France takes over the presidency of the European Microlight Federation (EMF)
At its annual general assembly in Warsaw, the EMF (European Microlight Federation) elected Louis Collardeau, who is also 1st Vice-President of the French Microlight Federation, as its president. The situation has changed considerably over three years, when France was largely in the minority in confused regulatory discussions.
This election should not be read as a success for France but for a widely shared vision. It is now well established that the EMF brings together the European aviation movements that have chosen to stay outside the scope of the European Agency under national regulation. By seeking unified microlight regulation at European level, all we do is level everything up, penalising flying and manufacturers. We run the risk of being caught up by regulation that depends directly on the Agency.
The EMF’s priority now is to make bilateral agreements easier, as has always been the case since the beginning of the microlight adventure. We also need to encourage the sharing of good practice, in both flight safety and training, making life easier for European pilots. We would also like to organise a “Microlight Erasmus” to show that our light, accessible recreational aviation is the way of the future. We would also like to give the Blois microlight show a more European dimension from 2021.
Fewer regulatory debates played like 18-cushion billiards, more flying, respecting our differences while promoting the best of what we have. The next EMF general conference will take place in Paris in October 2020.
Founded in 2004, notably at the instigation of Dominique Méreuze, the EMF today represents more than 60 000 microlight pilots in 23 European countries. In October 2015, Rieteke Van Luijt succeeded Dominique as president of the EMF. Over these past 4 years, most of the EMF’s activity has focused on the evolution of microlight regulation, which ended in 2018 with the new Annex 1 to European Regulation 2018/1139, leaving each country free to define its own microlight regulation. A big thank you to Rieteke for leading the EMF through these 4 years, full of debate and sometimes surprising regulatory twists from the European Union. The new EMF board, formed on 12/10/2019, has 5 members (in the photo, left to right): Dariusz Cymerys (Poland) secretary general, Jan Fridrich (Czech Republic) vice-president, Louis Collardeau (France) president, Rieteke van Luijt (Netherlands) treasurer and Hans Havager (Denmark) vice-president.
Safe flying!
The French Microlight Federation
