Corrigendum to 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 ( OJ L 408, 30.12.2006 )
Date: 2007-02-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Bulgaria, accession to the European Union, carrier, common transport policy, transport licence

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Corrigendum to 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

(Official Journal of the European Union L 408 of 30 December 2006)

Regulation (EC) No 1962/2006 should read as follows:

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,

(2)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to the Treaty of Accession of Bulgaria and Roma-
nia 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)

Article 37 of the Act of Accession of Bulgaria and Roma-
nia allows the Commission to take appropriate safeguard
measures in order to address a serious breach of the func-
tioning of the internal market, or an imminent risk of such
a breach, resulting from a failure to implement commit-
ments undertaken by Bulgaria in the context of accession
negotiations with regard to any Community sectoral
policy which concerns economic activities with cross bor-
der effect; there is an imminent risk that Bulgaria’s failure
to implement its commitments to comply with regula-
tions (1) (2) will cause a serious breach of the internal mar-
ket for air transport.

(1) Council Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92 of 23 July 1992 on licensing
of air carriers (OJ L 240, 24.8.1992, p. 1), Council Regulation (EEC)
No 2408/92 of 23 July 1992 on access for Community air carriers
to intra-Community air routes (OJ L 240, 24.8.1992, p. 8) and Coun-
cil Regulation (EEC) No 2409/92 of 23 July 1992 on fares and rates
for air services (OJ L 240, 24.8.1992, p. 15).

(2) Regulation (EC) No 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
(OJ L 240, 7.9.2002, p. 1). Regulation as last amended by Commis-
sion Regulation (EC) No 1701/2003 (OJ L 243, 27.9.2003, p. 5).

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 pro-
vision of air transport services (3) as well as common rules
in order to establish and maintain a high uniform level
of civil aviation safety in Europe (4). Both sets of rules have
a direct impact on the supply of air transport services
between the Member States.

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

In the context of the accession negotiations Bulgaria com-
mitted itself to fully apply the Community rules in the
area of air transport as from the date of its accession to
the European Union.

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 Avia-
tion 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 rec-
ognition 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.

(3) Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92, Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 and

Regulation (EEC) No 2409/92.
(4) Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002.

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(7)

(8)

(9)

In its Communication adopted on 26 September 2006 on
the state of preparedness for EU membership of Bulgaria
and Romania (1), 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 imple-
ment it within a strict timetable, in close cooperation with,
and under guidance from, EASA to redress all safety short-
comings. 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 Commis-
sion, 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 sub-
ject to appropriate safeguard measures.

In the light of the Commission’s Communication, EASA
was requested to carry out the 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 avia-
tion of Bulgaria was prepared to implement the common
rules in the 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 correc-
tive actions submitted by that authority after the first visit
of EASA to address safety shortcomings established dur-
ing that visit.

rules Commission Regulations

(EC)
implementing
No 1702/2003 (2) and (EC) No 2042/2003 (3) as of the
date of 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) No 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
recognition stipulated in
benefit
Articles 8 and 57 of Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002.

from the mutual

(12)

Bulgaria’s failure to implement its commitment to ensure
compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 and its
implementing regulations by the date of entry into force
of the Treaty of Accession may lead to distortions of com-
petition between the carriers licensed by other Member
States and the carriers licensed by Bulgaria, should the lat-
ter 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 per-
formed 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)
No 2408/92.

(10)

The report of this inspection established by EASA con-
firms the shortcomings evidenced previously in the admin-
istrative capacity of the Bulgarian CAA to ensure the
necessary safety oversight in order to implement the Com-
munity requirements on certification, of airworthiness and
maintenance of aircraft and concludes that
the
Bulgarian CAA will not be in a position to ensure
compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 and its

that

(1) Commission Communication COM(2006) 549, 26 September 2006.

(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1702/2003 of 24 September 2003
laying down implementing rules for the airworthiness and environ-
mental certification of aircraft and related products, parts and appli-
ances, as well as for the certification of design and production
organisations (OJ L 243, 27.9.2003, p. 6). Regulation as last amended
by Regulation (EC) No 706/2006 (OJ L 122, 9.5.2006, p. 16).

(3) Commission Regulation (EC) No 2042/2003 of 20 November 2003
on the continuing airworthiness of aircraft and aeronautical prod-
ucts, parts and appliances and on the approval of organisations and
personnel involved in these tasks (OJ L 315, 28.11.2003, p. 1). Regu-
lation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 707/2006 (OJ L 122,
9.5.2006, p. 17).

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(14)

This measure is without prejudice to any further measures
that the Commission may be required to impose in accor-
dance with Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005 (1),

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Articles 8 and 57 of Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 shall not
apply with respect to certificates issued by the competent author-
ity of Bulgaria.

Article 2

Notwithstanding Article 2(b) of Regulation (EEC) No 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 moti-
vated 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

(1) Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005 of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 14 December 2005 on the establishment of a Com-
munity list of air carriers subject to an operating ban within the Com-
munity and on informing air transport passengers of the identity
of the operating air carrier, and repealing Article 9 of Directive
2004/36/EC (OJ L 344, 27.12.2005, p. 15).