EU Aviation Research Articles

Achieving European Union strategic autonomy: circularity in critical raw materials value chains

Abstract Why is it important to understand the potential of circular economy for security? With the green transition in full swing and vulnerabilities in value chains as a consequence of the COVID–19 pandemic and Russian aggression towards Ukraine, this question has never been more timely. Titanium metal constitutes a poignant case, as it is a critical raw material essential for the strategic civil aerospace and defence sectors. In addition, circular economy solutions constitute a viable solution to mitigate import dependencies in the case of this particular raw material. The European Union, with one of the largest aviation industries globally, is dependent on titanium imports from Russia and the United States. The latter, in turn, (re)imports titanium scrap from EU aviation manufacturing to increase material efficiency and reduce costs through recycling. Based on extensive stakeholder interviews across several countries and quantitative trade data, this article presents a first-time analysis of how, in the case of the titanium value chain, circular economy solutions can support the EU Open Strategic Autonomy (OSA) objectives, as enshrined in the 2023 Critical Raw Materials Act. We suggest that in order for the EU to achieve both the OSA and decarbonization objectives, it is essential to prioritize the establishment of recycling facilities as part of reshoring of the mid-value titanium industry. With the prospect of Ukraine becoming an EU member state, this strategy could be complemented by investments into the decarbonization of the upstream value chain in Ukraine while meshing it further with the EU industrial base. We argue that such reshoring could be best achieved through careful intergovernmental and industrial negotiations between the US and EU stakeholders within the formerly established channels for aviation dispute resolutions and within the framework of Ukraine's postwar reconstruction and potential EU accession.

Looking for winning policies to address the climate issue in EU-aviation

This paper analyzes the different climate policies that are used by the EU in the aviation sector. Using a simple model, we study their effects on welfare as well as on their acceptability. The efficiency and acceptability depend on the strength of the international agreements (Paris, 2015; CORSIA, 2020) and on the implementation of the policy within the EU. Four different policies are discussed: carbon taxes, tradeable emission permits, Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) blending mandates and fuel efficiency standards for new aircrafts. The Paris and the CORSIA agreements are both weak agreements where, in the absence of sanctions, the implementation depends on the will of the political majority of the moment. In terms of implementation, it is shown that for intra EU aviation, the insertion of aviation in the EU-ETS with partially auctioned emission permits is probably the most robust and efficient implementation of the Paris agreement as it can result in net zero emissions in 2040–2050. Subsidies for R&D in fuel efficiency and new fuels would be good complements to the ETS system as they also have a positive spillover for the non-EU aviation via better aircrafts and better fuels. SAF mandates are likely to be inefficient implementations of climate policies, they exist because they are more acceptable for the airlines and intensive air transport users.

Book-And-Claim System For Sustainable Aviation Fuels

This Article provides an overview of the regulatory (legal) framework in which the decarbonisation of aviation is embedded, with a focus on European law. The Article further provides updates on EU-ETS, CORISA, RED III and the minimum quota of SAF supply in accordance with Refuel EU Aviation up to October 2023. Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) will be described in detail in this Article, and it is further explained that the use of SAF could significantly contribute to aviation becoming “greener”. As the availability of SAF is still rather scarce, the Article revolves around a mechanism of a global book-and-claim system to unify and scale up production and use. The general concept of book-and-claim as well as the specific one in relation to SAF is explained in the Article. Further, examples of existing book-and-claim systems are given, and the Article concludes with the benefits of a European book-and-claim system for SAF for the various stakeholders in the aviation industry.

Zarządzanie ruchem lotniczym w polityce lotniczej Unii Europejskiej

For over two decades, the European Union and its Member States have been working towards a creation of the Single European Sky (SES), which is an ambitious programme to upgrade the air traffic management (ATM) system. The rationale behind initiating legislation and research and development activities in this field in 2000 was to reduce the existing fragmentation of the ATM sector between States, civil and military air navigation service providers and technical systems in use. Consequently, the launch of the SES initiative by the European Commission caused that issues of the ATM were incorporated into the scope of the EU aviation policy. The aim of this article is to present the progress made so far in the creation of the Single European Sky, given the issues resulting mainly from supranational character of the EU actions. The author analysed the ongoing changes in the priorities of the SES initiative, as well as the failures encountered in meeting the political goals of this complex endeavour, which will determine the future of the air traffic management in Europe.

