Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Extending the tasks of the European Aviation Safety Agency - an agenda for 2010
Date: 2005-11-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU office or agency, air safety, approximation of laws, civil aviation, technical regulations

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 15.11.2005 
COM(2005) 578 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Extending the tasks of the European Aviation Safety Agency 
 An agenda for 2010  

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Extending the tasks of the European Aviation Safety Agency 
 An agenda for 2010  

(Text with EEA relevance) 

Introduction 

Air traffic is growing rapidly in Europe: it has more than doubled over the last 15 years. The 
establishment  of  the  internal  market  in  air  transport  has  contributed  to  a  large  extent  to 
speeding  up  this  trend.  European  airlines  have  been  able  to  adapt  to  their  new  competitive 
environment by improving what they offer and trying to establish themselves on new markets, 
either  directly  via  subsidiaries  or  indirectly  through  alliances.  At  the  same  time,  European 
low-cost airlines, starting from nothing ten or so years ago, have rapidly developed and now 
account  for  12%  of  intra-Community  traffic.  Flying  has  now  become  a  normal  means  of 
transport  for  Europeans,  and  in  the  medium  term  nothing  seems  likely  to  slow  down  the 
growth in traffic. 

And flying remains one of the safest means of transport thanks to the constant efforts of the 
aviation industry  which has always put safety at the heart of its agenda. This is particularly 
true in the Community where air safety standards remain among the highest in the world. 

The  Commission  has  always  endeavoured  to  ensure  that  the  establishment  of  the  internal 
market in air transport is flanked by the development of common safety rules to ensure high, 
uniform standards in all Member States. Considerable progress has been made in recent years, 
in particular concerning the prevention of air accidents and incidents1. The establishment of 
the  European  Aviation  Safety  Agency  (EASA)  and  the  creation  of  the  single  European  sky 
will  make  a  decisive  contribution  to  strengthening  and  harmonising  the  regulatory  and 
institutional framework for European air transport. 

However,  these  standards  can  still  be  improved,  as  has  been  shown  by  the  series  of  air 
accidents in the summer of 2005 in the Community and elsewhere. To ensure that this tragic 
period  does  not  herald  a  change  in  the  regular  trend  towards  improvements  in  air  transport 
safety, it is essential to keep up and even intensify the ongoing efforts to improve safety. In 
the Community it is high time to put an end to an anomaly: while aircraft now enjoy complete 
freedom within a unified market, safety standards continue to vary between Member States. 

1 

Council  Directive  94/56/EC  of  21  November  1994  establishing  the  fundamental  principles  governing 
the  investigation  of  civil  aviation  accidents  and  incidents  (OJ  L  319,  12.12.1994,  p. 14).  European 
Parliament and Council Directive 2003/42/EC of 13 June 2003 on occurrence reporting in civil aviation 
(OJ L 167, 4.7.2003, p. 23). European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/36/EC of 21 April 2004 
on the safety of third-country aircraft using Community airports (OJ L 143, 30.4.2004, p. 76). 

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European civil aviation safety rules are, for the most part, still drawn up by various bodies, for 
example  the  European  Civil  Aviation  Conference  (ECAC)  and  its  technical  body,  the  Joint 
Aviation  Authorities  (JAAs).  These  specialist  bodies,  which  cover  different  geographical 
areas, draw up rules which supplement those established worldwide by the International Civil 
Aviation  Organisation  (ICAO).  However,  since  they  are  produced  simply  on  the  basis  of 
intergovernmental cooperation, these rules are only applied if the States concerned wish to do 
so. As a result, there are considerable differences from one country to another and it has to be 
admitted that sometimes the highest standards are not applied. 

