EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY DELEGATED DECISION No 47/20/COL

of 25 May 2020

authorising Norway to derogate from certain common aviation safety rules pursuant to Article 14(6) of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 [2020/1248]

THE EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY,

Having regard to the Act referred to at point 66n of Annex XIII to the EEA Agreement,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 February 2008 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Aviation Safety Agency, and repealing Council Directive 91/670/EEC, Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 and Directive 2004/36/EC (1), as amended (‘the Act’), as adapted to the EEA Agreement by Protocol 1 thereto, and by the Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 163/2011, and in particular point 3(e) of the Annex to that Decision.

Having regard in particular to Articles 14(6) and 14(7) of the Act,

Having regard to the opinion of the EFTA Transport Committee delivered on 6 May 2020 in the form of tacit approval, the initial date for the opinion having been subject to a one-month extension on an exceptional basis as a result of the coronavirus crisis,

Whereas:

Norway notified the EFTA Surveillance Authority (‘the Authority’) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (‘the Agency’) of its intention to derogate from the requirements of FCL.905.SFI of Annex I of Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 (2) by granting Synthetic Flight Instructors (‘SFI’s) the privilege to provide instructions for applicants for an SFI certificate without meeting the requirement to have at least 3 years of experience as Type Rating Instructor (TRI).

Article 14(6) of the Act states that where an equivalent level of protection to that attained by the application of the rules implementing the Regulation can be achieved by other means, Member States may, without discrimination on grounds of nationality grant an approval derogating from those implementing rules.

Pursuant to Article 14(7) of the Act, the Authority has assessed the need for, and the level of protection emerging from, the derogation requested, based on a recommendation from the Agency, issued on 29 October 2019 (Doc No 1094402) and corrected on 6 November 2019 (Doc. No 1095781). The Authority has also taken note of a similar derogation having been positively assessed by the European Commission in Commission Decision 2014/69/EU (3) and concludes that the variation will provide for a level of protection equivalent to the one attained by the application of the common aviation safety rules, provided certain conditions are met.

Pursuant to Article 1 of EEA Joint Committee Decision No 163/2011 and adaptation (a) set out in point 3 of the Annex thereto, the term ‘Member State(s)’ is to be understood to include, in addition to its meaning in the Regulation, the EFTA States.

In accordance with Article 14(7) of the Act, a derogation granted to one EFTA State shall be notified to all EFTA States, which shall also be entitled to apply that derogation. This Decision should therefore be addressed to all EFTA States. The description of each derogation, as well as the conditions attached to it, should be such as to enable other EFTA States to apply that measure when they are in the same situation, without requiring a further approval from the Authority. Nevertheless, EFTA States should notify the application of derogations, as they may have effects outside that EFTA State.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the EFTA Transport Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

1. Norway may derogate from the requirements in point FCL.905.SFI of Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, as specified in the Annex to this Decision, provided that conditions specified in point 4 of the Annex to this Decision are complied with.

2. All EFTA States shall be entitled to apply the same measure as specified in the Annex to this Decision. EFTA States shall notify the Authority, the Agency and the national aviation authorities thereof.

3. The Decision is addressed to EFTA States. It is authentic in the English language.

4. This Decision shall be notified to Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Done at Brussels, 25 May 2020. For the EFTA Surveillance Authority, acting under Delegation Decision No 103/13/COL Högni KRISTJÁNSSON Responsible College Member Carsten ZATSCHLER Countersigning as Director, Legal and Executive Affairs

(1) OJ L 79, 19.3.2008, p. 1.

(2) Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 of 3 November 2011 laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures related to civil aviation aircrew pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 311, 25.11.2011, p. 1), as adapted to the EEA Agreement by Protocol 1 thereto.

(3) Commission Decision 2014/69/EU of 6 February 2014 authorising Sweden and the United Kingdom to derogate from certain common aviation safety rules pursuant to Article 14(6) of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 39, 8.2.2014, p. 60).