How Do Supranational Regulators Keep Companies in Line? An Analysis of the Enforcement Styles of EU Agencies

AbstractNational governments have increasingly transferred enforcement powers to EU agencies that monitor and penalize non‐compliance by private actors. How do EU agencies apply enforcement competences in practice? Based on the Eurolegalism thesis, pressures for deeper integration have led to the emergence of a more adversarial enforcement style in Europe. Consequently, supranational regulators are expected to employ formal and coercive enforcement instruments. Conversely, studies of EU enforcement suggest that EU agencies may be reluctant to antagonize national governments by prosecuting private actors. In this study, we analyze the enforcement practices of supranational agencies with direct enforcement powers: the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA). We find that EU agencies apply a legalistic approach, but they vary in coerciveness of enforcement. Whereas EU agencies tend to apply more coercive measures against non‐conform products, they are generally not adversarial toward non‐compliant organizations.

Crisis Response Strategies and Themes during the COVID-19 Pandemic in EU Aviation, Airlines’ Executives Communication with Shareholders: A Content Analysis

Crisis Response Strategies and Themes during the COVID-19 Pandemic in EU Aviation, Airlines’ Executives Communication with Shareholders: A Content Analysis

Certification of Unmanned Aircraft Systems – from product safety to type certificate – a review about the operation of the EU safeguard processes

Significant changes are emerging in the market of unmanned aircraft systems since 2019 through the publication of two specific regulations that regulate all steps of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in detail. With the implementation of the new EU drone regulations, the role of the notified bodies and the certification agencies will be more important from the viewpoint of product safety and the official certification required by the EU and national aviation authorities. The product safety chain consists of two major parts. One part belongs to the production phase, where the manufacturer has to prove the functionality (it is called the conformity assessment) and another part belongs to the distribution market, where the authorities assess the fulfilment of the conditions of the distribution (it is called the market surveillance). The first pillar concern to the design and manufacturing and the second to the distribution. Each segment is presented in this article and the authors introduce the different control approaches of these segments. It has to be taken into consideration that the drones are representing a special market with notable safety risks that have to be handled during the whole lifepath of the products from the design through the distribution until the aerial operations.

Can Lower Carbon Aviation Fuels (LCAF) Really Complement Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) towards EU Aviation Decarbonization?

The present work provides an analysis of the potential impact of fossil-based Low Carbon Aviation Fuels (LCAF) for the European aviation sector, with a time horizon to 2050. LCAF are a crude-derived alternative to kerosene, offering some Green House Gas (GHG) savings, and have been defined by ICAO as eligible fuels for mitigating the environmental impact of aviation. A methodological framework to evaluate the EU technical potential for LCAF production is developed, based on data on crude utilization for jet fuel production in EU refineries, relevant carbon intensity reduction technologies, market prices, and aviation fuel volumes. Two different baselines for fossil-derived kerosene carbon intensity (CI) are considered: a global figure of 89 gCO2e/MJ and an EU-27-specific one of 93.1 gCO2eq/MJ. Three scenarios considering increasing levels of CI reduction are then defined, taking into account the current and potential commercial availability of some of the most relevant carbon intensity reduction technologies. The analysis demonstrates that, even if LCAF could offer GHG saving opportunities, their possible impact, especially when compared to the ambition level set in the most recent European legislative proposals, is very limited in most of the analysed scenarios, with the exception of the most ambitious ones. At 2030, a non-zero technical potential is projected only in the higher CI reduction scenario, ranging between 1.8% and 14.2% of LCAF market share in the EU-27 (equal to 0.6 to 4.75 Mtoe), depending on the considered Baseline for CI. At 2050, almost all considered scenarios project a larger technical potential, ranging between 6.9% and 22.2% for the global Baseline (2.21 to 7.13 Mtoe), and between 1.8% and 16.2% for the EU-27 Baseline (0.58 to 5.2 Mtoe). LCAF additional costs to current production costs are also discussed, given their relevance in large-scale deployment of these technologies, and are projected to range between 39 and 46.8 USD/toe.