Six  different  successive  versions  of  the  operational  rules  applicable  to  air  transport  by 
aeroplane established by the JAAs (JAR-OPS 1) are at present being implemented by the 25 
Member States, and eight of them have amended the version that they have chosen to apply 
through  national  rules.  The  differences  are  even  more  striking  as  regards  the  rules  on  the 
licensing  of  pilots  carrying  out  commercial  transport  operations  by  aeroplane.  And  in  some 
Member States the criteria relating to licences for private leisure pilots do not even meet the 
minimum  requirements  set  by  the  ICAO.  Lastly,  the  rules  for  commercial  cockpit  crews 
remain embryonic, even though they play an essential role in guaranteeing passenger safety, 
as the happy ending to the accident in Toronto on 2 August 2005 showed. 

Air operations and pilot licensing 

The European Aviation Safety Agency was set up by Regulation (EC) No 1592/20022 which 
entered into force in September 2002.  

At the time of the adoption of this text, which gives the Community exclusive responsibility 
for the airworthiness and environmental compatibility of aeronautical products, it was clearly 
understood  that  optimum  and  uniform  safety  standards  and  the  establishment  of  fair 
competition  for  air  operators  could  only  be  achieved  by  extending  the  scope  of  the  text  to 
include air operations and flight crew licensing. The European Parliament and the Council in 
fact explicitly gave the Commission the task of submitting a proposal to this end which would 
also cover third-country aircraft and be submitted as soon as possible. The second recital of 
the Regulation specifies that “appropriate essential requirements should be developed within 
one year after the entry into force of this Regulation to cover operations of aircraft and flight 
crew licensing and application of the Regulation to third-country aircraft and, thereafter, other 
areas in the field of civil aviation safety”. Article 7 concerning air operations and flight crew 
licensing reinforces this obligation to act3. The long series of accidents in the summer of 2005 
unfortunately  demonstrated  that  it  really  is  necessary  to  continue  the  efforts  to  improve  the 
general level of air safety. 

The  Commission  is  therefore  proposing  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council,  as 
requested,  that  the  common  rules  and  hence  the  tasks  of  the  Agency  should  be  extended  to 
include air operations, pilots’ licences and, within the limits set by the Chicago Convention, 

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European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 of 15 July 2002 on common rules in 
the field of civil aviation and establishing the European Aviation Safety Agency (OJ L 240, 7.9.2002, 
p. 1). 
For the record, Directive 91/670/EEC cited below already gave the Commission the task of submitting 
measures for harmonised requirements in respect of licences and training programmes. One year later, 
Regulation  (EC)  2407/92  on  licensing  of  air  carriers  announced  a  Council  Regulation  on  the  air 
operator’s certificate. 

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the safety of third-country aircraft. As a result, from 2007 virtually all the rules drawn up at 
present by the JAA should be incorporated into Community law and implemented uniformly 
throughout  the  Community.  At  the  same  time,  effective  control  mechanisms  will  be  put  in 
place to ensure compliance with the common rules. 

That  is  the  purpose  of  the  proposal  for  a  Regulation  forwarded  to  the  European  Parliament 
and the Council together with this communication. The approach adopted by the Commission 
with a view to extending the common rules, and in particular the division of responsibilities 
between  the  Agency  and  the  competent  national  authorities,  is  set  out  in  the  explanatory 
memorandum accompanying the proposal. 

The single European sky and airport safety 

The  rules  relating  to  air  navigation  stem  mainly  from  a  separate  intergovernmental 
organisation,  Eurocontrol4,  which  brings  together  35  European  States  and  develops, 
coordinates  and  plans  pan-European  air  navigation  strategies.  At  present,  however, 
Eurocontrol does not have binding regulatory powers. That is why the European Parliament 
and the Council have delegated to the Commission, which works with the technical assistance 
of Eurocontrol, the regulatory powers needed to establish the single sky. 

With  the  establishment  of  the  single  European  sky,  the  next  step  is  to  extend  EASA’s 
operations  into  the  “other  areas”  referred  to  in  the  second  recital  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1592/2002.  These  should  be  air  navigation  and  airport  operations:  the  single  sky  and  the 
EASA will converge in order to promote better integration and simplification of the European 
regulatory  and  institutional  system.  As  far  as possible, Community rules will be established 
taking into account the need for coordination between the needs of civilian and military users 
of airspace. 

