In the period from 12-14. March 2014, a high-level meeting was held in Berovo, Republic of Macedonia, organized by the Civil Aviation Agency of the Republic of Macedonia. This is the first meeting of this type and was attended by high representatives of aviation authorities from 10 countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo [*], Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey), EUROCONTROL- and Mr. Frank Brener, regional director of the ICAO EUR / NAT office, Mr. Luis Almeida de Fonseca, ECAC President Mr. Katalin Radu, as well as representatives of air navigation service providers, M-NAV and HungaroControl.

Dejan Mojsojski, Director General of the Civil Aviation Agency as Chairman of the meeting, spoke at the meeting and emphasized the importance of regional cooperation between the aviation authorities and international organizations, and in particular the importance of the project for determining the airspace over Kosovo. The Director General of the Civil Aviation Agency, among other things, expressed his firm belief that this aviation forum will be a solid base for a new beginning in the field of aviation, and that this type of cooperation will contribute to the future organization of meetings of this type at a regular level, region. Furthermore, he emphasized the importance of opening the upper airspace of Kosovo and the possibility of defragmenting the airspace in the region and creating the shortest and most flexible routes.

Mr. Frank Brenner, EUROCONTROL's general manager, pointed out that the opening of the airspace over Kosovo is a very good example for the annual savings of 370,000 nautical miles, i.e. 24,000 tons of fuel or 75,000 tons of CO2. The opening of the airspace over Kosovo is a good example of cooperation between the civilian and military sectors that shares the same airspace that is not the case anywhere.

Mr. Luis Fonseka de Almeida, regional director of the ICAO EUR / NAT office, said that this meeting is part of ICAO's mission to strengthen co-operation between its member states. The Regional Director explained that the ICAO, as an organization, provides support to countries in all areas, and in particular in the field of air traffic safety and security.

Mr. Katalin Radu, ECAC president pointed out that during his visit to our country (Republic of Macedonia) in June 2013 he had the opportunity to meet with the most important aviation entities. At the meeting he confirmed the achievements of the Civil Aviation Agency of the Republic of Macedonia. He opened the topic of opening the airspace over Kosovo, and pointed out that the goal of the ECAC is the same as the goal of this meeting, i.e. cooperation and collaboration between the countries in the field of security, as well as in the field of search and rescue. He noted that the Republic of Macedonia shows leadership by taking on the international role it deserves.

Mr. Dragan Djurovic, Director of the Civil Aviation Agency of Montenegro, paid special attention to bilateral and regional cooperation. Their commitment to regional cooperation has been confirmed by the Common Services Initiative Initiative that has achieved visible results in the field of international civil aviation cooperation. Support and participation in this initiative were achieved with the assistance of the representatives of Albania, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia have the status of observers.

Delegation led by Mr. Milan Zivanovic, ed. Director of the Civil Aviation Directorate of Serbia, expressed his gratitude for the invitation to participate in this meeting, and also congratulated the Civil Aviation Agency of the Republic of Macedonia for the successful organization of the meeting. They expressed their view that this kind of meeting, with the participation of representatives of civil aviation authorities from the region, is the right place for exchanging opinions, promoting cooperation and solving open issues, as well as for aligning common goals and interests.

The Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Kosovo, Mr. Driton Gjonbalaj, expressed gratitude at the invitation, supported the initiative for regional cooperation, and noted that this is the first meeting in the region that is organized by only one member state, represented in this case by the Civil Aviation Agency whose director is Dejan Mojsojski.

Mr. Dan Simonic, Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport, and Communications, supported the idea of ​​opening the airspace over Kosovo, and expressed the hope and belief that the lower airspace will soon be opened.

Representatives from M-NAV and HungaroControl gave their views through detailed presentations.

The common conclusion of all participants was the special significance of bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation that supports the idea of ​​opening the upper airspace over Kosovo, and concludes that this is the first meeting in a region organized by only one member state, represented in this case by the Agency for the civil aviation headed by Dr. Dejan Mojsojski.

It was also concluded that the opening of the upper airspace above Kosovo will be realized at the agreed time, namely on April 3, 2014. In addition, the importance of Network Manager and CRCO, as well as the support of EUROCONTROL in the region for increasing air traffic services, was noted. ICAO has provided support for the implementation of regional training in the part of SMS and SSP, and ECAC for future cooperation in the field of search and rescue.

Source: CAA Macedonia

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* This label does not call into question the status of status, and is in line with Resolution 1244 and the Opinion of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo's declaration of independence