REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and amending Regulations (EC) No 2111/2005, (EC) No 1008/2008, (EU) No 996/2010, (EU) No 376/2014 and Directives 2014/30/EU and 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 552/2004 and (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91
Date: 2022-09-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: European Aviation Safety Agency, European Commission, air safety, air transport, crew, delegated legislation, environmental protection, operation of the Institutions, transfer of competence

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 28.9.2022  COM(2022) 486 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and amending Regulations (EC) No 2111/2005, (EC) No 1008/2008, (EU) No 996/2010, (EU) No 376/2014 and Directives 2014/30/EU and 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 552/2004 and (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91   
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission 
pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 4 July 2018 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European 
Union Aviation Safety Agency, and amending Regulations (EC) No 2111/2005, (EC) No 
1008/2008, (EU) No 996/2010, (EU) No 376/2014 and Directives 2014/30/EU and 
2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulations 
(EC) No 552/2004 and (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
and Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91 

1.  

INTRODUCTION 

Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules 
in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and 
amending Regulations (EC) No 2111/2005, (EC) No 1008/2008, (EU) No 996/2010, (EU) No 
376/2014 and Directives 2014/30/EU and 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the 
Council, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 552/2004 and (EC) No 216/2008 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/911 sets out the legal 
basis  for  the  creation  of  EASA,  defines  EASA’s  competences  and  establishes  the  scope  of 
common aviation safety requirements. The regulation covers the elements aimed at improving 
the performance of the European Union aviation system.  

Article 128(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 confers on the European Commission the power 
to  adopt  delegated  acts  which  detail  how  to  comply  with  the  essential  requirements  of  said 
Regulation.  

In accordance with Article 128(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, the European Commission is 
authorised to adopt delegated acts referred to in: 

  Article 19: airworthiness and environmental protection 
  Article 28: aircrew 
  Article 32: air operations 
  Article 39: aerodromes 
  Article 47: ATM/ANS 
  Article 54: air traffic controllers 
  Article 58: unmanned aircraft 
  Article 61: aircraft used by a third-country operator into, within or out of the Union 
  Article 62(13): certification, oversight and enforcement 
  Article 68(3): acceptance of third-country certification 
  Article 84(4): fines and periodic penalty payments 
  Article 105: powers of the Board of Appeal  

1 OJ L 212, 22.08.2018, p. 1 

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  Article 106: members of the Board of Appeal. 

2.  

LEGAL BASIS FOR THE REPORT 

This report is required under Article 128(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.  

According to this Article, the Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of 
power  not  later  than  nine  months  before  the  end  of  the  five-year  period,  thus  before  11 
December 2022. 

3. 

EXERCISE OF THE DELEGATION 

3.1.  Use of the delegation of power by the European Commission 

The European Commission used the delegation of power in the following areas: 

  2019 

a)  Unmanned aircraft systems; and 
b)  Environmental protection 

  2020 

a)  Initial airworthiness; 
b)  Third-country certification of pilots; 
c)  Unmanned aircraft systems; 
d)  Apron management services; 
e)  Common European risk classification scheme; and 
f)  Runway safety and aeronautical data 

  2021 

a)  Initial airworthiness 
b)  References to ICAO provisions in Regulation (EU) 2018/1139; 

  2022 

a)  Initial airworthiness; 
b)  All-weather operations 

At  the  date  of  drafting  this  report,  13  Delegated  Regulations  have  been  adopted  by  the 
Commission since the entering into force of Article 128(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 on 
11.09.2018. 

3.2.  Adopted Delegated Regulations 

a)  The Commission adopted on 12 March 2019 the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/9452. 
This  Regulation  contains  the  technical  requirements  for  the  UAS  classes  and  e-
identification of unmanned aircraft systems and on third-country operators of unmanned 

2 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 of 12 March 2019 on unmanned aircraft systems and on 
third-country operators of unmanned aircraft systems (OJ L 152, 11.6.2019, p.1). 