1.1. 

The shortcomings of the current regulatory framework 

1.1.1.  The single European sky, a work in progress 

Air traffic management and air navigation services are the subject of standards drawn up by 
the  ICAO  and  Eurocontrol.  These  rules,  which  sometimes  authorise  several  alternative 
solutions,  do  not  always  constitute  a  rigorous  and  binding  de  jure  or  de  facto  framework. 
Their application by the Member States gives rise to certain inconsistencies, differences and 
sometime  contradictions.  At  all  events,  they  are  not  applied  in  a  synchronised  fashion.  For 
example,  ESARR 3  adopted  by  Eurocontrol  in  July  2000  should  have  been  implemented 
before July 2003, but this was only the case in a few Member States, and is still not the case 
in 14 of them. The Commission proposed the creation of the single sky among other things to 
resolve these difficulties by means of common rules. 

To  put  in  place  the  single  sky,  the  Commission  is  working  closely  with  Eurocontrol.  The 
Eurocontrol  safety  regulatory  requirements  (ESARRs)  are  gradually  being  incorporated  into 
Community law. Full use is therefore being made of Eurocontrol’s technical expertise in order 
to establish the implementing measures. However, the single European sky does not at present 

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The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. 

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address  all  the  safety  issues  relating  to  air  traffic  management.  It  is  therefore  essential  to 
supplement the existing rules and adopt a more consistent and coordinated approach to safety. 

1.1.2.  Airport safety, an obligation to be met 

Since 27 November 2003, Annex 14 to the Chicago Convention requires airport certification. 
Similarly,  as  from  November  2005,  the  ICAO  will  make  it  mandatory  to  incorporate  safety 
management  systems  for  airport  operations.  There  are  no  common  rules  in  that  area  as  yet. 
There  is  therefore  a  great  risk  that  inconsistent  rules  will  be  introduced,  even  though  some 
countries  have  voluntarily  undertaken  harmonisation  work  in  the  context  of  an  informal 
Group of Aerodrome Safety Regulators (GASR). 

1.1.3.  New requirements 

With  the  increase  in  air  traffic,  new  needs  are  emerging.  It  is  necessary  to  manage 
infrastructure  more  flexibly  and  create  additional  capacity,  while  containing  costs.  It  is  also 
necessary  to  reduce  delays  and  the  environmental  impact  of  air  and  airport  operations. 
Increasingly  frequent  use  of  technologies  capable  of  comprehensively  managing  all  the 
in-flight and flight-related operations makes it possible to meet these challenges. It will be the 
role  of  the  SESAME  programme  to  encourage  the  synchronised  development  and 
interoperability of new generations of air traffic management systems. 

These  technological  developments  must  be  flanked  by  rigorous  requirements  concerning 
equipment interoperability and the definition of technical interfaces. Air traffic management 
efficiency  and  safety  also  depend  on  good  interaction  between  organisations,  staff  and 
equipment,  on  board  aeroplanes,  on  the  ground  and  in  airspace.  In  an  area  involving  many 
stakeholders, it is essential to ensure the consistency of these requirements and make sure that 
they are applied in a uniform and synchronised fashion. To this end, new rules and procedures 
making  it  possible  to  guarantee  a  satisfactory  level  of  interoperability  and  safety  of 
aeronautical systems should be put in place. 

Alongside this technological approach, to reduce the environmental impact of aviation it will 
undoubtedly  be  necessary  to  make  increasingly  frequent  use  of  economic  instruments  and 
incentives.  The  Commission  has  proposed,  for  example,  that  aviation  be  included  in  the 
European emissions trading system. 

1.1.4.  New providers and new professions 

With the development of new technologies, service providers operating all over the continent, 
or  even  beyond,  are  emerging.  Already,  the  grouping  of  EGNOS5  providers  and  the  future 
operator  of  Galileo6  in  the  field  of  satellite  navigation,  the  EAD7,  communication  services 
such  as  ARINC  and  SITA8  are  examples  of  this.  The  Community  rules  should  make  it 
possible to ensure that the certification of this new type of body is successfully achieved in a 
consistent and coordinated fashion. 

