EN Official Journal of the European Union L 153/10

COUNCIL DECISION

of 30 March 2009

on the signature of an Agreement on civil aviation safety between the European Community and Canada

(2009/469/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 80(2) and 133(4) in conjunction the first sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 300(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1) The Commission has negotiated on behalf of the Community an Agreement on civil aviation safety with Canada in accordance with the Council Decision of 21 April 2004 authorising the Commission to open negotiations.

(2) The Agreement negotiated by the Commission should be signed, subject to its possible conclusion at a later stage.

(3) The Member States should take the necessary measures in order to ensure that their bilateral agreements with Canada on the same subject are terminated as of the date of entry into force of the Agreement,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The signing of the Agreement on civil aviation safety between the European Community and Canada is hereby approved on behalf of the Community, subject to the Council Decision concerning the conclusion of the Agreement.

The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision.

Article 2

The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the person(s) empowered to sign the Agreement on behalf of the Community, subject to its conclusion.

Done at Brussels, 30 March 2009. For the Council The President I. LANGER

EN Official Journal of the European Union L 153/11

AGREEMENT

on civil aviation safety between the European Community and Canada

The EUROPEAN COMMUNITY and CANADA hereinafter referred to collectively as ‘the Parties’,

CONSIDERING that each Party has determined, by a long practice of technical exchanges and bilateral arrangements between members of the European Community (EC) and Canada, that the standards and systems of the other Party for the airworthiness and environmental certification or acceptance of Civil Aeronautical Products are sufficiently equivalent to its own to make an agreement practicable,

RECOGNISING the emerging trend toward multinational design, production, and interchange of Civil Aeronautical Products,

DESIRING to promote civil aviation safety and environmental quality and compatibility and facilitate the exchange of Civil Aeronautical Products,

DESIRING to enhance cooperation and increase efficiency in matters relating to civil aviation safety,

CONSIDERING that their cooperation can positively contribute in encouraging greater international harmonisation of standards and processes,

CONSIDERING the possible reduction of the economic burden imposed on the aviation industry and operators by redundant technical inspections, evaluations, and testing,

RECOGNISING the mutual benefit of improved procedures for the reciprocal acceptance of approvals and testing as regards airworthiness, environmental protection, aircraft maintenance facilities, and continuing airworthiness,

RECOGNISING that any such reciprocal acceptance needs to offer an assurance of conformity with applicable technical regulations or standards equivalent to the assurance offered by a Party’s own procedures,

RECOGNISING that any such reciprocal acceptance also requires confidence by each Party in the continued reliability of the other Party’s conformity assessments,

RECOGNISING the respective commitments of the Parties under bilateral, regional and multilateral agreements dealing with civil aviation safety and environmental compatibility,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Objectives

The objectives of this Agreement are:

(a) To establish, consistent with the legislation in force within each Party, principles and arrangements in order to enable the reciprocal acceptance of approvals issued by either Party’s Competent Authorities in the fields covered by this Agreement, as detailed in Article 4.

(b) To allow the Parties to adapt to the emerging trend toward multinational design, manufacture, maintenance, and interchange of Civil Aeronautical Products, involving the common interests of the Parties concerning civil aviation safety and environmental quality.

(c) To promote cooperation toward sustaining safety and environmental quality objectives.

(d) To promote and facilitate the continuing exchange of Civil Aeronautical Products and services.

Article 2

Definitions

The following terms and definitions shall apply to this Agreement:

(a) ‘Airworthiness Approval’ means a finding that the design or change to a design of a Civil Aeronautical Product meets standards established by the applicable legislation in force in either Party or that a product conforms to a design that has been found to meet those standards and is in a condition of safe operation.

(b) ‘Civil Aeronautical Product’ means any civil aircraft, aircraft engine, or aircraft propeller or sub-assembly, appliance, part, or component installed or to be installed thereon.

