and governance of the Memorandum so as to optimise the implementation and management of the cooperative activities carried out thereunder.

The research, development and validation activities related to the MoC will continue to be planned and monitored by the SESAR Joint Undertaking. The deployment activities will be planned and monitored by the SESAR Deployment Manager under the specific grant agreements signed with the Commission.

Preparatory document