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EGNOS: European Geostationary Navigation and Overlay Service. 
Galileo is the European satellite navigation system. 
EAD: European Information Database. 
ARINC  and  SITA:  Aeronautical  Radio  Inc.  and  Société  Internationale  de  Télécommunications 
Aéronautiques market communication services for the aviation industry. 

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Staff  training  and  qualifications  also  play  an  essential  role  in  safety.  Pilots,  air  traffic 
controllers,  the  staff  working  on  the  design,  production  and  maintenance  of  aeronautical 
products,  parts  and  equipment  are  or  will  soon  be  the  subject  of  common  rules  on  their 
qualifications  and,  where  appropriate,  licensing.  With  technological  progress,  it  may  be 
necessary  to  standardise  better  the  tasks  performed  by  other  staff;  if  necessary,  the 
Commission will make appropriate proposals. 

1.2. 

Extending the common rules 

1.2.1.  Applying the integrated approach concept 

The  integrated  approach,  the  importance  of  which  has  been  recognised  by  the  ICAO9,  is 
intended to improve the safety and efficiency of civil aviation  by  handling in  a coordinated 
fashion  the  ground,  air  (and,  where  appropriate,  satellite)  aspects  of  air  operations  and  by 
relying on the latest technological developments which enable computer systems, whether on-
board or on the ground, to interact. Its aim is to ensure the interoperability of the systems and 
the synchronisation of their implementation. 

The  application  of  this  concept  at  Community  level  will  make  it  possible  to  remedy  the 
current shortcomings by resolving the problem of coordination between the ground-based and 
air-based aspects of air safety. A single, consistent regulatory framework is required for this 
purpose 

1.2.2.  A uniform and efficient regulatory framework 

The  Commission  will  therefore  propose  to  extend  the  common  rules  to  the  safety  of  air 
navigation  and  airport  operations.  This  proposal  is  envisaged  in  the  Work  Programme  for 
2006  and  will  respect  the  principles  for  legislation  which  are  described  in  the  Work 
Programme.  The  Agency  will  thus  be  responsible  for  drawing  up  all  the  safety  and 
interoperability rules for the European aviation system and, once they have been adopted by 
the Commission, for monitoring application, in particular through inspections in the Member 
States and investigations in firms.  

Beyond this step, this regulatory framework will be all the more coherent if it can gradually 
incorporate all the issues and areas which have an impact on the safety and interoperability of 
the  European  aviation  system  and  coordination  between  the  various  parties  involved.  The 
Commission has therefore undertaken studies which will make it possible to determine if, and 
to  what  extent,  rules  could  be  developed  concerning  the  organisation  and  management  of 
airspace, traffic flow management, airport capacity and the environmental impact of aviation 
and airport activities, together with certain economic questions. Eurocontrol and all the other 
stakeholders will be involved in the studies. 

This regulatory framework could be extended to include neighbouring third countries through 
specific  agreements  to  be  concluded  by  the  Community  with  the  States  concerned.  Air 
transport  safety  and  efficiency  would  therefore  be  reinforced  in  the  Community  and  in 
neighbouring countries. 

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See ICAO, Doc. 9524, 1988. 

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1.2.3.  The EASA's certification tasks 

In  the  context  of  the  single  sky,  responsibility  for  the  certification  of  air  navigation  service 
providers  rests  with  the  national  supervisory  authorities.  The  Member  States'  expertise  and 
their obligations with regard to the ICAO justify this approach.  

The  harmonisation  of  safety  standards  and  the  need  to  establish  fair  competition  between 
service providers make it necessary to ensure, however, that the Member States exercise this 
responsibility  uniformly.  To  guarantee  the  safety  of  air  transport  as  a  whole  in  Europe,  the 
Agency  will  be  given  the  task  of  ensuring  the  consistency  of  national  practices  and 
supervising the certification bodies. 