The EU ETS and Aviation: Evaluating the Effectiveness of the EU Emission Trading System in Reducing Emissions from Air Travel

Over the past 30 years, the aviation industry has seen record-breaking growth whilst enjoying exemptions from most taxes and VAT charges. Currently, the aviation sector is considered one of the fastest-growing greenhouse gas emissions sources. Attempting to reduce these emissions in a cost-effective manner, the EU decided in 2012 to include all flights entering and leaving the EU in their Emission Trading System (EU ETS). It was quickly changed to only include travel within the EU. Nevertheless, as the largest cap-and-trade system in the world, the purpose of the EU ETS is to control the growth of emissions by issuing pollution permit rights. The idea is that by setting an emission ceiling and allowing trade between sectors, emission abatement will happen where it is cheapest and easiest to do. This paper explores whether the EU ETS succeeded in reducing the aviation sector emissions over the period 2012–2018 by employing a General Synthetic Control model to estimate a counterfactual scenario. When using jet fuel consumption as a proxy for emissions, the results indicate that on average the EU ETS led to a 10 per cent increase in jet fuel consumption relative to a scenario where it was not implemented. However, the paper fails to conclude a causal relationship between EU ETS and jet fuel consumption due to drawbacks with the data. Nevertheless, it provides a starting point for future ex-post research concerned with aviation and carbon pricing in the European market.

Exploring the Possibility of Interplay between Different Types of Control: Connecting Political and Judicial Accountability in the Case of EASA

More and more agencies have been created at both EU and national levels, which cooperate increasingly among each other and take part in various decision-making processes with binding effects on third parties. Within the EU aviation safety system, for instance, it is the European Aviation Safety Agency who shares far reaching regulatory, implementing and enforcement responsibilities with the EU Commission and the National Aviation Authorities. Such a system of the ‘multi-jurisdictional’ executive branch challenges the system of controls. Therefore, this paper explores the question of to what extent judicial and political types of accountability can be ensured in a system of shared enforcement of the EU aviation safety rules, and if these types of accountability could compensate for each other’s challenges. This paper argues, first, that different types of control can check different parts of behaviour and outputs. Secondly, limits and challenges to a certain type of control can be addressed by another type of control. However, in this regard different degrees of usefulness are visible since challenges in judicial accountability could be easier addressed by possibilities of political accountability than vice versa.

ЗМІНИ КОН’ЮНКТУРНИХ ЧИННИКІВ РИНКУ АВІАЦІЙНИХ ПЕРЕВЕЗЕНЬ В ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКОМУ СОЮЗІ ПІД ВПЛИВОМ ПАНДЕМІЇ COVID-19

The article has considered the main conjunctures’ factors of the air transportation market in the European Union. The substantiations of this market are a complex system which is formed by conjunctures’ factors. Factors justify the reasons of affect the market depending on the specific country or association of countries, segmentation of the world market and industry. The trends of annual growth (fall) of the global market of passenger and freight are analyzed of branch factors are revealed. The situation in the air transportation market, as well as a number of conjuncture factors, depend on the turbulence of external factors. In 2020, such factors were the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the dynamics of the world economy. As a whole, demonstrating the impact of non-systemic environmental factors. If the development of the global financial crisis of 2008–2010 mostly depended on the long-term growth of «bubbles» and was determined by industry affiliation, in 2020 an unsystematic crisis that was unmanageable and constantly required the construction of new algorithms to overcome it. The volume of passenger traffic and the volume of air traffic in general in the European Union were analyzed in order to establish causal links. The main reasons for the decline of the air transportation market were the global pandemic COVID-19, the effects of Brexit, inconsistencies within the SES. It is substantiated that the SES initiative is inert. This is due by the monopoly market of air transport in the European Union and the lack of an effective policy to implement the principles of the SES. The facts of significant advantages of full-fledged introduction of SES in the field of air transportation of the EU countries are given. Thus, the fact of dependence of the EU aviation services market on the global pandemic TsOVID-19, the inconsistency of technical and political issues between the EU-27 and the UK is substantiated. Prospects for the development of the global market and the regional air transportation market by increasing the level of financing, introduction of innovations, expansion of the market of services in developing countries and increasing the level of innovation in the navigation segment of aviation services are substantiated.

