ICAO Secretary General rallies European and North Atlantic States on innovation and resilience ahead of the 41st ICAO Assembly

ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar (left) encouraged the civil aviation regulators of 42 countries to place innovation and resilience at the heart of their aviation policy at a recent meeting of the Directors General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of ICAO’s European and North Atlantic Regions (EURNAT). 

Organized in partnership with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the meeting focused on regional preparation for the 41st Session of the triennial ICAO Assembly, which will open in Montréal in September 2022. The meeting also highlighted a high-level briefing on cybersecurity for the Directors General and other stakeholders. 
“It is critical for us to hear and understand your priorities to better prepare for the 41st Assembly, and I would therefore encourage all States and stakeholders to very actively participate and share their views,” Mr. Salazar said in his opening remarks. “Environmental protection will be high on the agenda, notably with respect to States’ discussions on the new Long-Term Global Aspirational Goal (LTAG) for sector-wide emissions, how we implement that goal, and the associated strengthening of your State Action Plans,” he added, noting that decisions supporting the digitization of a contactless passenger experience at airports will be another important area.

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Opening remarks to the event were also provided by Mr. Nicolas Rallo, ICAO’s newly appointed EURNAT Regional Director (right); Mr. Luc Tytgat; the EASA’s Director, Strategy and Safety Management; and Mr. Levan Karanadze, Director General of the Georgian Civil Aviation Authority (centre), who chaired this EURNAT DGCA meeting.

Accompanied by Mr. Rallo, Mr. Salazar continued this advocacy throughout a series of bilateral side meetings. These included discussions with the DGCA of Finland, Mr. Jari Pöntinen; of France, Mr. Damien Caze; of Greece, Mr. Christos Tsitouras; of Italy, Mr. Alessio Quaranta; of Spain, Mr. Raul Caballero; of Ukraine, Mr. Oleksandr Bilchuk; of the United Kingdom, Dr. Rania Leontaridi; of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Ms. Tina Amereihn; and of the European Commission (EC), Mr. Filip Cornelis. 

The first session of the meeting addressed the preparation for the 41st Session of the ICAO Assembly. During the second session of the meeting, discussions were held on cybersecurity, which will continue to be fundamental for the resilience and future sustainability of the civil aviation system. Presentations we made addressing this topic at the global level and on the regional developments. Furthermore, presentations on  examples of the implementation of cybersecurity policies were made by Israel, the United States, CANSO, IATA, ICAO, EASA, EC and EUROCONTROL. 
The EUR/NAT DGCA meeting was attended by 136 participants from 42 EUR/NAT States and 12  organizations. All the presentations delivered during the ICAO EUR/NAT and EASA meeting are available on the ICAO website.
Press office ICAO