Report from the Commission - First report on the implementation of regulation (EC) 2320/2002 on civil aviation security
Date: 2005-09-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU control, air safety, airport, approximation of laws, civil aviation, dissemination of information, report, safety standard, technical regulations

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 22.09.2005 
COM(2005) 428 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

FIRST REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATION (EC) 2320/2002 
ON CIVIL AVIATION SECURITY  

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

FIRST REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATION (EC) 2320/2002 
ON CIVIL AVIATION SECURITY  

(Text with EEA relevance) 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

This  report  meets  the  requirement  that  the  Commission  should  publish  each  year  a 
report  on  the  implementation  of  the  common  rules  in  the  field  of  civil  aviation 
security  and  on  the  situation  in  the  Community  as  far  as  aviation  security  is 
concerned, drawing conclusions on inspections conducted by the Commission. 

Regulation  (EC)  2320/2002  entered  into  force  on  19 January 2003.  The  Member 
States have had to adopt their national quality control programmes by 19 July 2003. 

The  Commission’s  inspections  started  in  February 2004  and  a  total  of  43 
Commission inspections have been conducted since (as at 30 June 2005). 

On this basis, the report notes that the level of security at the airports of the European 
Union  has  been  considerably  enhanced  through  the  implementation  of  the 
Community rules. The combined effect of the implementation of European security 
standards  and  the  various  quality  control  actions,  including  the  Commission’s 
inspections, has made it possible to harmonise and redouble the efforts made by the 
Member States since 11 September 2001. 

The  inspections  which  the  Commission  has  carried  out  at  national  administrations 
and  airports  are  a  very  efficient  tool  for  verifying  the  proper  application  of  the 
Community rules and encouraging the Member States as well as air carriers to take 
measures  in  this  regard.  The  report  points  out  that  although  the  basic  requirements 
are  properly  implemented,  there  is  still  room  for  improvement.  The  Commission 
should  continue  to  encourage  Member  States  and  air  carriers  to  take  the  necessary 
measures.  

Finally, the report stresses that the regulatory framework also requires improvement. 
Consequently, 
for  amending 
Regulation 2320/2002. 

followed  up  by  a  proposal 

report 

this 

is 

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2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Following the tragic events of 11 September 2001 an emergency meeting of the EU Transport 
Council was held on 14 September 2001. The Commission and the Transport Ministers of the 
Member  States  concluded  that  it  was  necessary,  inter  alia,  to  implement  fully  the  essential 
measures on aviation security that had been developed as recommendations by the European 
Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC)1 since 1989. On the basis of this policy conclusion, on 10 
October 2001 the Commission adopted a legislative proposal for a framework Regulation of 
the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  establishing  common  rules  in  the  field  of  civil 
aviation security2. This proposal was finally adopted on 16 December 2002 by the co-decision 
procedure3. It came into force on 19 January 2003.  

Article  11  of  the  Regulation  states  that  Subject  to  Regulation  (EC)  No 1049/20014  the 
Commission shall publish each year a report on the implementation of this Regulation and on 
the situation in the Community as far as aviation security is concerned, drawing conclusions 
from the inspection reports. 

Given that Commission inspections in the field of civil aviation security commenced early in 
2004  this  is,  therefore,  the  report  of  the  first  year  of  implementation  of  all  elements  of 
Regulation (EC) 2320/2002.  

2. 

THE NEW REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR CIVIL AVIATION SECURITY 

2.1. 

The contents of Regulation 2320/2002 

The security standards are becoming compulsory and the specific tasks of the Member States 
and the Commission are defined.  

2.1.1.  Obligatory provisions 

As the first piece of Community legislation in the field of civil aviation security Regulation 
(EC) 2320/2002 simultaneously sought to address several different issues.  

The Regulation first of all specifies the main provisions and common standards governing the 
Community  approach  to  civil  aviation  security.  There  is  especially  a  detailed  annex  laying 
down the technical aviation security requirements to be covered by Community rules. These 
provisions became applicable on 19 January 2003. 

The  legislation  applies  in  full  to  all  but  the  smallest  of  the  about  700  civil  aviation  airports 
within  the  enlarged  European  Community.  Small  airports  do  not  have  a  blanket  exemption 
from applying aviation security procedures. Rather, each Member State may adopt levels of 

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The European Civil Aviation Conference comprises of 41 European States (including all EU Member 
States and Accession States) and sets voluntary standards, including security standards, in aviation. 
COM (2001) 575 of 10.10.2001 
(EC) No 2320/2002 of the European Parliament and the Council establishing common rules in the field 
of civil aviation security. OJ L355, 30.12.2002, p.1. 
Regulation 1049/2001 pertains to the public access to documents and permits restrictions on the access 
to sensitive information. Certain information on aviation security is, clearly, sensitive. 