(c) ‘Competent Authority’ means a government agency or entity that is designated as a Competent Authority by a Party for the purposes of this Agreement, that exercises a legal right to assess conformity of, to monitor and to control the use or sale of, Civil Aeronautical Products or services within a Party’s jurisdiction and that may take enforcement action to ensure that such products or services marketed within that Party’s jurisdiction comply with applicable legal requirements.

(d) ‘Design-related Operational Requirements’ means the operational or environmental requirements affecting either the design features of the product or data on the design relating to the operations or maintenance of the product that make it eligible for a particular kind of operation.

(e) ‘Environmental Approval’ means a finding that a Civil Aeronautical Product complies with standards established by the applicable legislation in force in either Party concerning noise and/or exhaust emissions.

(f) ‘Maintenance’ means the performance of inspection, overhaul, repair, preservation, or the replacement of parts, appliances, or components with the exception of pre-flight inspection of a Civil Aeronautical Product to assure the continued airworthiness of that product, and includes embodiment of Modifications; but does not include the design of repairs and Modifications.

(g) ‘Monitoring’ means the periodic surveillance by a Competent Authority to determine continuing compliance with the appropriate applicable standards.

(h) ‘Technical Agent’ means, for Canada, the Canadian organisation responsible for civil aviation and for the European Community, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

Article 3

General Obligations

1. Each Party shall, as specified in the Annexes to this Agreement, which form an integral part thereof, accept or recognise results of specified procedures, used in assessing conformity with specified legislative, regulatory, and administrative measures of that Party, produced by the other Party’s Competent Authorities, with the understanding that the conformity assessment procedures utilised assure conformity to the satisfaction of the receiving Party, with applicable legislative, regulatory and administrative measures of that Party, equivalent to the assurance offered by the receiving Party’s own procedures.

2. Paragraph 1 of this Article shall only apply when transitional arrangements, which may be set out in the Annexes to this Agreement, have been completed.

3. This Agreement shall not be construed to entail reciprocal acceptance of standards or technical regulations of the Parties and, unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, shall not entail the mutual recognition of the equivalence of standards or technical regulations.

4. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to limit the authority of a Party to determine, through its legislative, regulatory and administrative measures, the level of protection it considers appropriate for safety, for the environment, and otherwise with regard to risks within the scope of the applicable Annex to this Agreement.

5. The findings made by delegated persons or approved organisations, authorised by the applicable legislation of either Party to make the same findings as a Competent Authority, shall be given the same validity as those made by a Competent Authority itself for the purposes of this Agreement. An entity of one Party responsible for the implementation of this Agreement, as defined in Article 7, may on occasion, and upon prior notification to its counterpart within the other Party, interact directly with a delegated person or approved organisation of that other Party.

Article 4

General Scope of Coverage

1. This Agreement applies to:

(a) the Airworthiness Approval and Monitoring of Civil Aeronautical Products;

(b) the continuing airworthiness of in-service aircraft;

(c) the approval and Monitoring of production and manufacturing facilities;

(d) the approval and Monitoring of maintenance facilities;

(e) the Environmental Approval and environmental testing of Civil Aeronautical Products; and

(f) related cooperative activities.

2. When European Community competence is exercised in relation to air operations, flight crew licensing and the approval of synthetic training devices, the Parties may agree on additional Annexes, including transitional arrangements, specific to each area in accordance with the procedure specified in Article 16.

Article 5

Competent Authorities

1. When an entity is eligible under the legislation of a Party, it shall be recognised as Competent Authority by the other Party, once it has been audited by its Party to determine that:

(a) it fully complies with the legislation of its Party;

(b) it is familiar with the requirements of the other Party, for the type and scope of certification it applied for; and

(c) it is capable of carrying out the obligations contained in the Annexes.

2. A Party shall notify the other Party of the identity of a Competent Authority once it has successfully completed the audit. The other Party may contest the technical competence or compliance of that Competent Authority in accordance with paragraph 6 of this Article.

