From 15 September 2014 do 3 October in Montreal the Committee Phase of the 203rd Session of the ICAO Council was held. The meetings were participated by Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland to the ICAO Council Dr. Małgorzata Polkowska.
On the first day of the committee phase on 15 September was held the EU coordination meeting when the activities in the field of civil aviation which took place in July and August, including the results of the special meeting of Directors of Civil Aviation of ECAC in Dubrovnik and the ICAO Task Force on the flights in conflict zones were discussed. The participants also discussed the issues which will be raised during the meetings of the committees of the ICAO Council and Environment Advisory Group (EAG) which will be held during the first phase of the 203rd Session of the ICAO.
Later in that da, a meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group of Technical Co-operation Committee (TCC WG) was held. The group members discussed the issues related to the main tasks of the group: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and customer satisfaction surveys. The representative of Portugal Mrs. Helena Faleiro presented suggestion to divide Key Performance Indicators into two parts. After the discussion the KPIs have been accepted. Dr. Małgorzata Polkowska in her intervention suggested that the Technical Cooperation Bureau (TCB) should consult with the UNDP (UN Development Programme) on customer satisfaction surveys and the need to update the Technical Co-operation Bureau Action Plans. The current chairman Mr. Yong Heng Lim from Malaysia is vacating his position, thus the members of the group thanked for his previous contribution to the work of the group. The members concluded the meeting by agreeing on a full final report on the Ad hoc TCC WG work be presented to the Technical Co-operation Committee on Friday.
On 17 September the Unlawful Interference Committee meeting was held. The meeting was opened by a new committee chairman Mr Mark Rodmell from the UK. During the opening ceremony he welcomed new representatives on the Council - Ms. Naoko Ueda from Japan and Mr Michael Anderson Lawson from the United States, as well as new alternates. At the meeting there were addressed the issues related to the Man-Portable Air Defence Systems and the accident aircraft Malaysian airlines flight MH-17. Members of the Committee also discussed the agenda of 26th AVSECP Panel. The progress Report on the Implementation of the Universal Security Audit Programme - Continuous Monitoring Approach (USAP-CMA) Transition Plan was also debated on. The Member States requested for information on the status of individual projects and the way of consultation with the Member before the completion of the projects. The meeting ended with a discussion on the documents related to the performance indicators of aviation security.
On September 19, a meeting of the Technical Co-operation Committee (TCC) was held. Dr. Małgorzata Polkowska was appointed the Vice-Chairman of the Committee obtaining the unanimous support of all members. The meeting focused on the discussion of the Report on Technical Cooperation Programme Development and 2015 Administrative and Operational Services Cost (AOSC) Budget Estimates and Update of the Budget for 2014 presented by Ms. Kerryn Macaulay, from Australia the Chairperson of the Finance Committee.
Later in the day was held an informal briefing for members of the Council of ICAO on technical cooperation was held. The meeting was conducted by Mr. Iván Galán, Director of Technical Cooperation Bureau (TCB). Dr. Małgorzata Polkowska took part in the meeting as the Chairman of the Technical Co-operation Committee (TCC) because of the absence of the Chairman Mr David Blanco. During the meeting the technical assistance for Member States and the methods of funding and initiation of projects, as well as the required documents in this process were presented. There also was described the life cycle of the project from its origin through the development and implementation until its closure of the project. There were emphasized the fundamental role of the Technical Cooperation Bureau in the ICAO and the impact of projects on the development of civil aviation in the world.
On 22 September a weekly coordination meeting of the EU was held. During the meeting the arrangements for the forthcoming meetings of the Environment Advisory Group (EAG), which will be held on 24 and 25 September. The results of the meetings of the first week of committee phase were discussed as well as the scope of work of the committees, which meetings will be held in the second week.
On 23 September the bilateral meetings were held before the meeting of the Environmental Advisory Group (EAG), which addressed a number of documents, which will be subject to the work of the Group during the forthcoming meetings on 25 and 26 September.
On 24 September took place the meeting of the Unlawful Interference Committee and Aviation Transport Committee (ATC). During the meeting, the committee members discussed issues related to the ICAO initiative for cooperation on implementation of an initiative focused on enhancing aviation security and air transport facilitation in Africa (AFI) in a sustainable manner. Such collaboration would support the socio-economic development of States by promoting, inter alia, international trade and tourism.
Dr. Małgorzata Polkowska in her intervention requested for the information if there was any coordinated collaboration with other international organizations (i. e. the Airport Council International (ACI) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA)) regarding the assistance to AFI Region on matters relating to Security and Annex 17. She added that in the event of the creation of similar projects within these two organizations co-operation would help to avoid duplication of efforts and reduce costs by raising the appropriate use of human resources. In response to the question of the Polish delegation there was confirmed that such cooperation in this field is being conducted.
During the Air Transport Committee (ATC) metting, the representative of Argentina on the Council of ICAO Mr. Alberto Miguel Singhwas was appointed the new Vice-President. Later the Report of the 12th Aviation Regulatory Panel (ATRP/12) Meeting was presented. Dr. Polkowska stressed out that based on the positive effect of liberalization Poland supports the ambitious and progressive liberalization of international markets through the opening of the aviation market to many countries taking into account the interests of various parties. She added that an international agreement on the liberalization of the aviation market should provide clear and transparent definitions. Therefore it is very important to clearly present the definition of "principal place of business and effective regulatory control". This definition can be interpreted in various ways, therefore, needs to be clarified.
During the meeting also the Report of the 1st meeting of the Aviation Data and Analysis Panel (ADAP/1) was presented as well as the Report on the 22nd Meeting of theTechnical Advisory Group on Machine Readable Travel Documents.