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security  that  are  different  from  those  laid  down  in  Community  legislation,  but  only  on  the 
basis of local risk assessments. 

Whilst  Community  legislation  lays  down  common  basic  standards,  it  also  allows  Member 
States  (or  individual  airports)  to  set  higher  standards.  Given  the  variable  level  of  risk  from 
terrorist  attack,  specific  airports  or  airlines  must  always  have  the  possibility  to  increase 
security  whenever  objective  risk  assessments  suggest  such  action  is  necessary,  either  on  a 
temporary or permanent basis. 

Moreover  Regulation  2320/2002  created  a  Committee  (using  the  standard  comitology  rules 
laid down in Council Decision 1999/468/EEC5) enabling the swift development of additional, 
more detailed harmonised technical requirements in the field of civil aviation security, as and 
when needs arise. 

2.1.2.  Responsibilities of the Member States and the Commission 

EC  legislation  on  civil  aviation  security  is  above  all  addressed  to  the  Member  States.  The 
Framework  Regulation  obliges  each  of  them  to  have  a  National  Civil  Aviation  Security 
Programme in order to ensure the application of the common standards laid down in the annex 
to the Regulation. Each Member State has also to ensure the development and implementation 
of  a  national  civil  aviation  security  quality  control  programme  so  as  to  ensure  the 
effectiveness of its national civil aviation security programme. This is a key requirement for 
effective control of correct application of Regulation 2320/2002.  

The Regulation authorises the Commission to monitor the Member States’ application of the 
Regulation  and,  in  particular,  to  conduct  inspections6  of  national  administrations  and  of  a 
suitable  sample  of  airports  to  ensure  that  Community  rules  on  aviation  security  are  being 
complied with.  

2.1.3.  Community  Legislative  work  undertaken  to  June  2005  on  the  implementation  of 

Regulation 2320/2002  

A total of seven Commission Regulations have been adopted to date, in order to complement 
Regulation 2320/2002.  

Commission Regulation (EC) No 622/2003 laying down measures for the implementation of 
the common basic standards on aviation security7 came into force on 19 April 2003. This 
Regulation  adds  more  detailed  aviation  security  requirements  in  order  to  complement  the 
general requirements laid down in the framework Regulation. 

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7 

OJ L184 of 17.1.1999, p.23 
Historically, a rather precise vocabulary defining controls has developed in the field of aviation security 
and the terms ‘inspection’, ‘audit’, ‘control’ and ‘test’ have very specific meaning. Since this report is 
for general readership that may not be familiar with this technical vocabulary and the nuances behind 
these  specific  words  the  term  ‘inspection’  shall  be  used  throughout  to  refer  to  all  types  of  controls 
undertaken by appropriate authorities.  
OJ L89 of 5.4.2003, p.9 

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Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1217/2003  laying  down  common  specifications  for 
national  civil  aviation  security  quality  control  programmes8  came  into  force  on  28  July 
2003.  

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1486/2003  laying  down  procedures  for  conducting 
Commission  inspections  in  the  field  of  civil  aviation  security9  came  into  force  on  12 
September 2003.  

Commission Regulation (EC) 68/200410, which came into force on 5 February 2004, was the 
first  amendment  to  Regulation  622/2003  and  adds  more  detailed  aviation  security 
requirements  complementing  the  general  requirements  laid  down  in  the  framework 
Regulation, specifically as regards prohibited items. 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1138/2004 establishing a common definition of critical parts 
of  security  restricted  areas  at  airports11  came  into  force  on  1  July  2004.  This  regulation 
requires  that  within  five  years,  and  in  three  phases,  all  airport  staff  that  come  into  contact 
with screened passengers and screened baggage shall themselves have been screened. The 
first  phase,  for  staff  in  airport  terminal  buildings,  became  effective  immediately  upon 
adoption  of  the  Regulation.  The  five  year  timescale,  which  may  seem  generous,  reflects  an 
obligation laid down in Regulation 2320/2002. 