The same arguments concerning existing resources and international responsibility militate in 
favour  of  having  the  certification  of  airport  operations  remaining  the  responsibility  of  the 
competent national authorities,  with the EASA  guaranteeing  consistency  between  the  action 
taken by the Member States and conformity with Community law. 

In  addition,  since  the  single  sky  provides  for  the  establishment  of  multinational  functional 
blocks  of  airspace,  the  Agency  could  certify  service  providers  operating  in  these  blocks. 
Moreover, on the grounds of efficiency, it should certify pan-European air navigation service 
providers and third country providers wishing to carry out their activities in the Community, 
as could be the case with mobile and digital aeronautical communications system operators if 
their networks can cover the entire globe. 

For  the  validation  of  traffic  management  technology  systems  (operating  modes,  including 
automation,  computerisation  and  communication,  navigation  and  surveillance  systems)  and 
component conformity assessment, certified service providers and constructors should always 
be  able  to  produce  a  standardised  European  declaration.  In  this  context,  the  Agency  will 
verify compliance with the obligations laid down in the regulation on the interoperability of 
the European air traffic management network.  

Conclusions 

The  European  Aviation  Safety  Agency  now  has  responsibility  for  the  airworthiness  and 
environmental  compatibility  of  aeronautical  products.  Its  establishment  in  2002  represented 
tremendous, but insufficient progress, as stressed at the time by the European Parliament and 
the  Council.  The  long  series  of  accidents  in  the  summer  of  2005  has  demonstrated  that  it 
really is necessary to continue the efforts to increase the general level of air safety in Europe. 

To guarantee European citizens a high and uniform level of protection in civil aviation and the 
environmental compatibility of aeronautical products, facilitate the free movement of persons, 
services  and  goods,  and  improve  the  efficiency  of  the  rules,  the  entire  European  aviation 
system  should  ultimately  be  covered  by  common  rules  implemented  uniformly.  In  this 
context, the EASA, which will prepare, implement and monitor the application of these rules, 
is set to become by 2010 the European authority with extended powers covering all aspects of 
civil aviation safety. 

When  drawing  up  the  proposal  for  a  Regulation  accompanying  this  communication,  the 
Commission carried out preliminary work to ensure that air traffic management, the provision 
of  air  navigation  services  and  the  safety  of  airport  operations  are  in  turn  covered  by 

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Community rules. It has asked the Agency to undertake exploratory work on these subjects, 
starting in 2005, and has launched an impact study, the conclusions of which will provide the 
basis  for  a  proposal  for  a  Regulation  to  be  forwarded  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council  before  the  end  of  2006.  All  this  preparatory  work  will  of  course  be  carried  out  in 
conjunction  with  the  EASA  and  all  the  stakeholders.  Along  the  lines  of  the  exemplary 
cooperation  established  between  the  JAAs  and  the  EASA10,  this  cooperation  between  the 
Agency  and  its  partners,  chief  among  which  is  Eurocontrol,  will  ensure  a  harmonious  and 
gradual transition towards the new European civil aviation system. 

To  maintain  and,  if  possible,  reinforce  the  pan-European  consistency  of  the  civil  aviation 
safety rules, the EASA system will be extended to cover all European third countries through 
specific agreements concluded between the Community and the countries concerned. 

Extending  the  responsibilities  of  the  Agency,  achieving  the  single  sky  and  concluding  air 
service agreements with third countries, which will be conducted jointly, will guarantee that 
European aviation policy has a coherent framework comparable to what exists in the United 
States. 

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The smooth transition between the JAAs and the EASA has been assured, in particular, as a result of 
setting up a working party, the FUJA (Future of the JAAs), on which the Agency, the Commission and 
the  JAAs  are  represented.  This  working  party  proposes  practical  solutions  aimed  in  particular  at 
avoiding  duplication  between  the  EASA  and  the  JAAs  and  safeguarding  the  interests  of  the  ECAC 
countries which are not members of the EU. 

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