Bern, 28-30 August 2025 — The 74th Special meeting of ECAC’s Directors General took place in Bern at the end of August, hosted by Director General Christian Hegner on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA). Directors General were joined by representatives from the European Commission, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), EUROCONTROL, ICAO and JAA TO.
The meeting was honoured to welcome Albert Rösti, Head of the Swiss Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC). He highlighted the crucial role of international cooperation in European aviation and emphasised that ECAC’s greatest strength lies in uniting 44 Member States to speak with a single voice – a unity that will be essential at the upcoming 42nd ICAO Assembly.
With the ICAO Assembly scheduled for September and October, a significant share of the discussions focused on Europe’s strategic priorities. Participants reviewed Europe’s preparations and discussed its position on critical issues in the global aviation landscape. The two known candidates for the ICAO Council presidency elections, Toshiyuki Onuma (Japan) and Sameh Elhefny (Egypt), were invited to the session to share their priorities and ambitions for ICAO’s future, while ICAO Secretary General Juan-Carlos Salazar provided insights into ICAO’s aviation developments.
Directors General also agreed on the main orientations for the evolution of the ECAC Common Evaluation Process (CEP) of security equipment, endorsed the declaration on cooperation with regional civil aviation organisations, and discussed other ICAO-related matters.
EUROCONTROL shared insights on air traffic performance for summer 2025, while EASA reported on recent safety initiatives and underlined its strong ICAO audit (USOAP) results.
The ECAC Secretariat also reported on ongoing activities, including progress on the signing of the Convention on the Bureau of the European Civil Aviation Conference, implementation of the CASE II Project and the design of a future EU-funded and ECAC-implemented project, and developments concerning Secretariat staff.
The meeting provided a valuable platform for preparing Europe’s contributions to the ICAO Assembly and reinforcing cooperation among Member States.