Commission Regulation (EC) 781/200512, was the second amendment to Regulation 622/2003 
and  adds  more  detailed  aviation  security  requirements  complementing 
the  general 
requirements  laid  down  in  the  framework  Regulation,  specifically  as  regards  performance 
standards for x-ray machines used for security purposes at EU airports. It comes into force 
on  1  July  2006.  It  is  the  intention  of  the  Commission  to  include  in  Regulation  622/2003 
performance  standards  for  all  major  types  of  security  equipment  used  at  EU  airports.  Such 
performance standards will ensure a baseline standard for such equipment in use throughout 
the EU and will also enable EU inspectors to have an objective means by which to measure 
whether or not airport security equipment is performing adequately.  

Commission Regulation (EC) 857/200513, was the third amendment to Regulation 622/2003 
and adds more detailed aviation security requirements regarding the searching of passengers 
by hand.  

In  the  case  of  Regulations  781/2005  and  857/2005  it  should  be  noted  that  they  stemmed  in 
part from the results of Commission inspections of EU airports, where Commission inspectors 
had highlighted deficiencies or weaknesses in the existing legislation. In this regard feedback 
from Commission inspectors and analysis of inspection results by the Commission will be a 
major  tool  to  ensure  that  the  EU  legislation  on  aviation  security  is  meaningful,  whilst  the 
comitology  process  is  the  correct  forum  to  enable  such  technical  (and  security  sensitive) 
amendments to be debated in detail and adopted swiftly. 

8 
9 
10 
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13 

OJ L169 of 8.7.2003, p.44 
OJ L213 of 23.8.2003, p.3 
O.J. L10 of 16.1.2004, p.14. 
OJ L221 of 22.6.2004, p.6 
OJ L131 of 25.5.2005, p.24 
OJ L143 of 7.6.2005, p.9  

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In  addition,  one  important  non-legislative  initiative  concluded  in  2004  was  a  Commission-
funded  study  on  the  financing  of  aviation  security  measures.  This  has  been  placed  in  the 
public  domain  via 
found  at 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/air/safety/studies_en.htm. 
the  Commission's 
intention  to  incorporate  the  results  of  the  factual  study  as  part  of  a  broader  Communication 
highlighting 
transport  modes.  This 
Communication is scheduled for publication in the second half of 2005. 

issue  of  financing  of  security  across  all 

the  Commission  and  can  be 

the  website  of 

the 

is 

It 

3. 

LESSONS TO BE LEARNT FROM THE COMMISSION’S INSPECTIONS IN 2004/2005 

3.1. 

The inspections 

Under  the  Commission’s  inspection  programme,  43  inspections  were  conducted  between 
February 2004 and June 2005 (see Annex 1), of which 27 in 2004 and 16 during the first six 
months  of  2005.  On  30 June 2005,  23  Member  States  had  already  been  inspected  by  the 
Commission  at  least  once.  All  the  Member  States  of  the  EU 15  had  been  inspected  at  least 
once  in  2004.  Since  December 2004  the  inspections  have  been  extended  to  the  10 new 
Member States.  

3.1.1. 

Inspection of national authorities 

The purpose of inspections of national authorities responsible for civil aviation security is to 
verify  that  each  Member  State  applies,  or  ensures  the  application  of,  all  its  Community 
obligations laid down in the national quality control programme14, the national civil aviation 
security  programme15,  the  airport  and  air  carrier  security  programmes16  and  the  national 
training programme17. Particular attention has also been given to the control activities carried 
out by the Member States themselves at airports within their territory. 

By  the  end  of  June 2005,  14  national  authorities  had  been  inspected.  The  main  conclusions 
from these inspections are as follows: 

–  National  civil  aviation  security  programmes  have  been  formally  adopted  by  the  Member 
States  and  their  contents  are  on  the  whole  consistent  with  the  Community  requirements. 
However, a number of Member States have been asked to ensure full compliance with the 
Community requirements.  

–  National quality control programmes have been adopted in almost all the Member States. 
However,  inspections  in  two  Member  States  have  had  to  be  postponed  because  they  had 
not  yet  adopted  a  quality  control  programme  and  infringement  proceedings  have  been 
instituted against these Member States. The contents of these programmes are in general in 
accordance  with  the  Community  requirements  and  are  well  on  the  way  to  being  fully 
compliant.  For  instance,  appropriate  implementation  powers  have  in  all  cases  been 
entrusted  to  the  competent  authority  and  only  in  one  country  have  these  powers  been 
judged to be insufficiently established.  

