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
Date: 2006-12-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Bulgaria, accession to the European Union, carrier, common transport policy, transport licence

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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) 

(2) 

(3) 

1

2 

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; 

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 
1
transport  services
  as  well  as  common  rules  in  order  to  establish  and  maintain  a  high 
2
uniform level of civil aviation safety in Europe
. Both sets of rules have a direct impact on 
the supply of air transport services between the Member States. 

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; 

OJ  L  240,  24.8.1992,  p.  1–7,
Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2407/92  of  23  July  1992  on  licensing  of  air 
carriers, Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 of 23 July 1992 on access for Community air carriers to intra-
OJ  L  240,  24.8.1992,  p.  8–14  and Council  Regulation  (EEC)  N°  2409/92 of  23  July 
Community  air  routes
1992 on fares and rates for air services, OJ L 240, 24.8.1992, p. 15 
OJ L 240, 7.9.2002, p. 1-21, Regulation (EC) N° 1592/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
15  July  2002  on  common  rules  in  the  field  of  civil  aviation  and  establishing  a  European  Aviation  Safety 
Agency,  modified  by  Regulation  (EC)  N°  1643/2003,  OJ L  245,  29.9.2003,  p. 7–9  and  Regulation  (EC)  N° 
1701/2003, OJ L 243, 27.9.2003, p. 5–5 

, 

                                                 
 
 
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(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

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;  

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;  

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;  

In  its  Communication  adopted  on  26  September  2006  on  the  state  of  preparedness  for  EU 
3
membership of Bulgaria and Romania
 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; 

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;  

In  the  light  of  the  Commission's  Communication,  EASA  was  requested  to  carry  out  the 
st
inspection  of  the  Bulgarian  CAA.  This  inspection  took  place  from  27  November  to  1
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 
st
field of aviation safety that shall enter into force in Bulgaria as of 1
 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 

Commission Communication COM(2006) 549, 26 September 2006 

 
                                                 
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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 
5
4
implementing  rules  Commission  Regulations  1702/2003
  as  of  the  date  of 
  and  2042/2003
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 

6
required to impose in accordance with Regulation (EC) N° 2111/2005
;  

4 

5 

6 

OJ L 243, 27.9.2003, p. 6–79, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1702/2003 of 24 September 2003 laying down 
implementing rules for the airworthiness and environmental certification of aircraft and related products, parts 
and  appliances,  as  well  as  for  the  certification  of  design  and  production  organisations,  modified  by 
Commission Regulation N° 381/2005, OJ L 61, 8.3.2005, p. 3–3, and Commission Regulation N° 706/2006, 
OJ L 122, 9.5.2006, p. 16–16. 
OJ  L  315, 28.11.2003,  p.  1–165
Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  2042/2003 of  20  November  2003  on  the 
continuing  airworthiness  of  aircraft  and  aeronautical  products,  parts  and  appliances,  and  on  the  approval  of 
organisations and personnel involved in these tasks, modified by Commission Regulation N° 707/2006, OJ L 
122, 9.5.2006, p. 17–18 
OJ  L  344,  27.12.2005,  p.15-22,  Regulation  (EC)  No  2111/2005  of  14  December  2005  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a Community list of air carriers subject to an operating 
ban within the Community and on informing air transport passengers of the identity of the operating air carrier, 
and repealing Article 9 of Directive 2004/36/EC.  

, 

                                                 
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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