Ladies and gentlemen,

Its an honour to be here to talk about the present and the future of Europes airports

that play a pivotal role in our transport network,

and are central pillars in our vision for a stronger, more sustainable and more competitive European aviation.

This honour feels even more timely,

since I started this week in Le Bourget, at the Paris AirShow

a showcase of European excellence and leadership in aviation.

And I am confident that if we continue to work together as an ecosystem,

each playing our part,

we will not only preserve that leadership,

we will strengthen it,

and we can even inspire other sectors along the way.

ACI Europe is one of the Commissions most important stakeholders in aviation,

and we really do count on your collaboration to turn this vision into another EU aviation success story.

But in practical term, how can airports help us to move to stronger, more sustainable and more competitive aviation?

In my view, we must focus on four key areas:

airspace capacity, competitiveness, decarbonisation, and efficiency,

guided by a commitment to innovation, investment, sustainable alternative fuels, resilience, and reviewed legislation, where necessary.

Let me begin with our airspace.

It is well managed and safe.

But capacity simply doesnt meet demand.

Europeans want to fly more than our air traffic management systems can handle,

especially in the summer.

The result is crowded airports, and unhappy customers.

No one knows this better than you.

Europe is the world leader in Air Traffic Management innovation,

but we need another push to make European skies more flexible and less fragmented.

SESAR innovations have the potential to improve efficiency,

and we are seeing SESAR solutions used in airspace and airports in North America, the Asia-Pacific region, Africa and elsewhere.

Sometimes, Europe seems to embrace its own innovations later than our export markets.

That must change.

Airports have played a crucial role within SESAR, both in development and deployment.

I encourage you to continue, and to adopt SESAR solutions as they become available.

Longer term, we need to push ahead with the implementation of the Single European Sky.

This will improve the performance of air traffic management in terms of safety, capacity, cost-efficiency and environmental footprint.

On the environment,

decarbonisation is a driver of growth, energy independence and social progress.

The European Competitiveness Compass, the Clean Industrial Deal, the Affordable Energy Action Plan

they all set out the route to this growth.

Our headline decarbonisation goal is a climate-neutral economy by 2050.

Aviation, just like every other sector, must do its part.

And we will support you in this.

Zero-emission airports are a cornerstone of that vision.

This means;

Accelerating the use of renewable and low-carbon aviation fuels, greening ground operations, and rapidly advancing new, cleaner, quieter aircraft technologies and related infrastructure.

Industry-led initiatives such as Airport Carbon Accreditation and Destination 2050 have my full respect.

They are indispensable.

Longer term, airports have an opportunity to become clean energy hubs,

integrating electricity systems, hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuels,

or becoming testbeds for the circular economy.

This will open doors to new markets.

More generally, we need to end our dependence on fossil fuels.

Dependencies make Europe vulnerable.

We have no choice but to be more self-sufficient,

while also remaining open to collaboration with our friends and allies.

The Commission proposed the ReFuelEU Aviation with decarbonisation in mind.

But it also supports greater independence.

It also gives the industry certainty, and we all know how important that is for investment.

Over the last year, we have made great progress with SAF.

And looking ahead, I am confident – the EU SAF market is growing faster than the legal targets.

Scaling up EU investment in SAF will be the focus of the Sustainable Transport Investment Plan,

that I will present later this year.

While SAF price is a concern,

all major projections confirm that the price will fall significantly

with economies of scale and learning.

I am glad to see that Destination 2050 report confirms this.

We will need to extend support measures and incentives,

including SAF Allowances under the EU ETS,

until SAF is price-competitive with kerosene.

Lets not forget

we are still in the early stages of a completely new industry.

Production will become more efficient.

I know that more targeted action is needed for eSAF.

There are more than 40 SAF projects in the EU in the pipeline

but none have reached Final Investment Decision.

This will also be addressed by our Sustainable Transport Investment Plan.

The industry is telling us that SAF producers are held back by a combination of factors:

the need for large capital investments,

risks linked to the first-of-a-kind plants,

a mismatch in the time horizon between producers and off-takers,

high SAF prices

and the uncertainty over their future development.

All this adds up to a perceived first-mover disadvantage.

The STIP will set out de-risk investment and facilitate offtake.

We need to transform the ‘first mover disadvantage into a ‘first mover advantage.

