Creating an efficient and productive FAB is not that hard. In fact, it's been done before - the Maastricht UAC has been providing cross border Air Traffic Services for over 30 years. Why not use this as the basis for FABEC? Having shown the potential already, the fact that it is at the heart of the proposed FABEC area and given that the institutional framework for such a centre is readily available, why so much resistance and time waisted to reinvent the wheel?

FABEC is just about to disappear from the radar screens of operational improvements. Many signs seem to indicate that States will decide to sign a FABEC state treaty without a joint declaration of Intent related to service provision. An empty shell is therefore just about to be created. Even if that shell is painted in blue and orange, and labelled as FABEC, it will still remain empty. And will produce …close to nothing.

German and French Ministers have agreed to study whether “the existing agreement between Eurocontrol, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg for the Maastricht centre could be used to build FABEC step by step”. MARC agrees on the method, but refuses partial integration of actual air navigation services into new or existing structures.

The MOSAIC ATM Regional Coordination group, MARC, issued the following commumiqué after their meeting in Milan on the 12th of May 2010

During its last meeting held in Nice on the 08^th and 09^th of September, the MOSAIC group had the privilege of welcoming a new member: FATCOA, the French Air Traffic Controllers’ Association.FATCOA, member of IFATCA, has now joined both MOSAIC and the MARC group, thus ensuring complete coherency for staff representation in the FABEC area.

The summer season comes to an end... Traditionally, this short moment of peace preceding September is the moment where one looks back, and prepares for the busy months ahead. So we did. Achievements, values, work to be done...we would have a lot to cover. Allow me to focus on some of them.

MOSAIC has met the delegates of IFATSEA (INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION  OF AIR TRAFFIC SAFETY ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATIONS) during their yearly Conference held in Rome between the 18th and the 23rd of November 2007.

We've added another article to the rapidly growing list. This time, in french, from the Union Nationale des Syndicats Autonome (UNSA) - Transport branch. You can find the article here.

IFATCA will holds its' European Regional Meeting in Prague (Czech Republic) from 26/10 to 28/10. A workshop will be held on the first day, looking towards the year 2020 and how we see the job of Air Traffic Controller by then. Naturally, MOSAIC has a crucial role to play in this and MOSAIC representatives will of course attend the meeting in Prague. Amongst other things, they'll brief their colleagues on the excellent progress made in the last few months.