COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1962/2006 
of 21 December 2006 
in application of Article 37 of the Act of Accession of Bulgaria to the European Union 
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to the Treaty of Accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union, and in 
particular Article 4(3) thereof,  
Having regard to the Act of Accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union, and in 
particular Article 37 thereof, 
Whereas: (1) Article 37 of the Act of Accession of Bulgaria and Romania allows the Commission to take 
appropriate safeguard measures in order to address a serious breach of the functioning of the 
internal market, or an imminent risk of such a breach, resulting from a failure to implement commitments undertaken by Bulgaria in the context of accession negotiations with regard to any Community sectoral policy which concerns economic activities with cross border effect; there is an imminent risk that Bulgaria's failure to implement its commitments to comply with regulations will cause a serious breach of the internal market for air transport; 
(2) The Community has adopted on the basis of Article 80 of the EC Treaty a common air 
transport policy, which includes rules establishing an internal market for the provision of air transport services
1 as well as common rules in order to establish and maintain a high 
uniform level of civil aviation safety in Europe2. Both sets of rules have a direct impact on 
the supply of air transport services between the Member States. 
(3) In the context of the accession negotiations Bulgaria committed itself to fully apply the 
Community rules in the area of air transport as from the date of its accession to the European Union; 
                                                
 
1 OJ L 240, 2 4.8. 199 2, p.  1– 7 ,  Cou ncil Re g ulatio n (EEC) No 240 7/92 of 23 July 1992 on licens in g of air  
carriers, Cou ncil Reg ulatio n ( EEC) No 2408/92 of 23 July 1992 on access for Co m m u ni t y  air carriers to i ntra -
Co m m u ni t y air rou tes , OJ L 240, 2 4.8. 199 2, p. 8 –14 and Cou ncil Reg ulatio n (EEC) N ° 2409/92 of 23 Jul y 
1992 on fares and rates for air services, OJ L 240, 24.8. 199 2,  p. 15 
2 OJ L 240,  7. 9.2 002,  p.  1-21,  Reg ulatio n (EC) N° 1592/ 200 2 of the European Parliamen t and of the Cou ncil of  
15 Jul y 2002 on com mo n ru les in t he field of civ il aviat ion and establis hi ng a European A viat ion Sa fet y  A ge nc y, m odified b y Re gu lat ion (EC) N° 1643/2003, O J L 245, 29.9. 200 3, p. 7–9 and  Reg ulatio n (EC) N°  1701/2 003 , OJ L 24 3, 2 7.9. 20 03, p.  5– 5 L 408/8 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006
(4) Following the signature of the Treaty of Accession on 25 April 2005, the competent 
authority for civil aviation (CAA) of Bulgaria was visited by the European Aviation Safety 
Agency (EASA) from 16 to 20 May 2005 to verify the capacity of that authority to apply the requirements of Community law as well as standards of the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) in the area of aviation safety. The visit revealed significant and persistent shortcomings in the administrative capacity of the Bulgarian CAA to ensure the necessary safety oversight in order to implement the Community requirements on certification of airworthiness and maintenance of aircraft;  
(5) In view of the serious deficiencies identified by EASA and the JAA Bulgaria was refused in 
October 2005 mutual recognition in the relevant safety areas within the JAA system;  
(6) The corrective actions submitted by the Bulgarian CAA in October and November 2005, as 
well as in May 2006, were not deemed satisfactory by EASA, which was well noted by the Commission;  
(7) In its Communication adopted on 26 September 2006 on the state of preparedness for EU 
membership of Bulgaria and Romania
3 the Commission confirmed that Bulgaria had made 
further progress to complete its preparations for membership, but also identified a number of areas of continuing concern, among which aviation safety, where the Commission would take appropriate measures to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market, unless Bulgaria took the necessary corrective actions; 
(8) The Commission's Communication urged Bulgaria, in order to comply with the relevant 
Community aviation safety rules, to submit a corrective action plan and implement it within a strict timetable, in close cooperation with, and under guidance from EASA to redress all safety shortcomings. The report announced that EASA would verify the implementation of this plan by means of another inspection before Bulgaria's accession. The Commission's Communication concluded that unless Bulgaria took the necessary corrective actions, it risked that the Commission, at its own initiative or at the request of a Member State, restricted access to the internal aviation market; that furthermore, Bulgarian registered aircraft which did not comply with EU civil aviation safety rules could be subject to appropriate safeguard measures;  
(9) In the light of the Commission's Communication, EASA was requested to carry out the 
inspection of the Bulgarian CAA. This inspection took place from 27 November to 1
st 
December 2006; the purpose of the inspection was to evaluate whether the competent authority for civil aviation of Bulgaria was prepared to implement the common rules in the field of aviation safety that shall enter into force in Bulgaria as of 1
st January 2007, and to 
evaluate the progress made in the implementation of the corrective actions submitted by that authority after the first visit of EASA to address safety shortcomings established during that visit. 
(10) The report of this inspection established by EASA confirms the shortcomings evidenced 
previously in the administrative capacity of the Bulgarian CAA to ensure the necessary 
                                                
