I think EASA could not do it.
Around 2008 I sat opposite Eric Sivel (former head of EASA rulemaking or something like that) in a bar in London while he was waiting for this flight back home after a conference. So I quizzed him on the “usual topics” 
Regardless of what you thought of his agenda, he was clearly a very clever “political fox” – you could see that, and his background was in certification so he knew how to wade through piles of regs. One thing he said is that it is virtually impossible to push through anything that impinges on national sovereignity and he gave airspace classification as one example. And frequency allocation, being tied to ATC sectors etc etc and thus tied to airspace design, looks like one of the no-go areas.
BTW EASA has not pushed through all of FCL. The anti N-reg bit is still being deferred and a fair number of people think it will get kicked into the long grass, after a suitable passage of time so that the required amount of damage is achieved so that nobody (well, none of the original pushers of this project; those that are still inside EASA) loses face. That is exactly what France and UK did in 2004/2005 on similar proposals. Especially after Brexit undermines that clause, for UK based pilots (which is probably the biggest chunk of European N-reg community) by virtue of it using the word “Community”.
As Wilson said, a week is a long time in politics
The problem was, as far as I understood history, that frequency allocation wasn’t an aviation related topic but was in the responsibility of the same guys who sat on old postal monopolys and telecomunication in general. This is why it wasn’t a political, but an administrative task. If I remember correctly, Eurocontrol (who is/was in charge of implementing 833) wanted to unify the system, but could not get anywhere due to old national-monopolist thinking in the responsible departments.
Why does UK get money in the first place ? UK is still a member of EU and have been sitting at the table deciding this 8.33 thing. In Norway we won’t get a cent. The CAA is having an online questionare right now about how much each of us have to pay etc to get 8.33. There is still hope that there will be no requirement, just like the mode S, but this also depends on the Swedes for some reason I can’t remember.
Peter wrote:
No individual or business can get this money through any normal procedure. They will lose the will to live…
I recall reading a story where a pilot got money from EU to purchase I believe a transponder and perhaps radio for his glider. It’s not what the story was about, goal was to achieve a diamond altitude gain (gain 5 km of altitude) using a mountain wave. He needed some equipment to be allowed that high which he didn’t have and one of his friends came up with the idea of making it a project and applying for a grant. AFAIK he got it. It’s sometimes funny to read what EU funds. I remember one enterprising gentleman who was making an electric city car in his shed. I believe he milked EU for about €400k.
Peter wrote:
Especially after Brexit undermines that clause, for UK based pilots (which is probably the biggest chunk of European N-reg community) by virtue of it using the word “Community”.
That depends on what exactly will be the relationship between UK and EU after “Brexit”. It was discussed here before. Some regulations are adopted by other countries, like Norway, and for those regulations to make sense, certain parts or expressions are amended, or an explanation is provided on how it’s to be understood (as I understand it, it’s drafted as part of the adoption process). You won’t find it in the original regulation which is written for the EU. I think such a system is messy, a dog’s breakfast, but that’s what we have.
mh wrote:
frequency allocation wasn’t an aviation related topic but was in the responsibility of the same guys who sat on old postal monopolys and telecomunication in general
That sounds about right. As I understand it, people from Czech Aviation Authority can’t even check your radio operator’s licence because it’s outside their jurisdiction, those fall under Czech Telecommunication Office.
Nestor wrote:
before the country unshackles itself from the beleaguered bloc,
Nestor
This will not happen, there will be another referendum.
Ben…………. And if the British people decide to leave on a second occasion will the govenment keep having votes untill we get the correct result ?
Anyhow back to the matter in hand I have six radios that need EASA contributing to………. How do I get hold of the money ?
A_and_C wrote:
And if the British people decide to leave on a second occasion will the govenment keep having votes untill we get the correct result ?
It’s what the Irish do when EU law needs a change in their constitution…
Ireland and others, but I don’t think the UK works that way.
Ireland and others, but I don’t think the UK works that way.
Probably not. But if the UK does vote again, it will probably be on the same pretence that we did. That is that some concern that the voters had in the initial referendum has either been addressed by a change or protocol, or clarity has been brought to the issue so that voters might see if differently.
So for example, if some new agreement was formed over immigration, it could be used as a pretext to have a second referendum.
Having said that, the athmosphere seems very different then when Ireland voted no on Lisbon & Nice. In those cases, there was a big rush from the EU to address the issues that had become hot topics, and provide assurances and protocols, because our no vote was a roadblock. I don’t see any similar rush to address UK concerns, and rather it seems to be a more of a “hurry up and leave” attitude, which I think is disappointing, but was entirely predictable and probably stems from converns that others might follow if the UK gets any concessions.
