The EUROCONTROL Safety Regulation Commission (SRC) celebrated ten years of achievement in increasing air traffic management safety. The SRC was established in 1998 to improve safety by developing harmonised safety regulatory objectives and requirements for air traffic management in Europe. Over the past ten years, six EUROCONTROL Safety Regulatory Requirements (ESARRS) have been put in place covering safety oversight, reporting, safety management systems, risk assessment and mitigation, personnel competence and software. A series of related initiatives and programmes have supported implementation of these ESARRS by Member States. Transposition of these Requirements into European Community law is now virtually complete, and has significantly contributed to the Single European Sky objective of improving safety.

"The SRC was formed to meet an important safety need, and to prepare the way for the development of the ATM industry over the long-term future. In what it has achieved, it has exceeded all expectations, and the effect it has had on European ATM safety is both profound and measurable," said Peter Stastny, Head of the Safety Regulation Unit at EUROCONTROL.

The SRC's role includes advising the EUROCONTROL Organisation on the overall safety performance of the ATM system. For that purpose a Europe-wide reporting system for ATM related safety occurrence has been developed offering not only evaluation of the current performance but also identification of Key Risk Areas.

To monitor progress in safety regulation across Europe, SRC also manages the ESIMS Audit Programme, initially established in 2002 and strengthened in 2005 as part of the Safety Action Programmes put in place in Europe following the accidents of Linate and Uberlingen. The Programme is based on audits which evaluate the States’ safety oversight capabilities in air traffic management, and works in close coordination with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Today the SRC, together with the Safety Regulation Unit, is a unique centre of expertise in its field, and supports Member States and Community institutions in the ATM safety regulation domain. In a changing political and institutional landscape, the SRC's overall goal remains a continued, relentless focus on the improvement of European ATM safety necessary to meet the industry's development needs for the future.