 
3 Co m m is sion Co m m u n ication COM(2006) 5 49, 26 September 200 6 30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 408/9
safety oversight in order to implement the Community requirements on certification, of 
airworthiness and maintenance of aircraft and concludes that that the Bulgarian CAA will not be in a position to ensure compliance with Regulation N° 1592/2002 and its implementing rules Commission Regulations 1702/2003
4 and 2042/20035 as of the date of 
entry into force of the Act of Accession; 
(11) In view of Bulgaria's failure to implement its commitment to ensure compliance with 
Regulation (EC) N° 1592/2002 and its implementing rules as of the date of entry into force of the Treaty of Accession, it should be provided that the certificates issued by the Bulgarian CAA shall not benefit from the mutual recognition stipulated in Articles 8 and 57 of Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002. 
(12) Bulgaria's failure to implement its commitment to ensure compliance with Regulation (EC) 
N° 1592/2002 and its implementing regulations by the date of entry into force of the Treaty of Accession may lead to distortions of competition between the carriers licensed by other Member States and the carriers licensed by Bulgaria, should the latter be granted unrestricted access to the Community’s internal market. Distortions of competition could result in particular from the fact that air carriers licensed by the Bulgarian CAA would be granted unrestricted access to routes within the Community without fulfilling all the requirements of the rules establishing an internal market for the provision of air transport services, notably those on safety, while their competitors would continue to be subject to such requirements. Moreover, granting such access to air carriers licensed by the Bulgarian CAA could lead to an expansion of the operations currently performed by those carriers into, from to or within other Member States, thereby creating additional safety risks.  
(13) For these reasons it is appropriate, in order to prevent an increase of such risks, to provide 
that the carriers licensed by the Bulgarian authorities will not be considered as “Community carriers” for the purposes of Regulation (EEC) N° 2408/92.  
(14) This measure is without prejudice to any further measures that the Commission may be 
required to impose in accordance with Regulation (EC) N° 2111/2005
6;  
                                                 
4 OJ L 243,  27 .9.2 003 , p.  6– 79,  Co m m is sion Reg ulatio n (EC) No 17 02/20 03 of 24 September 20 03 layin g do w n  
i mple m ent in g ru les for the air w orth ine ss a nd en viron m e ntal  certificatio n of aircra ft and re lated products, parts  
and appliances, as well as  for the certification of desig n and production organis ations, modi fied b y  
Co m m is sion  Re g ulation  N° 3 81/200 5, OJ L 61, 8.3. 200 5, p. 3–3, and Com m i ssio n Reg ulation  N° 706/2006,  OJ L 122, 9 .5.2 006 , p. 16– 16.  
5 OJ L 315, 28. 11.2 003 , p.  1– 1 65 , Com m is sion Reg ulatio n (EC) No 204 2/20 03 of 20 No ve mber 2003 on the 
contin ui ng air w ort hine ss of a ircraft and aeronautica l products, parts and appliances, and  on the approval of  organisat ions  and perso nnel  i nvol ved i n t hese  tas ks, m odif i ed by  Co m m is sion Re gula tion N ° 707/2006, O J L 
122, 9.5. 200 6, p.  17 –18 
6 OJ L 344, 27. 12. 200 5, p. 15-22, Regulat ion (EC) No 2111/2005 of 14 December 2005 of the European 
Parliame nt a nd of the Cou ncil  on the es tablis h me nt o f a Co m m u nit y  li st of air carriers s u bject to an ope rating 
ban w it hi n t he Co m m u n it y  an d on i nfor m in g a ir tran sport passe ngers  of the  identi t y  of the  operating a ir carrier, and repealing Article 9 of Dir ective 2004/36/EC.  L 408/10 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
Articles 8 and 57 of Regulation (EC) N° 1592/2002 shall not apply with respect to certificates 
issued by the competent authority of Bulgaria.  
Article 2 
Notwithstanding Article 2(b) of Regulation (EEC) N° 2408/92, air carriers with an operating licence granted by the competent authority of Bulgaria shall not be considered as a ‘Community air carrier’ for the purposes of that regulation.  
Article 3 
The Commission shall review whether the continued application of this Regulation is still necessary upon receipt of a duly motivated request from of Bulgaria, or on its own initiative, at least once every twelve months from the date of entry into force of this regulation. 
This Regulation shall enter into force only subject to and on the date of entry into force of the 
Treaty of Accession of Bulgaria.  
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 
Done at Brussels, 21 December 2006. 
 For the Commission 
 Jacques BARROT 
 Vice-President 30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 408/11