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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 2205.PDF
EDITORIAL +44 (20) 8652 3842 Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS, UK Fax +44 (20) 8652 3840 email fliqhUntemational@rbi.co.uk Editor Murdo Morrison +44 (20) 8652 4395 murdo.morrison@rbi.co.uk Editor's PA Debra Warburton (maternity leave) Acting Editor's PA Francesca Everett •44 (20) 8652 3835 francesca.everetmbi.co.uk News Editor Emma Kelly •44 (20) 8652 3096 emma.kelly@rbi.co.uk Commercial Aviation Editor Max Kingsley-Jones •44 (20) 8652 3825 max.kingsley.jones@rbi.co.uk Defence Aviation Editor Stewart Penney +44 (20) 8652 3834 stewart.penney@rbi.co.uk Operations/Safety Editor David learmount •44 (20) 8652 3845 david.learmount@rbi.co.uk Business Editor Alexander Campbell •44 (20) 8652 3990 alexander.campbell@rbi.co.uk Business & General Aviation Editor Kate Sarsfield •44 (20) 8652 3885 kate.sarsfield@rbi.co.uk General Reporter Justin Wastnaqe •44 (20) 8652 3B6sjustin.wastnage@rbi.co.uk Technical Reporter Michael Phelan •44 (20) 8652 3843 michaet.phelanirbi.co.uk Spaceflight Correspondent Tim Furniss •44 (1237) 471960 tim@spaceport.co.uk EUROPE/MIDDLE EAST European Editor Christina Mackenzie •33 (1) 64 23 68 89 christina.mackenzie@rbi.co.uk Israel Correspondent Arie Egozi *972 (3) 9413132 Middle East Correspondent Gerald Butt •357 22 771967 gbutt@spidernet.com.cy AMERICAS Washington DC Office Fax +1 (703) 836 8344 Americas Editor Graham Warwick +1 (703) 836 3448 graham.warwick@rbi.co.uk East Coast Editor Paul Lewis +1 (703) 836 3084 jpaul.lewis@rbi.co.uk West Coast Editor Guy Morris •1(949)252 8971 Fax +1 (949) 252 8972 guy.norrismi.co.uk Brazil Correspondent Jackson Flores Jr •55 212439-6062 Fax 00 55 212349-6090 lubar@uol.com.br Canada Correspondent Brian Dunn ASIA/PACIFIC Singapore Office Fax +65 338 6171 Regional Managing Editor Nicholas lonides •65 6434 3311 nicholas.iontdes@rbi.co.uk Deputy Asia Editor Andrew Doyle +65 6434 3309 andrew.doyle@rbi.co.uk Regional Reporter David Fullbrook •65 6434 3314 david.fullbrook@rbi.co.uk Australia Civil Aviation Correspondent Paul Phelan +61(7)40532791 Fax+61 (7)40533003 pdphelan@optusnet.com.au Australia Military Aviation Correspondent Peter La Franchi •61 (0) 419 246 620 Fax +61 (2) 62312795 nulka@ozemail.com.au EDITORIAL PRODUCTION Group Production Editor Graeme Osborn +44 (20) 8652 3828 Group Art Editor James Mason +44 (20) 8652 4994 Chief Sub-Editor Chris Thornton +44 (20) 8652 4997 Deputy Production Editor Jackie Thompson +44 (20) 8652 3850 Sub Editor Megan Turner +44 (20) 8652 3846 Photographer Mark Wagner +44 (20) 8944 5225 Senior Technical Artist Giuseppe Picarella +44 (20) 8652 8054 Editorial Artist Tim Brown +44 (20) 8652 8043 WWW.FLIGHTINTERNATIONAL.COM Webmaster Sheena Buchanan +44 (20) 8652 4432 SUBSCRIPTIONS +44 (1444) 445454 rbi.subscriptions@rbi.co.uk THE FLIGHT COLLECTION kim.hearn@rbi.co.uk © and Database Rights 2002 Reed Business Information Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the publishers m Air Transport Intelligence (ATI), ffionf International's sister online service at www.rati.com, contains the full text of Flight International and Airline Business since 1996. Full text of the magazines can also be found online with Lexis-Nexis, Dialogue, FT Profile, IAC and Reuters. Editor Kieran Daly +44 (20) 8652 3837 Reed Business Information Standing together The latest report on the European aerospace industry calls for a common policy promoting co-operation. But will anyone listen? Last week the European Union's (EU) Advisory Group on Aerospace presented its first report - the Strategic Aerospace Review for the 21 st Century (STAR 21) - and set out its views on how an industrial sector that it views as fundamental to the continent's future economic success should be developed. The report's five key recommendations called for a global market with a level playing field and fair competition; a co-ordinated strat egy for research and the investment of the necessary resources; for the EU to become the policy-maker and regulator in civil aviation; a coherent defence and security