Talking to the European Commission’s Filip Cornelis

In this episode of Raising the Aviation Bar, Filip Cornelis, Director for Aviation at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), shares his insights as a key member of the Team Europe delegation to the 42nd ICAO General Assembly, a seminal event for world aviation every three years.

Filip walks us through the Assembly’s major outcomes for Europe such as the successful election of all European candidates to the ICAO Council, a new resolution on GNSS interference championed by Europe addressing growing safety and security risks, broader attention to cyber security and aviation’s role in irregular migration. While safety and technical topics remained core, this Assembly was a notably political one — shaped by global tensions and Europe’s proactive stance on many of the key issues on the table.

For the first time, ICAO also saw a resolution adopted on conflict zones, calling on countries to enhance their civil-military coordination to prevent military operations from accidentally interfering with civilian traffic. Asked about the greatest need for cooperation and support collectively as Team Europe, Filip stressed how GNSS interference is one of the key priorities where the Commission works closely with EUROCONTROL and EASA to ensure Europe’s communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) infrastructure remains resilient even if GNSS or other navigation methods fail.

Filip further reflects on the various bilateral meetings the Commission conducted with non-EU Member States to discuss possible cooperation in the future to improve air traffic, coordination and cooperation. He also discusses the regulatory push to make aviation energy more sustainable, and the ongoing work on STIP, the Commission’s Sustainable Transport Investment Plan - a strategic framework for supporting sustainable transport fuel production and distribution. And on a more personal level, Filip talks about the roles that have shaped him, and his career as a leading EU official working on European integration and international cooperation in aviation.