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16 
17 

Articles 5(2) and 7(1) of Regulation 2320/2002 and Regulation 1217/2003 
Article 5(1) of Regulation 2320/2002 
Article 5(4) of Regulation 2320/2002 
Article 5(5) of Regulation 2320/2002 

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–  Validation of the airport security programmes is undertaken in a satisfactory manner.  

–  Validation  of  air  carrier  security  programmes  is  being  given  priority  for  those  whose 

licence comes under the State inspected.  

–  Overall, the development and implementation of national security training programmes are 

satisfactory even though adaptations are necessary on some details.  

–  The  screening  of  transit  passengers  from  third  countries  and  their  luggage  should  be 

improved in some Member States. 

–  The requirements for common methods for national checks (unannounced or not, type of 
checks,  classification  of  results)  are  relatively  well  implemented  in  most  Member  States. 
However,  in  the  absence  of  adequate  harmonisation,  it  is  still  impossible  to  make  any 
European  comparison  of  the  results  of  national  checking  activities.  Accordingly,  the 
question of strengthening these requirements should be examined.  

–  The number and type of inspections conducted by the national competent authorities varies 
substantially from one Member State to another. Some national authorities do not make use 
of the powers they have to carry out tests or simulations of unlawful acts designed to assess 
the efficacy of the existing measures. In most cases, checks are not sufficiently regular to 
be fully effective.  

–  In  more  than  half  of  the  Member  State  inspected,  the  number  of  national  inspectors 
(full-time or part-time) has been judged insufficient to properly execute the tasks entrusted 
to the competent national authority. 

–  The performance of the rectification process, i.e. the speed with which any shortcomings 
recorded are rectified, varies between the Member States. Fines are sometime imposed by 
some Member States, which acts as a strong incentive.  

3.1.2. 

Inspections of a suitable sample of airports 

A  total  of  29  airport  inspections  were  carried  out  in  the  22 Member  States  between 
February 2004  and  June 200518.  The  sample  was  chosen  on  a  random  and  objective  basis 
(airport  size  and  structure,  level  of  traffic,  number  of  airlines  present  on  the  platform, 
geographic balance). The sample included the following:  

–  11  inspections  of  airports  handling  more  than  10 million  passengers  a  year,  including 

several of Europe’s largest airports;  

–  13 inspections of airports with between 1 and 10 million passengers, including 2 airports 

with very strongly seasonal traffic in southern Europe; 

–  1 inspection of an airport with less than 1 million passengers; 

–  1 inspection of a small regional airport;  

–  3 inspections of airports mainly handling freight, from among the 10 largest ones. 

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of which three follow-up inspections 

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Given  of  the  obligatory  standards  constraining  the  air  carriers,  the  security  level  in  the 
European Union is quite high on the whole, although it is not uniform. The essential common 
requirements are in general properly complied with, for instance the need to screen 100% of 
passengers and their hand and hold baggage. This is significant progress compared with the 
situation  prior  to  the  entry  into  force  of  Regulation  2320/2002.  However,  it  has  become 
apparent in the inspections that improvements are still necessary and that there are still non-
conformities with particular requirements of the Regulation.  

Some  non-conformities  have  been  found  repeatedly  at  several  airports.  For  example  the 
screening  of  staff  showed  noticeable  variations  in  the  extent  of  such  controls.  Significant 
harmonisation and improvement of security standards in this area can be expected upon entry 
into force on 1 January 2006 of the second phase foreseen in Regulation 1138/2004 requiring 
the  screening  of  all  staff  entering  any  area  to  which  screened  passengers  have  access.  In 
addition, a lack of harmonisation in certain technical requirements for security equipment has 
been  identified  as  a  consequence  of  tests  carried  out  during  inspections.  Implementing 
legislation to improve this situation is underway and the first Regulation ensuring harmonised 
standards  for  x-ray  equipment  has  already  been  adopted  on  24  May  200519.  Finally,  certain 
non-conformities  in  the  areas  of  access  control  to  security  restricted  areas  have  been 
identified. Rapid rectification processes have been launched to address this problem.  

Similarly,  the  performance  of  the  air  carriers  is  not  always  homogenous,  with  some 
complying  better  with  the  requirements  than  others.  Verification  and  protection  of  aircraft 
should in particular be improved.  

Non-conforming practices have also been observed with regard to freight, where there seems 
to be a strong need for a more harmonised common approach.  

Finally,  particular  provisions  of  the  regulations  are  sometimes  considered  insufficiently 
unclear by the air carriers concerned.  

