Ambassador Luca Sabbatucci, on the instructions of the Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, signed the agreement transforming the Secretariat of the European Civil Aviation Conference into a fully-fledged international organization.
PARIS, January 13, 2026 – A decisive step was taken today for the future of aviation governance in Europe. In the presence of representatives of ENAC (Italian National Civil Aviation Authority), ECAC (European Civil Aviation Conference), and the French Government, Ambassador Luca Sabbatucci signed the Convention on behalf of Italy, granting international legal personality to the ECAC Support Office.
Towards a new operational structure
The Convention, approved last May in Paris after years of negotiations, aims to reshape the structure of the ECAC Secretariat. The Office will become an autonomous international organization based in Paris. This change reflects the 44 member states’ desire to provide the body with the legal instruments necessary to promote an increasingly safe, efficient, and sustainable air transport system. Italy’s central role Italy’s membership is not merely formal: our country currently holds the ECAC Presidency and played a key mediation role during the negotiations. “Today’s signature demonstrates Italy’s commitment to strengthening European coordination,” said Ambassador Sabbatucci, expressing gratitude to the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs for the diplomatic hospitality that allowed the necessary consensus to be reached.
What is ECAC?
Founded in 1955, the European Civil Aviation Conference is an intergovernmental organization that works in synergy with the European Commission to harmonize air transport policies. It is the continent’s leading forum for technical and political discussion on civil aviation.