infrastructure; and a consolidated European space policy. That the EU is keen to ensure the sustain- ment of the European aerospace industry is no surprise. Brussels' figures for 2000 show that the sector directly employed 429,000 peo ple and achieved a consolidated turnover of €72.3 billion ($72.3 billion). It exported around The interminable delays of European co-operative pro grammes must end half its output and contributed a positive trade balance of around €1.9 billion. And in a happy coincidence for the EU, the aerospace supply chain spreads throughout the EU's 15 mem ber nations. In short, as the STAR 21 report sets out, "aerospace [is] a leading contributor to wealth and employment all across the EU". The five key policy points set out in STAR 21 should not surprise anyone remotely con nected with the European aerospace industry - they have been articulated on more than one occasion in recent years, but Europe, and its principal government organisations, are bureaucratic behemoths that are slow to respond. A criticism within the STAR 21 report is that, while Europe's aerospace industry has consolidated over the past five or so years, the policy framework that governs its activities is fragmented. This obviously needs changing, but the rea son for the fragmentation is all too clear. Each EU member has different rules - despite the good intentions that led to the formation of the European Community - and not one of the 15 nations is overly keen on losing "sovereignty" over a "crown jewel" industry. Europe's six leading aerospace nations - France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK - have already signed up to an agree ment covering research and development and other aerospace and defence co-operation. If this were taken a step further, to a common policy framework governing the industry in those six countries, it would soon become obvious to the nine remaining nations that signing up to common rules was crucial to sustaining their aerospace capabilities. One barricade that could be placed in the way of European aerospace industry progress could well be a failure to ensure its future via bility by choking the research and development process. STAR 21 describes the "huge challenge involved in mobilising the esti mated €100 billion from private and public sources" to funding a concerted R&D pro gramme over the next 20 years. Again the fractured nature of the European policy frame work and each nation's sensitivity to possibly losing what is seen as a critical capability are hindering progress. Once the battle to create a cohesive single aerospace environment in Europe is won, the next task will be to level the playing field with the USA. The Europeans look enviously at the US internal market. In 2000 the US Department of Defense and other government agencies placed orders worth $60,3 billion with US manufacturers, compared with $15.9 billion spent by the 15 EU governments with European contractors. But convincing Washington DC that Europe should be given a slice of that spending pie will not be easy, par ticularly with the heightened mood to "buy American" after the 11 September attacks. What Europe must do is instead ensure that its industry is in a position to provide its own internal market with the right equipment on time and to specification. This will mean an end to the interminable delays to European co-operative programmes caused when one country or another stalls the approval and/or funding process. There will be no point in decrying an EU member for buying, for instance, a US missile in 2010, if the equiva lent European product is still two years from service because of a stream of government- instigated delays. STAR 21 provides a strong foundation for the EU to continue as a player in the global aerospace industry. But it needs to act and act fast. There have been plenty of reports giving similar warnings and recommendations; it would be a sad day for Europe if STAR 21 joins them on the shelf simply gathering dust. SEE BUSINESS P37 www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 23-29 JULY 2002 5
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