Internal  quality  control  mechanisms  among  all  air transport  operators  –  in  particular  airport 
authorities,  air  carriers  and  freight  managers  –  would  enable  them  to  measure  their  own 
performance with regard to security and their conformity with the European standards.  

After the Commission has made them more aware of the situation, the Member States should 
therefore  pay  particular  attention  to  ensuring  that  these  is  non-conformities  do  not  or  no 
longer occur. Otherwise the Commission will make use of its right to take action pursuant to 
the Treaty.  

3.2. 

Rectification process 

The  rectification  of  non-conformities  in  relation  to  Community  rules  is  of  course  the 
Commission’s  immediate  objective.  The  Commission  has  been  pleased  that  the  Member 
States gave a favourable reception to its inspection reports, which have given rise to very little 
contestation.  

It  is  too  early  at  this  juncture  to  assess  the  performance  of  the  process  of  rectifying 
non-conformities discerned during inspections. However, it would seem that the rate at which 
corrections have been made in the field has been speeded up significantly during the reference 

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Regulation (EC) No 781/2005  

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period,  confirming  the  view  that  the  establishment  of  a  Community  inspection  scheme  for 
civil aviation security is particularly useful.  

4. 

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS  

The inspection process and the development of implementing legislation by comitology have 
permitted  that  policy  and  practice  in  the  field  of  civil  aviation  security  are  aligned.  This 
approach  has  ensured  that  the  security  level  has  been  substantially  raised  and  that  it  is  now 
desirable that Regulation 2320/2002 be revised. 

4.1. 

The security level has been enhanced 

Inspections have been particularly valuable in allowing the implementation of the legislation 
to be examined objectively. In this regard it can be concluded that, in general, the sum total of 
Regulation  2320/2002  and  its  associated  implementing  legislation  is  helping  to  ensure  a 
satisfactory level of security throughout the EU. In the absence of data on the actual level of 
security before the Community legislation entered into force, it is certainly difficult to assess 
the  scope  of  progress  made  in  each  of  the  Member  States  and  at  the  airports  inspected. 
Despite  a  number  of  areas  of  non-conformity  repeatedly  detected  during  inspections  of 
Community  airports  it  can  be  concluded  that  the  introduction  of  binding  Community 
legislation in the field of aviation security has contributed to a significant improvement of the 
protection of European citizens from acts of unlawful interference against civil aviation. 

The existing legal system including the powers to ensure proper enforcement rules as well as 
legal requirements more demanding than the obligations and recommendations laid down in 
Annex 17 to the Convention of International Civil Aviation allows for the conclusion that the 
quality of aviation security in the EU is standard-setting in a global context.  

The Commission intends to continue exercising its new competence in the field of inspection. 
Particular attention should be given to the performance of the national authorities in regularly 
monitoring  airports  and  air  carriers  and  quickly  rectifying  any  deficiencies  recorded  during 
national audits. The sample of airports inspected should also be enlarged. All Member States 
should  be  inspected  with  appropriate  frequency,  giving  some  priority  to  those  with  a 
wide-ranging  provision  of  air  transport  services,  those  where  a  security  policy  has  only 
recently been introduced and those where deficiencies have been encountered.  

4.2. 

The need to develop Reg. 2320/2002  

Overall  there  is  still  some  room  for  improving  the  protection  of  European  citizens  further 
without compromising the operators’ legitimate interests in facilitation of security procedures 
at  European  airports  by  means  of  developing  the  framework  Regulation  (EC)  2320/2002  as 
well as a number of implementing rules. These improvements should in particular contribute 
to a higher performance of the system as a whole.  

These  improvements,  which  have  been  highlighted  as  part  of  the  Commission's  inspection 
activity, should be addressed by means of a revision of Regulation 2320/2002.  

This  revision  is  necessary  to  meet  various  needs  connected  with  the  simplification  of 
procedures  for  adapting  existing  specifications,  technical  harmonisation,  clarification  of 
particular provisions, improvement of the level of security, and determination of mechanisms 
for cooperation with third countries. 

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Annex 1 Overview of Commission inspections per Member State  
(situation on 30 June 2005) 

MS 

Number of inspections 

Belgium 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Germany 

Estonia 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Ireland 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Luxemburg 

Hungary 

Malta 

The Netherlands 

Austria 

Poland 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

Sweden 

United Kingdom 

2 

1 

2 

3 

- 

3 

3 

3 

2 

2 

1 

1 

1 

2 

1 

1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

1 

- 

2 

2 

2 

TOTAL : 

43 

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