On 13 December 2017, the European Commission and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) amended the agreements between the United States and the European Union in the aviation sector in order to expand the cooperation on aviation safety and air traffic management harmonization.

With the amendments, the U.S.-EU Aviation Safety Agreement will enable the FAA and the EU to finalize arrangements for reciprocal acceptance of approvals associated with Flight Simulator Training Devices and Pilot Licensing. Moreover, the new agreement will allow to better allocate resources to areas with higher risks to aviation safety.

In the area of air traffic management modernization, the agreement on cooperation between the EU and the U.S. in the field of civil aviation research and development, as amended, will cover the full life cycle of Air Traffic Management modernization activities, from development to deployment. Indeed, the FAA and EU share a strong commitment to harmonizing air traffic technologies, standards and procedures under their respective modernization programs, NextGen in the U.S. and SESAR in the EU.

Sara Capruzzi