Единно управление на европейското въздушно пространство – предизвикателства пред ЕС и България
Management of European Airspace – Challenges for the EU and Bulgaria

Author(s): Bianca Tosheva-Pesheva
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Economy, Public Administration, International relations/trade, EU-Approach / EU-Accession / EU-Development, Transport / Logistics
Published by: Университет за национално и световно стопанство (УНСС)
Keywords: European union; Single European Sky; sovereignty; international relations
Summary/Abstract: At the beginning of the 21st century, in its efforts to deepen economic and political integration, the European Union launched a series of legislative initiatives aimed at establishing enhanced joint management of the airspace. The initiative, known as the Single European Sky, has for more than twenty years sought to improve the functioning of air traffic management (ATM) and air navigation services (ANS). This, in turn, is intended to contribute to optimizing airspace capacity, drastically reducing ATM costs, increasing safety, and decreasing the environmental impact of aviation by 10%. Behind these ideal goals, however, stand the national interests of 29 different states, for which these processes are slow and depend on political will for balancing between the protection of autonomy, power, and security, and their role in international relations, whether as advocates of interdependence or as guardians of sovereignty, strength, and influence. The study presented in this report aims to identify the possibilities for EU member states to adopt a shared perspective on European airspace and to assess Bulgaria’s contribution to this process. The topic is examined in the context of growing trends toward reinforcing perceptions of state sovereignty, tightening borders, and a rising spirit of distrust among nations. Although the member states have achieved undeniable success in cooperation over recent decades, they remain vulnerable to negative influences when faced with the first signs of problems requiring unified solutions, stronger coordination, and rapid response. It has been noted that the dynamics of globalization-linked to the compression of time and space-apply both to individual entities, in the face of citizens, and to the states and supranational organizations to which they belong. Achieving unified airspace management within the EU and a political symbiosis among its member states thus emerges as one of the major and significant challenges, especially in the context of ongoing military conflicts on the continent.

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