3. The entities identified in Appendix 1 and 2 shall be deemed to comply with the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article for the implementation respectively of Annex A and B at the time of entry into force of this Agreement.

4. The Parties shall ensure that their Competent Authorities are capable and remain capable of properly assessing conformity of products or organisations, as applicable and as covered in the Annexes to this Agreement. In this regard, the Parties shall ensure that their Competent Authorities are subject to regular audit or assessment.

5. The Parties shall consult as necessary to ensure the maintenance of confidence in conformity assessment procedures. This consultation may include participation from one Party in the regular audits related to conformity assessment activities or other assessments of Competent Authorities of the other Party.

6. In the event of a Party’s contestation of the technical competence or compliance of a Competent Authority, the contesting Party shall notify in writing the other Party of its contestation of the technical competence or compliance of the relevant Competent Authority and of its intent to suspend the acceptance of the findings of the relevant Competent Authority. Such contestation shall be exercised in an objective and reasoned manner.

7. Any contestation notified in accordance with paragraph 6 of this Article shall be discussed by the Joint Committee established pursuant to Article 9, which may decide to suspend acceptance of the findings of that Competent Authority or that verification of its technical competence is required. Such verification shall normally be carried out in a timely manner by the Party having jurisdiction over the Competent Authority in question, but may be carried out jointly by the Parties if they so decide.

8. If the Joint Committee has not been able to resolve a contestation notified in accordance with paragraph 6 of this Article, within 30 days of its notice, the contesting Party may suspend acceptance of the findings of the Competent Authority in question but shall accept the findings made by that Competent Authority before the date of the notice. Such suspension may remain in effect until the Joint Committee has resolved the matter.

Article 6

Safeguard Measures

1. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to limit the authority of a Party to take all appropriate and immediate measures whenever there is a reasonable risk that a product or a service may:

(a) compromise the health or safety of persons;

(b) not meet the applicable legislative, regulatory, or administrative measures of that Party within the scope of this Agreement; or

(c) otherwise fail to satisfy a requirement within the scope of the applicable Annex to this Agreement.

2. Where either Party takes measures pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, it shall inform the other Party in writing within 15 working days of taking such measures, providing reasons for it.

Article 7

Communications

1. The Parties agree that communications between themselves for the implementation of this Agreement shall be dealt with by:

(a) as regards technical matters, the Technical Agents;

(b) as regards all other matters: — for Canada: The Department of Transport, — for the European Community: the European Commission and the Competent Authorities of the Member States, where applicable.

2. Upon signature of this Agreement the Parties will communicate to each other the relevant contact points.

Article 8

Mutual Cooperation, Assistance and Transparency

1. Each Party shall inform the other Party of all its relevant laws, regulations, standards, and requirements, and of its certification system.

2. The Parties shall notify each other of their proposed significant revisions to their relevant laws, regulations, standards, and requirements, and to their certification systems insofar as these revisions may have an impact on this Agreement. To the maximum extent practicable, they shall offer each other an opportunity to comment on such revisions and give due consideration to such comments.

3. The Parties shall, as appropriate, develop procedures on regulatory cooperation and transparency for all activities they conduct which fall within the scope of this Agreement.

4. The Parties agree, subject to their applicable legislation, to provide each other, on request and in a timely manner, information related to accidents, incidents or occurrences related to the subject matters covered by this Agreement.

5. For the purpose of investigating and resolving safety issues by mutual cooperation, the Parties shall allow each other to participate in each other’s inspections and audits on a sample basis or conduct joint inspections and audits as appropriate.

Article 9

Joint Committee of the Parties

1. A Joint Committee is established, consisting of representatives from each Party. The Joint Committee shall be responsible for the effective functioning of this Agreement and shall meet at regular intervals to evaluate the effectiveness of its implementation.

