Enrico Parini took over the CANSO Director Europe Affairs role in September 2025. Our editor, Marita Lintener, sat down with him to discuss his first months in office, his strategic priorities and the state of European air traffic management (ATM).
Bridging perspectives
The leadership change comes as CANSO members, the European Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), are navigating regulatory complexities, facing a war zone at their borders and experiencing both environmental and technological transformation. CANSO’s Brussels office is instrumental for European policies, serves as an interface to the European Commission, the parliament and stakeholder relations.
When asked to summarise his initial period in office, Enrico emphasises the importance of understanding different perspectives. His approach in his first 100 days at the helm has been hands-on, listening to stakeholders and members and visiting their operational centres on-site. “My experience involved much learning, recognising each member’s own specific challenges.”
Prior to his new role, Enrico served for two and a half years at the European Defence Agency (EDA) in Brussels, and before that he led the Italian air navigation service provider’s (ENAV) Brussels office. “Working for the organisation rather than as just a member of CANSO provides added value as I consider how our members might react to proposals,” he notes.
His transition has proved valuable in understanding diverse pressures across Europe’s ATM landscape and the new paradigm of dual-use of technology and civil-military cooperation. Drawing on his experience at EDA, he concludes “the main lesson learned is the necessity to also consider the military perspective.”
Contrasting challenges
Enrico paints a challenging picture of European ATM’s current state. “There are constant threats and reduced airspace in the East, huge traffic growth in the South, while some countries in the northern part of Europe struggle to reach 2019 traffic levels,” he observes. This divergence poses fundamental challenges about maintaining a unified approach to ATM modernisation and priorities.
Yet common threads unite the sector, as the technological modernisation, airspace capacity and airspace user satisfaction, as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI), cyber and digitalisation remain top of the work programme. “The SESAR programme with the two pillars, SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) and SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM), acts as a significant enabler for addressing these shared priorities and must continue.”, Enrico says.
The regulatory agenda
For the current Commission period, Enrico outlines the priorities around the SES2+ regulation: financing mechanisms, the Network Manager function implementing regulation (NF IR), aligned requirements for Common Project 2 (CP2) and Flexible use of airspace (FUA). Regarding performance and charging, he expects the Commission will likely need inputs from the upcoming studies before formally beginning the work.
The sector also faces an acute human capital crisis. Air traffic controller (ATCO) training presents a significant challenge, with Enrico advocating for a regulatory framework that offers flexibility and restores the sector’s attractiveness. “The Commission is expected to launch a study by year-end, yet meaningful regulatory reform can also be beneficial.”
The necessity of securing the new Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2034 while integrating new military aspects and ensuring existing infrastructure is another priority. “CANSO’s stance is fully reflected in the Aviation Research & Innovation Strategy (ARIS) document about the evolution of aviation, and all members are strongly supportive.” This leads our discussion to the future structure of the SESAR project. Enrico is clear: “let’s not break what is working fine”. The commitment to SESAR encompasses all sector stakeholders, he adds, which is significant in an industry often characterised by competing interests. The governance of SJU and SDM remains paramount and Enrico stresses “the importance of ensuring that the operational investors are in a leading position”.
The dual-use imperative
Looking ahead, dual-use technologies are a strategic priority. “We need to abandon the notion of fighting over money and instead consider the advantages of dual use from the onset of technology developments whenever feasible,” Enrico argues. This represents a fundamental rethinking of aviation investments in an era of constrained budgets and heightened security.
Stakeholder cooperation will be key. “The space element must be safeguarded, especially given the impact of navigation systems spoofing and jamming on both civil aviation and the military,” he warns. This shared vulnerability creates a natural basis for cooperation, yet institutional barriers between civil and military domains may impede practical collaboration.
Strength in unity
CANSO’s new director also sees the importance of increasing collaboration to tackle challenges together. “I sense a strong momentum of cooperation among stakeholders and associations for the benefit of the sector.”.
Enrico underscores the importance of funding to allow the EU to maintain strategic autonomy, a concept increasingly shaping civil aviation policies as Europe grapples with technology dependencies and defence requirements. On emerging issues such as drone incursions, CANSO focuses on gathering best practices and sharing information rather than waiting for regulatory mandates.
Defining success
When asked how he will measure his own success, Enrico outlines a vision centred on relevance. “Success will be mirrored by CANSO’s involvement and requests for participation in all aviation-related forums and even beyond.” He wants CANSO to become a point of reference for elements such as digitalisation and the human dimension, which requires strong social dialogue. Most importantly, he highlights public understanding for the sector: “Society, especially passengers, must understand the added value provided by our industry. Providing air navigation services is often taken for granted and only noticed when there is a strike.”
And Enrico’s goal? “All stakeholders must strive to enable aviation to return to its previous level of attractiveness for both the labour market and for passengers. Aviation is a success story for the EU,” Enrico concludes and adds a crucial caveat: “If we want to continue with our success, the sector cannot be left alone.”