Impacts of the global pandemic on the aviation industry of the European Union

Research background:With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a complete collapse in demand in global markets due to restrictions on movement and market paralysis. Among the sectors most significantly affected is tourism, which is predominantly dependent on the movement of clients. The performance of the tourism industry fell to a minimum during the pandemic. Restaurants and accommodation facilities were closed almost overnight by government intervention. The restriction of free movement has also forced airlines to curb their activities. These companies can be considered as an important globalization element, enabling travel to distant destinations.Purpose of the article:The article deals with the effects of the pandemic on European Union airlines, as well as the tools adopted to restore air traffic. Based on the analysis, the development of transport flows in air transport before and during the pandemic was evaluated. Furthermore, tools and measures taken to stimulate air services were analyzed and models of possible impacts on the EU aviation industry and selected economic factors were predicted.Methods:Basic mathematical and statistical methods, correlation analysis, comparisons and predictions were used for the analysis.Findings & Value added:The situation brings problems associated with redundancies, i.e. rising unemployment, declining GDP, falling stock markets or airline bankruptcies as in the case of the British Flybe. Based on 2019 data, it can be estimated that in the period March-June 2020, the demand for EU27 passenger air transport decreased by approximately 100 million passengers.

La aplicación de la extensión territorial del Derecho de la Unión Europea

La aplicación extraterritorial del derecho es congruente con el principio de respeto a la soberanía y, correlativamente con el principio de no intervención, cuando su ejercicio se fundamente en los intereses generales y siempre que prime la proporcionalidad. A pesar de que la UE nunca ha sido una completa defensora de la extraterritorialidad, especialmente tras la última gran crisis económica europea y mundial, comienza a redoblarse el ejercicio por parte de la referida organización, a través de la extensión territorial, la cual permite controlar aquellas conductas que, aunque se lleven a cabo en el extranjero, repercutan en los intereses generales de la UE. La doctrina se ha encargado de conceptualizar la modalidad de la extensión territorial, no obstante, la confirmación de la teoría no llega hasta que el TJUE se pronuncia sobre la Directiva 2008/101/CE del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo, de 19 de noviembre de 2008, llamada Directiva de Aviación, en 2011.Recepción: 06 abril 2020Aceptación: 13 mayo 2020Publicación en línea: 30 septiembre 2020

ХЕДЖУВАННЯ ЕКОЛОГІЧНИХ РИЗИКІВ ПІДПРИЄМНИЦЬКОЇ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ: МІЖНАРОДНА ПРАКТИКА

The article discusses hedging tools and insurance of environmental risks used in international practice. It was noted that so-called environmental derivatives are used as financial instruments for hedging environmental risks. Environmental derivatives are financial instruments that can be used by organizations or individuals to reduce the risk of adverse and unforeseen weather conditions or environmental catastrophes (in particular, weather derivatives, carbon credits and greenhouse gases emissions quotas, as well as futures and options for them, exchange trade funds based on ESG indicators, including environmental, social and management strategies). The main types of weather and carbon derivatives, as well as ways to trade them are considered. Thus, weather derivatives are usually based on an index that measures a certain weather aspect: cooling degree days, heating degree days, snowfall, snow depth, wind speed or chill level. Weather options and futures for trading (call) and put (put) are traded on exchanges, and on the over-thecounter markets (OTC) weather derivatives take various forms - from swaps to forward contracts. Carbon financial instruments include such as tradable pollution permits and credits, green trade, carbon derivatives, natural securities, carbon investment funds. The following carbon assets are traded on the EU spot carbon market: EU quotas, EU aviation quotas, certified emission reductionunits, emission reduction units. There are primary and secondary markets for carbon assets, as well as a market for derivatives — futures and options for quotas. Index exchange traded funds (ETFs), which are formed on the basis of ESG indicators (environmental, social and management strategies), are also considered as a tool for hedging environmental risks. Environmental, social and management strategies are increasingly popular in the indexing and ETF industries as investors seek to apply social values to investment portfolios.

