The harmonisation of air traffic management on a European level that was initiated by the Single European Sky, can only be accomplished by co-ordinating the developments of the new ATM technologies and systems. 
That is the objective of the programme called SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research), a partnership between public and private actors from the aeronautical sector that aims to develop a pan-European ATM system for the future. SESAR will synchronise the implementation of this new system in all of the Single European Sky States by making sure that the aircrafts’ equipment is keeping pace with the evolutions of technology on ground level. SESAR is the technological driving force behind a successful Single European Sky.
The SESAR programme consists of several steps. The first phase of SESAR, the definition phase, was concluded in 2008 and resulted in an ATM Master Plan that was approved by the European Council on March 30th 2009. Considering the scope of the project and the number of public and private actors involved, Eurocontrol and the European Union created the SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) in 2007 so as to manage the development phase of the SESAR project that started in 2008 and should continue until 2013.
The third and last phase of SESAR will be a deployment phase (2014-2020) that will widely introduce a new high-performance ATM infrastructure that is completely harmonised.
SESAR - Technological Harmonisation
