This year the Republic of Croatia commemorates 20 years of membership in the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL). This international organization brings together over 40 member states with the main goal of ensuring efficient air traffic management (ATM) and participating in the Single European Sky project as one of EUROCONTROL’s key tasks.
Croatia joined EUROCONTROL on 1 April 1997 pursuant to the Decision on the Accession to the International Convention Relating to Cooperation for the Safety of Air Navigation – EUROCONTROL of 1960, with the Protocols of 1970, 1978 and 1981 and the Multilateral Agreement Relating to Route Charges of 1981.
On that occasion, a comprehensive report featuring interviews with Jure Šarić, Assistant Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, and Dragan Bilać, Director General of Croatia Control Ltd (CCL), was published in EUROCONTROL‘s Insight magazine.
EUROCONTROL’s support was crucial in building the operational capacities and establishing a modern and efficient ATM system in Croatia. The cooperation has been deepened throughout the years, with the result of the Croatian air traffic control using today the most modern ATM system in the world and being an important participant in numerous international initiatives such as FAB CE, Šarić pointed out.
CCL participates actively in the Single European Sky initiative (SES) and promotes regional cooperation through numerous associations, such as COOPANS, FAB CE, CANSO, SESAR DM, SESAR JU. Director General Dragan Bilać pointed out COOPNAS as a leading example of international industrial cooperation in Europe, for which CCL had received the European Commission’s Single European Sky award the year before. He also mentioned that in December 2014 CCL and the ANSPs of Austria, Ireland, Denmark and Sweden had implemented a new joint ATM system based on the Thales TopSky system, with all the members cooperating continuously to improve it.
Another important international project he mentioned was SEAFRA (South-East Axis Free Route Airspace), for which CCL had also received this year’s SES award given by the European Commission. The project introduced free route airspace in four countries – Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro, thus enabling the users cost reductions and improvements in environmental protection.
Other topics covered in the report include the beauty of the Croatian coast, Croatian gastronomy, aviation history, and the well-known Croatian neck tie.