3 

 
 
 
                                                 
aircraft systems. Specifically, this Regulation defines the new EU market harmonisation 
legislation that UAS operated in the ‘open’ category will have to comply with and the 
conditions for UAS operations conducted by a third-country operator. Compliance is 
shown by affixing the CE marking and the UAS class to the UAS when it meets the 
essential  technical  requirements.  This  Regulation  should  contribute  to  addressing 
citizens’  concerns  regarding  security,  privacy,  data  protection,  and  environmental 
protection. It is expected to increase the level of safety of UAS operations, to harmonise 
legislation among the EU MSs, and to create an EU market that will reduce the cost of 
UAS and allow cross-border operations. 

b)  The Commission adopted on 12 March 2019 the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/8973. 
This Regulation concerns the inclusion of risk-based compliance verification in Annex 
I of Regulation (EU) No 748/20124 (Part-21) to improve the effectiveness, transparency 
and  predictability  of  the  certification  process.  It  includes  certain  selection  criteria  to 
allow determining which compliance demonstrations should be verified by EASA.  In 
addition, this Regulation provides the possibility for production organisations to apply 
to  their  competent  authority  for  exemptions  from  the  environmental  protection 
requirements for specific engines or aircraft. This possibility of exemptions is based on 
the  environmental  protection  requirements  contained  in  Annex  16  of  the  Chicago 
Convention. This Regulation also corrects certain inconsistencies of Regulation (EU) 
No  748/2012  with  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1139  as  regards  the  content  of  the  type-
certification basis and the notification process. 

c)  The  Commission  adopted  on  28  January  2020  the  Delegated  Regulation  (EU) 
2020/5705. This Regulation concerns the amendment and correction of Regulation (EU) 
No 748/2012 (Part-21) for the alignment of rules for continuing airworthiness of aircraft 
and aeronautical products, parts and appliances with Regulation (EU) No 1321/20146. 
More specifically, since the provisions relating to certificates of airworthiness, repair 
design approvals and permits to fly, laid down in Annex I (Part 21) to Regulation (EU) 
No 748/2012, only refer to Annex I (Part-M) to Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014, that 

3 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/897 of 12 March 2019 amending Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 
as regards the inclusion of risk-based compliance verification in Annex I and the implementation of requirements 
for environmental protection (OJ L 146, 5.6.2019, p.116). 
4 Commission Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 of 3 August 2012 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 (OJ L 224, 21.8.2012, p. 1).  
5 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/570 of 28 January 2020 amending and correcting Regulation 
(EU) No 748/2012 as regards the alignment of rules for continuing airworthiness of aircraft and aeronautical 
products, parts and appliances with Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 (OJ L 132, 27.04.2020, p.1). 
6 Commission Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 of 26 November 2014 on the continuing airworthiness of aircraft 
and aeronautical products, parts and appliances, and on the approval of organisations and personnel involved in 
these tasks (OJ L 362, 17.12.2014, p. 1). 

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Annex I (Part-21) to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 is amended to adapt its provisions 
to the new structure of the Annexes to Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014. 

d)  The Commission adopted on 4 March 20207 the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/723. 
This  Regulation  concerns  the  acceptance  of  certificates  and  other  documentation 
attesting compliance with civil aviation rules issued in accordance with the laws of a 
third  country,  whilst  ensuring  an  equivalent  level  of  safety  to  that  provided  for  in 
Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, including the conditions and procedures for achieving and 
maintaining  the  necessary  confidence  in  regulatory  systems  of  third  countries. 
According  to  Regulation  (EU)  No  1178/20118  which  lists  the  conditions  for  the 
acceptance of licences from third countries, a pilot licence issued by a third country may 
currently be accepted (under certain conditions) by Member States or the holder of such 
a  third  country  licence  can  obtain  credit  when  applying  for  a  licence.  Such  credit  is 
currently  determined  based  on  a  recommendation  from  an  approved  training 
organisation.  This  regulation  introduces  the  ‘declared  training  organisations’  and 
updates the rules concerning the acceptance of licences from third countries in order to 
permit such organisations to give credit to holders of third country licences who apply 
for a licence issued under the Union legal framework.  