Courage and risk-taking must be rewarded.

I would like to say also a quick word about noise.

The Zero Pollution Action Plan

asks that we reduce the number of people chronically disturbed by transport noise, by 30%.

Air traffic too, is included.

I know measures are being considered for Dublin, Orly, Charles de Gaulle and Lisbon airports.

More are likely to follow,

and I fully support efforts to protect residents from the harmful effects of noise pollution.

That said, we need to find the right balance

between the interests of residents and those of the industry.

EU law requires that a ‘Balanced Approach is applied to noise-reduction measures.

I am committed to ensuring this is respected.

Having seen your Athens Declaration and the Call for Action, I understand we share the same aim.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have talked a lot about decarbonisation in its various forms,

but decarbonisation must never come at the expense of competitiveness.

Our internal market for aviation has served the sector well,

and work continues to boost competitiveness further still.

We are now embarking on a review of the Air Services Regulation,

which will cover international competitiveness.

This is a priority for me.

We will look for ways to cut any unnecessary red tape.

Our aim is to adopt a legislative proposal by mid-2026.

The review covers several topical issues:

EU air carriers global competitiveness, consumer interests, preserving high quality employment, and improving regulatory resilience and our collective ability to respond to crises.

Now, on passengers,

without whom there would be no airlines, no flights, no airports, and no industry,

we already made a major step forward

towards more comprehensive and robust rules on air passenger rights.

But we can and must do more!

We need a system in which the rules are intuitive,

easy to understand,

and most importantly,

fair to both passengers and the aviation industry.

Getting this right is essential.

And this is also important for the other part of my portfolio,

tourism, which relies so much on aviation!

I would therefore strongly encourage ACI to continue to engage with the DG MOVE

in the future revision of the internal market rules for aviation.

We depend on stakeholder engagement for such initiatives to be effective.

As you know, a comprehensive review of our airport legislative framework is also underway.

Its important to understand

whether the current rules

are promoting efficient use of airport capacity

in particular in terms of airport charges, slots and ground-handling.

In line with Better Regulation,

an external study will assess the extent to which the three legal acts are effective, efficient, relevant and coherent,

and whether they have generated EU added value.

Input from stakeholders will be key,

and I strongly encourage ACI Europe

to engage in this process.

After all, the findings will impact the future of European airports.

The studys findings will feed into the Fitness Check, which we expect to finalise by the end of this year.

If we conclude that legislative changes are necessary,

we will follow up.

Any changes would be designed to ensure that our European internal aviation market remains strong and vibrant,

and continues to deliver unparalleled connectivity for our citizens and businesses.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In everything we do, we need to be very conscious of the world in which we are now living.

Its a world in which we need to rely more on ourselves,

exploit our strengths,

and address our weaknesses.

Risks and threats,

like conflicts, climate change and many others, know no borders.

Nor can we tackle them alone.

So, more than ever before, we need a united European approach.

Europe needs to shift from reactive crisis management to a more proactive, integrated, and coordinated ‘preparedness by design culture.

Across all policies, and at all levels.

For aviation, this means climate-resilient infrastructure.

And this requires that project promoters consider climate risks during the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of new and existing infrastructure.

Airport security is also critical, and we welcome the efforts of ACI members to improve the passenger experience while ensuring high levels of security.

In these efforts, technology plays a central role, and we are ready to work with Member States and stakeholders to facilitate the uptake of innovative technology.

Equally pressing is the need to improve how we use our network for both civil and military transport.

The Commission recently designed, in close cooperation with NATO, four EU military corridors.

These corridors include airports.

And in fact, regional airports in border regions are already becoming logistical hubs.

Along the corridors, we need to update infrastructure such as runways,

so that they meet military standards,

and have equipment for fuelling.

The future EU budget should support these vital upgrades. 

Ladies and gentlemen,

Aviation has given Europeans so many benefits.

By connecting our communities, 

by connecting our businesses and our economies,

aviation has given real substance to the European Unions founding principles

of freedom, equality and unity.

But aviation could not exist without airports.

So let me close by thanking you

for everything you do all these years

to keep Europe and the Europeans connected,

supply chains intact,

and European aviation the success story that it is today.

With your continued cooperation

especially in the areas of innovation, decarbonisation and investment,

I am confident that this success story

will not only continue, but grow even stronger.

Thank you.