Regional Director Remarks

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This is the first edition of the NEWSLETTER of the European and North Atlantic (EUR/NAT) Office, and I am very grateful to be able to take advantage of this opening message to pass along my regards and appreciation to all of our close colleagues and partners in the EUR/NAT community. Thank you for your valuable work and contributions.

Our goal with this publication is to provide information and updates on the most important aspects of ICAO’s activities and in particular in the European and North Atlantic Regions. It is important for us to make you aware of the direction the regional civil aviation community is taking.

In the future, we would also like to invite all our stakeholders to contribute their ideas and perspectives to this NEWSLETTER, especially States, International and Regional Organizations, and the Industry. Your participation is not only welcome, but also essential for the continuity and success of this initiative.

The current business model of the EUR/NAT Office is fundamentally based on the following pillars, addressing the five strategic objectives of ICAO and fostering the continuous improvement of the level of implementation of the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) by our Member States:

  1. Regular programme related activities, achieved mostly through the four established main groups and their working structure (contributory bodies):
    1. The North Atlantic Systems Planning Group (NAT SPG);
    2. The European Air Navigation Planning Group (EANPG);
    3. The European Regional Aviation Safety Group (RASG EUR); and
    4. The European and North Atlantic Aviation Security and Facilitation Group (ENAVSECG).
  2. ICAO No Country Left Behind (NCLB) related activities aimed at assisting States in implementing ICAO SARPs. The main goal of this work is to help ensure that implementation of SARPs is better harmonized globally so that all States have access to the significant socio-economic benefits of safe and reliable air transport. The NCLB effort also promotes ICAO’s work to resolve Significant Safety Concerns (SSCs) brought to light through our safety oversight audits, as well as other safety, security and emissions-related objectives.
  3. ICAO USOAP and USAP related activities, including the participation of EUR/NAT staff in audit and validation missions at regional and global levels.

Through these activities, we are convinced that we are making an important contribution in the EUR and NAT Regions regarding the implementation of the ICAO Global Air Navigation Plan, the Global Aviation Safety Plan, and our specific regional plans, as well as all the ICAO provisions with a special focus on those Standards related to aviation safety and security.

The EUR/NAT Office plays a unique and instrumental role to ensure the implementation of a harmonized and seamless aviation system across a significant area of the world, uniting States with different cultures, various levels of maturity and needs, and ensures the necessary bridges amongst several ICAO Regions.

The technical assistance that we are providing to our States is no less important, especially with respect to those displaying greater vulnerabilities.

Friends and colleagues, the role of the EUR/NAT Office has evolved and is becoming more extensive, relevant and complex. We need the collaboration and additional support of all our partners to meet the demands of our sector, and to navigate together along an efficient route.

With this new tool – the EUR/NAT NEWSLETTER we believe that we can facilitate the achievement of our common goals.

As usual, everything is in our hands.


Luis Fonseca de Almeida is the Regional Director of the Europe and North Atlantic (EUR/NAT) Office at ICAO.

This article was originally written for the ICAO EUR/NAT Office’s Newsletter (Issue 1) on May 2017. A full list of their newsletters can be found here