e)  The Commission adopted on 27 April 2020 the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/10589. 
This Regulation introduces two standard scenarios (STSs) in Appendix 1 to the Annex 
to Regulation (EU) 2019/947, defining the conditions when UAS operators can start an 
operation after having submitted a declaration to the competent authority. Moreover, it 
introduces  two  new  Parts  in  the  Annex  to  Regulation  (EU)  2019/945,  including  the 
technical requirements that UAS need to meet in order to be operated in the STSs, and 
establishing two new UAS classes — classes C5 and C6. The conditions to conduct the 
STSs are based on the in-service experience of some Member States and they have been 
validated through the application of the specific operations risk assessment (SORA). 

f)  The Commission adopted on 9 June 2020 the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/123410. 
This Regulation establishes authority requirements for the certification and oversight of 
providers  of  apron  management  services,  their  organisation  requirements,  operations 
requirements for the apron, as well as training requirements for personnel involved in 
the  provision  of  apron  management  services.  This  Regulation  aims  to  complete  the 

7 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/723 of 4 March 2020 laying down detailed rules with regard to 
the acceptance of third-country certification of pilots and amending Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 (OJ L 170, 
2.6.2020, p.1). 
8  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). 
9  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2020/1058  of  27  April  2020  amending  Delegated  Regulation  (EU) 
2019/945 as regards the introduction of two new unmanned aircraft systems classes (OJ L 232, 20.7.2020, p.1). 
10 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1234 of 9 June 2020 amending Regulation (EU) No 139/2014 as 
regards the conditions and procedures for the declaration by organisations responsible for the provision of apron 
management services (OJ L 282, 31.08.2020, p.1). 

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requirements  for aerodrome operations by integrating apron operations, and to  allow 
apron management service providers to offer their services at different aerodromes and 
in different Member States without the need for multiple certificates.  

g)  The  Commission  adopted  on  6  October  2020  the  Delegated  Regulation  (EU) 
2020/203411.  This  Regulation  establishes  the  common  European  risk  classification 
scheme  (ERCS)  for  the  determination  of  the  safety  risk  of  an  occurrence.  The 
Regulation foresees two steps, one (step 1) related to the determination of the values of 
the two variables: severity and probability and the other (step 2) on the scoring of the 
safety risk within the ERCS matrix based on the two determined values of variables. 
Through  this  Regulation,  the  ERCS  is  expected  to  facilitate  an  integrated  and 
harmonised  approach  to  risk  management  across  the  European  aviation  system  and 
therefore enable the competent authorities of Member States and the Agency to focus 
on safety improvement efforts in a harmonised manner as part of the European Plan for 
Aviation Safety referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council. 

h)  The Commission adopted 8 October 2020 the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/214812. 
This Regulation is expected to mitigate the safety risks associated with runway safety, 
from  an  aerodrome’s  perspective,  focusing  mainly  on  the  prevention  of  runway 
incursions  and  on  runway  surface  condition  assessment  and  reporting.  It  addresses 
issues  such  as  ground  collisions,  runway  configuration,  foreign  object  debris  related 
occurrences as well as runway pavements maintenance. This regulation introduces new 
organisation  and operational  requirements of Regulation  (EU) No 139/201413, which 
are based on ICAO provisions contained mainly in Annexes 14 and 15 as well as safety 
recommendations  addressed  to  EASA  by  certain  Member  States.  Furthermore,  this 
Regulation  proposes  amendments  to  the  framework  for  the  operation  of  vehicles  at 
aerodromes,  including  the  authorisation  of  drivers  and  the  conformance  of  vehicles 
operating on the manoeuvring area with certain safety prerequisites, in order to ensure 
runway  safety.  Linked  to  this  is  also  the  proposal  for  a  new  requirement  on 
communications, as well as a proposal for the control of pedestrians at the aerodrome. 
In  addition,  this  Regulation  includes  all  the  necessary  requirements  to  support  the 
application of the new Global Reporting Format (GRF) of runway surface conditions, 
including changes to the contents of METAR and SNOWTAM forms and of the special 