On 25 September, Environmental Advisory Group (EAG) meetings was held. The Polish delegation participates in the meetings of the Group as an observer. During the meeting were presented the positions of individual Member States, and comments on the Strawman proposal. Among the documents discussed during the meeting were those concerning the Global Market Based Measures (MBMs) for the international civil aviation and a preliminary assessment of technical analysis of Strawman proposal, which was presented by the representative of the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP).
On 26 September Dr. Małgorzata Polkowska participated in the meetings of the Unlawful Interference Committee (UIC) and the Finance Committee (FIC). During the meeting of the Finance Committee the Annual Report of the Evaluation and Audit Advisory Committee (EAAC) was presented. Dr. Polkowska in her intervention raised issue on establishment of an IT auditor, which should be looked into and treated as a priority for the organization. She added that the auditor could oversee IT activities and identify weaknesses of the system which would improve unwanted messages filter mechanism and would improve the communication within ICAO. Later the Budget and Business Plan for the Ancillary Revenue Generation Fund (ARGF) for 2015 have also been presented as well as an oral report of the ICAO Performance Management Project. During the meeting of the Unlawful Interference Committee the Report of the ICAO Conflict Zone Task Force was presented. The participants discussed also the work program of the Committee during the 204th Session of the ICAO Council. The new Vice-Chairman of the Committee was appointed – who became Mrs. Helena Faleiro, the Permanent Representative of Portugal on the ICAO Council.
On September 29 there was a meeting of the EU coordination during which the summarizes after the Environmental Advisory Group meetings were presented. The next EAG meetings are scheduled to take place during the Council Phase of the 203rd Session in October. During the rest of the day was carried out the informational briefing for the Council Members during which they were provided with information prepared by the Breau of Administration and Services on the Digital Rights Management System, which will dispense with the distribution of paper copies of documents, which will bring savings of the organization. To date, the system uses 10,000 registered users, including Civil Aviation Authorities, Ministries of Transport and Foreign Affairs of the Member States, the military, airports, air navigation service providers, aviation training centers and other organizations involved in civil aviation sector. The new system has been tested from 1 January 2014. The new system includes the digital coupons to use for electronic publications.
On 30 September the informational briefing was held for the Members of the Council on environmental protection in civil aviation. The presentations of the Committee on Environmental Protection Environment were presented which contained a description of the structure of the Committee, the principles of operation, description of the various types of meetings and Steering Groups. It also presented the key areas of activities and strategy in the previous and following years.
The second presentation described the National Action Plans and assistance to Member States. It was indicated the need to encourage the Member States to submit their plans and objectives and to support the other Member States which have not yet established their own Action Plans. There was also confirmed the strategy for supporting States in this regard by i.e. ICAO regional seminars to be held in Poland in March 2015.
On 1 October there was a meeting of the Human Resources Committee (HRC), during which there was addressed the issue of the employment of young professionals in the field of civil aviation in place of the retiring employees of the Organization and discussed the issues of transparency of the elections for the posts ICAO and role of the regions in that process.
On October 2, members of the Council during the information briefing discussed issues related to the training centers in the scope of security in civil aviation. The proposals for closer cooperation between centers and expansion of the number of languages in which the trainings could be conducted were raised (i.e. Portuguese). During the discussion it was found necessary to develop a network of training for different types of staff. Moreover there was presented a presentation on the progress of ATRP panel and the actions proposed to implement as a result of the findings at a conference on the liberalization of air transport, which took place in 2013. The participants also discussed on the ICAN 2014 symposium to be held in November 2014 on the Island of Bali in Indonesia. During the symposium where will be conducted negotiations and bilateral consultations.
The Aviation Symposium which precede the formal negotiation meetings will provide a global forum for all stakeholders - government, industry, aviation organizations, which can exchange experiences and discuss on current trends and issues related to the development of the international air transport. The symposium is also intended to promote the liberalization of air transport and to promote solutions to improve consumer protection. It is projected the participation of 63 countries in the symposium including Poland.
Simultaneously, at the ICAO headquarters from 30 September to 3 October there has been held the symposium ICAO’s first-ever Global Aviation Cooperation Symposium (GACS). The theme Building Cooperation for the Future of Civil Aviation: Innovation, Growth, and Technical Cooperation” The symposium opened ICAO Secretary General and Chairman of the Council of ICAO. This event will provide governments, airport operators, air navigation service providers, and other industry stakeholders, with a unique opportunity to obtain in-depth knowledge of ICAO's guidance as well as the role and resources of its Technical Cooperation Programme. ICAO Council members participate in the meetings during the symposium. Dr. Małgorzata Polkowska took part in the meeting on the practical cooperation and assistance from the Technical Cooperation Bureau (TCB). During the meeting the representatives of Argentina, ASCEN (Africa), Kazakhstan and Indonesia described the cooperation with ICAO and support from the TCB on issues of construction of airport infrastructure, radars and improving communications. All countries positively assessed the cooperation and assistance from the Organization.
On 3 October a meeting of the Joint Support Committee was held. During the meeting the members appointed the Vice-Chairman of the Committee and the information on crossings over the North Atlantic in the calendar year 2013 on the basis of the costs of the Joint Financing agreement between Denmark and Iceland were also discussed. The estimated fees and expenses for 2015 were presented as well as amendments to the Annexes of Agreements. The participants were addressed with the information on assessments and user charges for 2015 under the Icelandic and Danish Joint Financing Agreement.
On the same day the Relations with the Host Country Committee (RHCC) was conducted, during which a report on the activities of the committee were presented.
October 3rd was the last day of Committee Phase of the 203rd Session of the ICAO. The Council will resume its work in the second phase Council Phase.
