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.