DEVELOPMENT OF UKRAINIAN AIR TRAFFIC IN THE EUROPEAN INTEGRATION CONDITIONS

Purpose: to study the development of Ukraine’s air traffic in accordance with European Union standards. Methods: documentary analysis and synthesis, comparative analysis, objective truth, cognitive-analytical, etc. Results: generalized mechanisms for improving the development and coordination of air traffic in accordance with international standards. Discussion: clarification of the normative fixing of air traffic in domestic legislation, the role of Ukrainian aviation providers and airline operators in the «free sky» of Europe, the state of implementation of international standards and participation of Ukraine in international organizations. Transport, as an infrastructure industry, must be ahead of the pace in order to promote the country’s rapid economic and social development. The Ukrainian aviation transport system is on the path of integration with the European aviation transport system. The implementation of the task of gradual integration into European and world transport systems involves the implementation of European norms and standards in the air transport sphere, adherence to key international conventions and agreements, development of aviation infrastructure, international transport corridors and checkpoints, security and environmental friendliness. Ukraine’s intention to cooperate with the EU in order to improve the functioning of the trans-European transport networks is based on the relevant plan of the European Commission to extend the major trans-European transport axes to the territory of Ukraine. New agreements in this direction allow Ukraine to integrate into the Single European Aviation Market, but to achieve this goal it is necessary to harmonize the Ukrainian air transport network in accordance with European standards on the basis of not declarative but real implementation of state target programs in accordance with the system of international treaties. The aviation network to a single EU aviation network. Recommendations on the strategy and mechanisms of integration of Ukraine’s aviation network into a single EU transport system have been developed.

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL ASPECTS OF AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT IN POLISH AIRSPACE

The article discusses selected provisions of EU aviation law concerning economic issues of air traffic management. This process in European airspace is carried out by air navigation service providers, which, unlike airport operators and air carriers, have a monopolistic position and do not operate under market conditions. Consequently, the lack of competition between air navigation service providers replaces the common charging system for airspace users established by European Union law. In order to increase the cost-effectiveness of the services provided while maintaining a high level of safety of air operations, the navigation charges system was linked to the parallel implementation of the Single European Sky performance scheme for air navigation services in 2010. In 2019, the rules governing both systems were consolidated into a single legal act. The study also looks at the basic indicators of economic efficiency of air traffic management based on the example of the Polish Air Navigation Agency.

EU항공법상 무인항공기 관련 규정의 최근 개정 동향 및 시사점

최근 EU에서는 기존의 항공 관련 기본 법률이 개정되어, Regulation (EU) 2018/1139가 시행되었고, 무인항공기 관련 이행규정안 및 위임규정안의 초안이 작성 완료되어 EU의 입법화를 기다리고 있는 상황이다.BR 이와 같은 상황 속에서 우리나라도 2018년 10월 국토교통부에서 무인항공기의 위험도 및 성능에 기초한 드론 분류기준 규제합리화 방안을 발표하였다. 최근 구체적인 규제안을 완성한 EU 개정 항공법으로부터 참고할 만한 사항에는 다음과 같은 내용을 들 수 있다. 첫째, 기체의 중량과 관계없이 모든 종류의 무인항공기를 규율대상으로 하고, 세분화 된 무인항공기에 대하여 ‘무인항공기(Unmanned Aircraft)’라는 통일된 용어를 사용하는 EU를 비롯한 세계적인 추세에 따라, 우리항공안전법에서도 드론에 대한 이원화 된 용어 사용을 멈추고, 일반적으로 사용되는 ‘무인항공기’라는 용어로 통합하여 사용할 필요가 있다. 그리고 현행법상 무인항공기의 정의 요건 중 ‘사람이 탑승하지 않는’을 ‘조종자가 탑승하지 않는’으로 개정하는 것이 관련 산업 발전에 기여하고 국제표준에 부합된다고 생각된다. 둘째, 항공안전법 상 ‘무인항공기’라는 통일된 용어 하에서, 개정된 EU항공법과 같이 무인항공기의 위험도 및 운용특성을 고려하여 무인항공기를 세분화하고, 그 위험도 및 운용특성에 비례하는 합리적 규제안을 마련해야 한다. 셋째, 무인항공기로 인한 소음피해ㆍ개인정보유출ㆍ테러위협 등과 같은 사회 문제를 예방하기 위하여 관련 법제를 개선함에 있어서, EU의 무인항공기 관련 개정 법률 및 규정안과 같이 우리나라 항공안전법상 무인항공기를 제작ㆍ설계 및 운용하는데 있어서 소음피해나 데이터해킹 등을 방지하는데 필요한 장비 설치 의무화와 같은 구체적인 규제가 필요하다.BR 최근 무인항공기에 관한 규제안 중에서 EU나 미국과 같은 항공선진국들에 의해 추진되는 무인항공기의 위험 및 운용특성 기반 규제는 기존의 중량 기준의 규제보다 매우 합리적이라 평가된다. 최근 완성 단계에 이른 EU의 무인항공기 관련 규제안을 면밀히 검토하여, 그 장점을 우리의 관련 법제를 합리적으로 개선하는데 잘 활용하여야 하겠다.

European Union Competition Law Developments in the Aviation Sector: January–June 2018

The first half of 2018 has seen a significant increase in the application of competition law across the EU aviation sector, particularly in respect of abuse of dominance claims. This article summarizes the main developments over the past six months and provides the reader with greater detail of each of these developments. The first six months of 2018 have seen no less than six authorities being involved in potential abuse of dominance cases (two authorities opening cases and four authorities closing cases – with all but one of the cases involving access conditions to airport infrastructure) and two court judgments being handed down. This highlights the increasing use of competition law arguments by authorities and unhappy current or former airport users and the challenges faced by airport operators when dealing with the managed infrastructure. The European Commission (‘Commission’) is understood to have initiated an internal review of its own policy when slot divestiture commitments are offered during the EU merger review process. This appears to have arisen as a result of slot congestion at certain airports and the apparent low uptake of slots subject to such commitments. State aid continues to feature in the aviation sector, but it appears that aid is now being more frequently or successfully deployed by Member States to airports in the form of operating or infrastructure aid.

EU aviation and shipping face big challenges in reducing environmental impact

EU aviation and shipping face big challenges in reducing environmental impact

Structure Permitting EU Airlines to Attract Non-EU Capital with the Investor's Interest Exceeding 50%

Current legal regime binding to EU airlines requires that the companies are continuously owned and controlled by EU nationals (natural or legal persons) or EU Member States; see EU Regulation No 1008/2008 of September 24, 2008; Art.4(f). In practice, noting the scarcity of any EU originating financing (that would be willing to accept the level of speculation and uncertainty inherent in the current EU aviation environment), the EU airlines obviously seek financing sources outside of EU. At the same time, the investors see prudence in demanding more efficient safeguard than the formally permissible 50%-1 share, on grounds of concern that their financing can be gulped up by the owners without consideration of investor's interests at their best. Accommodation of the investor's financial safety quest with mandatory EU legal provisions implies invocation of novel modes of cooperation. The following paper puts forward one such novel structure. The idea is to create a virtual equity majority for the Investor in the existing Airline's newly created spin-off units, the latter units being mutually bonded through 100% cross-shareholdings. EU aviation industry players are invited to consider the model for their operations with regard to terms and conditions of prospective non-EU investor engagements.