2. The Joint Committee may consider any matter related to the functioning and implementation of this Agreement. In particular it shall be responsible for:

(a) reviewing and taking appropriate action with respect to contestations as specified in Article 5;

(b) resolving any question relating to the application and implementation of this Agreement, including those questions not otherwise resolved in the Joint Sectorial Committee established pursuant to the relevant Annex;

(c) considering ways to enhance the operation of this Agreement and make as appropriate recommendations to the Parties for the amendment of this Agreement;

(d) considering specific amendments to the Annexes;

(e) coordinating, as appropriate, the development of additional Annexes;

(f) adopting, as appropriate, working procedures on regulatory cooperation and transparency for all activities referred to in Article 4 which are not otherwise developed by Joint Sectorial Committees.

3. The Joint Committee shall draw up its own rules of procedure within one year of coming into force of this Agreement.

Article 10

Suspension of Reciprocal Acceptance Obligations

1. A Party may suspend, in whole or in part, its obligations specified under an Annex of this Agreement, where:

(a) the other Party fails to fulfil its obligations specified under that Annex of this Agreement; or

(b) one or more of its own Competent Authorities cannot implement new or additional requirements adopted by the other Party in the field covered by that Annex of this Agreement; or,

(c) the other Party fails to maintain the legal and regulatory means and measures required to implement the provisions of this Agreement.

2. Before suspending its obligations, a Party shall request consultations under Article 15. Should consultations not resolve a disagreement that relates to any of the Annexes, either Party may notify the other Party of its intention to suspend the acceptance of findings of compliance and approvals under the Annex, over which there is disagreement. Such notification shall be in writing and detail the reasons for suspension.

3. Such suspension shall take effect 30 days after the date of the notification, unless, prior to the end of this period, the Party, which initiated the suspension, notifies the other Party in writing that it withdraws its notification. Such suspension shall not affect the validity of findings of compliance, certificates and approvals made by the Party’s Technical Agents or Competent Authority in question prior to the date the suspension took effect. Any such suspension that has become effective may be rescinded immediately upon an exchange of written correspondence to that effect by the Parties.

Article 11

Confidentiality

1. Each Party agrees to maintain, to the extent required under its legislation, the confidentiality of information received from the other Party under this Agreement.

2. In particular, subject to their respective legislation, the Parties shall neither disclose to the public, nor permit a Competent Authority to disclose to the public, information received from each other under this Agreement that constitutes trade secrets, confidential commercial or financial information, or information that relates to an ongoing investigation. To this end such information shall be considered proprietary and be appropriately marked as such.

3. A Party or a Competent Authority may, upon providing information to the other Party or a Competent Authority of the other Party, designate the portions of the information that it considers to be exempt from disclosure.

4. Each Party shall take all reasonable precautions necessary to protect information received under this Agreement from unauthorised disclosure.

Article 12

Cost recovery

1. Neither Party shall impose fees or charges on natural or legal persons whose activities are regulated under this Agreement for conformity assessment services covered under this Agreement and provided by the other Party.

2. Each Party shall endeavour to ensure that any fees or charges imposed by its Technical Agent on a legal or natural person whose activities are regulated under this Agreement shall be just, reasonable and commensurate with the certification and surveillance services provided, and shall not create a barrier to trade.

3. Each Party’s Technical Agent shall have the right to recover through fees and charges applied to natural or legal persons whose activities are regulated under this Agreement, the costs related to the implementation of the applicable Annex and of audits and inspections made in application of paragraph 5 of Article 5 and paragraph 5 of Article 8.

Article 13

Other Agreements

1. Except where otherwise specified in the Annexes, obligations contained in agreements concluded by either Party with a third country not party to this Agreement shall have no force and effect with regard to the other Party in terms of acceptance of the results of conformity assessment procedures in the third country.

2. Upon entry into force, this Agreement shall supersede the bilateral aviation safety agreements between Canada and the Member States of the European Union with respect to any matters covered by this Agreement.

