In order to ensure the safe and continuous flow of air traffic in European airspace, while avoiding congestion and minimizing delay and the impact on the environment, the Member States of EUROCONTROL have been jointly providing a centralized flow management function to airspace users for more than twenty years, through the Central Flow Management Unit and, more recently, the Network Manager. The future arrangement of this key function has lately become the subject of intensive discussions and some controversies. The parallel legal bases in EU law and international public law, the dual governance arrangements, and the differing views of the stakeholders on the future organization of the function, create a complex environment and pose a challenge for industry stakeholders, Member States of the EU, and EUROCONTROL. While the discussions have been going on for a considerable time, the legal aspect remains obscure and is a topic that is usually avoided. We suggest that clarification of the legal issues relevant to the central flow management/network management function is crucial for finding a lasting solution. We consider that the parallel legal bases in EU law and international public law should be reconciled. We will attempt to identify the basic questions that need to be considered going forward. We will also briefly address the relevance of the new legal concept of ‘industrial partnerships’ of the SES 2 proposal.
Air and Space Law