Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 552/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2004 on the interoperability of the European Air Traffic Management network (the interoperability Regulation)^f1, and in particular Article 3(1) thereof,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 549/2004 of the European Parliament and the Council of 10 March 2004 laying down the framework for the creation of the single European sky (the framework Regulation)^f2, and in particular Article 8(2) thereof,

Whereas:

Information exchanges between flight data processing systems are established between air traffic control units for the purposes of notification, coordination and transfer of flights and for the purposes of civil-military coordination. These information exchanges should rely upon appropriate and harmonised communication protocols to secure their interoperability.

The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) has been given a mandate in accordance with Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 549/2004 to develop requirements for a flight message transfer protocol to be used for the purpose of notification, coordination and transfer of flights. This Regulation is based on the resulting mandate report of 31 March 2005.

The Eurocontrol standard for Flight Data Exchange was annexed to Commission Regulation (EC) No 2082/2000 of 6 September 2000 adopting Eurocontrol standards and amending Directive 97/15/EC, adopting Eurocontrol standards and amending Council Directive 93/65/EEC^f3, making its use mandatory within the Community in the event of procurement of new flight data processing systems. As Regulation (EC) No 2082/2000 was repealed with effect from 20 October 2005, it is necessary to update Community legislation, so as to ensure the consistency of relevant regulatory provisions.

It is becoming more and more difficult and costly to maintain Communication equipment and software complying with the Eurocontrol standard for Flight Data Exchange. An appropriate new standard to support the exchange of flight data should therefore be adopted.

The Transmission Control Protocol together with the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is currently considered as the most appropriate basis to meet the communication requirements of flight data exchanges between air traffic control units.

This Regulation should cover the application of a flight message transfer protocol used for the information exchanges in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 1032/2006 of 6 July 2006 laying down requirements for automatic systems for the exchange of flight data for the purpose of notification, coordination and transfer of flights between air traffic control units^f4.

This Regulation should not cover military operations and training as referred in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 549/2004.

In a statement on military issues related to the Single European Sky^f5, the Member States committed themselves to cooperate with each other, taking into account national military requirements, in order that the concept of flexible use of airspace is fully and uniformly applied in all Member States by all users of airspace.

The application of the concept of flexible use of airspace, as defined in Article 2(22) of Regulation (EC) No 549/2004, requires the establishment of systems for the timely exchange of flight data between air traffic service units and controlling military units.

In accordance with Article 3(3)(d) of Regulation (EC) No 552/2004, implementing rules for interoperability should describe the specific conformity assessment procedures to be used to assess either the conformity or the suitability for use of constituents as well as the verification of systems.

In accordance with Article 10(2) of Regulation (EC) No 552/2004, the date for the application of the essential requirements and transitional arrangements may be specified by the relevant implementing rules for interoperability.

Manufacturers and air navigation service providers should be afforded a period of time to develop new constituents and systems in conformity with the new technical requirements.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Single Sky Committee established by Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 549/2004,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: