Under the Presidency of Italy, the Governing Board of FAB BlueMed (Functional Airspace Block) convened in Rome on 22^nd January 2026 with the purpose to advance strategic cooperation in Air Traffic Management and Air Navigation Services (ATM/ANS) within Mediterranean’s complex airspace. The high-level Meeting brought together Directors General from Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Malta, alongside technical experts and senior military officers.

The session focused on presenting and evaluating recent achievements and addressing evolving challenges. Beyond, technical, operational and legal interoperability, a centerpiece issue of the Meeting was a demonstration by Italy on digital transformation of Air Traffic Services, specifically Remote/Digital Tower Operations, and U-SPACE Integration. Greece presented progress achieved, so far, in the domain of ATM/ANS and discussed openly root causes, mitigation actions and lessons-learnt from the recent serious technical incident that led to imposed capacity restrictions in Athinai FIR/Hellas UIR, impacting a great number of flights and passengers.

The Meeting marked several key issues and leadership transitions and appointments such as the:

• Continuation of FAB BlueMed into SES2+ new legislation era,
• Approach of EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) to notify and address issues at Pan-European level,
• Enhancement of Civil -Military Synergy, with Italy to take over Chairmanship of CMCC (Civil-Mil Coordination Committee) for 2026
• Coordination of joint Audits/Inspections in each of Fab BlueMed Member States,
• Increased communication with external stakeholders,
• Experience sharing from recent EASA and ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) Audits/Inspections

Greece officially accepted the Presidency of the Governing Board and NSAC (National Supervisory Authority Committee) for 2026 term. Both Meetings will be hosted by Greece. The HCAA Governor, Dr. Christos Tsitouras made the following statement: ‘It is a great honor and responsibility for HCAA and Greece to have the Presidency of GB and NSAC for 2026. FAB BlueMed can act as a robust forum to discuss common issues and find win-win solutions for all four Mediterranean Member States. We will happily host both events and ensure a great collaboration’.

FAB BlueMed is ready to lead the next era of European Aviation through augmented technical and operational cooperation. Mediterranean airspace is becoming safer, smarter, more efficient and more integrated.