3. This Agreement shall not affect the rights and obligations of the Parties under any other international agreement.

Article 14

Territorial Application

Except where otherwise specified in the Annexes of this Agreement, this Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in which the Treaty establishing the European Community is applied, and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty and, on the other hand, to the territory of Canada.

Article 15

Consultations and Settlement of Disagreements

1. Either Party may request consultations with the other Party on any matter related to this Agreement. The other Party shall reply promptly to such a request and shall enter into consultations at a time agreed by the Parties within 45 days.

2. The Parties shall make every effort to resolve any disagreement between them regarding their cooperation under this Agreement at the lowest possible technical level by consultation in accordance with provisions contained in the Annexes to this Agreement.

3. In the event that any disagreement is not resolved as provided for in paragraph 2 of this Article, either Technical Agent may refer the disagreement to the Joint Committee of the Parties, which shall consult on the matter.

Article 16

Entry Into Force, Termination and Amendment

1. This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the last note of an exchange of Diplomatic Notes in which the Parties notify each other of the completion of their internal procedures necessary for the entry into force of this Agreement. The Agreement shall remain in force until terminated by either Party.

2. A Party may terminate this Agreement at any time upon six months written notification to the other Party, unless the said notice of termination has been withdrawn by mutual consent of the Parties before the expiry of this period.

3. Where a Party seeks to amend the Agreement by removing one or more Annexes and preserving the other Annexes, the Parties shall seek to amend this Agreement by consensus, in accordance with the procedures in this Article. Failing such consensus, the Agreement shall terminate at the end of six months from the date of notice unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.

4. Parties may amend this Agreement by mutual written consent. An amendment to this Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the latest written notification by one Party to the other Party that its domestic procedures for entry into force have been completed.

5. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 4 of this Article, the Parties may agree to amend the existing Annexes or add new ones by means of an exchange of Diplomatic Notes between the Parties. These amendments shall enter into force subject to the terms agreed in the exchange of Diplomatic Notes.

6. Following termination of this Agreement, each Party shall maintain the validity of any Airworthiness Approvals, Environmental Approvals or certificates issued under this Agreement prior to its termination, subject to their continued compliance with that Party’s applicable laws and regulations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned duly authorised to that effect, have signed this Agreement. Done at Prague, in duplicate, on the sixth day of May in the year two thousand and nine, in the Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish languages, each version being equally authentic. За Европейската общнoст Por la Comunidad Europea Za Evropské společenství For Det Europæiske Fællesskab Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft Euroopa Ühenduse nimel Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα For the European Community Pour la Communauté européenne Per la Comunità europea Eiropas Kopienas vārdā Europos bendrijos vardu Az Európai Közösség részéről Għall-Komunità Ewropea Voor de Europese Gemeenschap W imieniu Wspólnoty Europejskiej Pela Comunidade Europeia Pentru Comunitatea Europeană Za Európske spoločenstvo Za Evropsko skupnost Euroopan yhteisön puolesta För Europeiska gemenskapen За Kанада Por Canadá Za Kanadu For Canada Für Kanada Kanada nimel Για τον Καναδά For Canada Pour le Canada Per il Canada Kanādas vārdā Kanados vardu Kanada részéről Għall-Kanada Voor Canada W imieniu Kanady Pelo Canadá Pentru Canada Za Kanadu Za Kanado Kanadan puolesta För Kanada

Appendix 1

List of competent authorities, which are deemed to comply with the provisions of Article 5.1 as regards Annex A

1. Competent authorities as regards design approvals — For Canada: the Canadian organisation responsible for civil aviation. — For the European Community: the European Aviation Safety Agency.

2. Competent authorities as regards production oversight — For Canada: the Canadian organisation responsible for civil aviation. — For the European Community: the European Aviation Safety Agency, the Competent Authorities of Member States.

Appendix 2

Competent Authorities of the 27 EU Member States, which are deemed to comply with the provisions of Article 5.1 as regards Annex B