11  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2020/2034  of  6  October  2020  supplementing  Regulation  (EU)  No 
376/2014  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  as  regards  the  common  European  risk  classification 
scheme (OJ L 416, 11.12.2020, p.1). 
12 Commission delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/2148 of 8 October 2020 amending Regulation (EU) No 139/2014 
as regards runway safety and aeronautical data (OJ L 428, 18.12.2020, p.10). 
13 Commission Regulation (EU) No 139/2014 of 12 February 2014 laying down requirements and administrative 
procedures related to aerodromes pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council (OJ L 44, 14.2.2014, p. 1).  

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air-report.  The  Regulation  is  expected  to  improve  safety  by  reducing  the  number  of 
runway-safety-related  occurrences  from  an  aerodrome’s  perspective,  and  improve 
harmonisation as a result of the introduction of new common requirements that do not 
currently  exist.  It  ensures  the  alignment  of  the  current  EU  aerodrome  regulatory 
framework with the relevant aerodrome-related ICAO provisions of Annexes 14 and 15, 
PANS-ATM and PANS-Aerodromes. 

i)  The  Commission  adopted  on  21  December  2020  the  Delegated  Regulation  (EU) 
2021/69914. This Regulation addresses safety risks related to ageing phenomena in the 
structures  of  large  aeroplanes.  These  risks  include  fatigue  of  the  basic  type  design, 
widespread  fatigue  damage  (WFD),  corrosion,  fatigue  of  changes  and  repairs,  and 
continued operation with unsafe levels of fatigue cracking. This Regulation is expected 
to  ensure  that  Design  Approval  Holders  (DAHs),  or  applicants  for  Type  Certificates 
(TCs), Supplemental Type Certificates  (STCs),  design  changes and  repair approvals, 
will produce the necessary data, procedures, instructions and manuals related to ageing 
structure failures due to corrosion and fatigue and make them available to those who 
need to comply with them (operators). This Regulation is also expected to mitigate the 
risks  linked  to  the  uncertainty  of  the  status  of  the  instructions  for  continued 
airworthiness (ICA) and, therefore, to avoid leaving room for interpretation in the rules, 
leading to differences in the use of ICA and causing possible safety risks. To achieve 
this,  this  Regulation  clarifies  that  the  ICA  are  part  of  the  type  certificate  (TC)  and 
merges  the  requirements  related  to  record  keeping,  manuals  and  ICA  in  the  various 
subparts  into  a  single  requirement  (in  Subpart  A).  This  Regulation  is  expected  to 
improve the harmonisation of the ICA among the DAHs in relation to the identification, 
approval, formatting and availability of the ICA to the end users and to ensure that these 
safety risks are mitigated for both the existing and future fleets of large aeroplanes. 

j)  The Commission adopted on 7 April 2021 the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/108715 
and the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/108816. These two Regulations align the EU 
regulatory framework with the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) 
contained  in  Annex  16  to  the  Chicago  Convention.  In  February  2019  the  ICAO 
Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) proposed improvements and 
updates to the existing noise, aircraft engine emissions, and aeroplane CO2 emissions 
SARPs, including new non-volatile particulate matter emissions regulatory levels for 

14 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/699 of 21 December 2020 amending and correcting Regulation 
(EU) No 748/2012 as regards the instructions for continued airworthiness, the production of parts to be used 
during maintenance and the consideration of ageing aircraft aspects during certification, OJ L 145, 28.4.2021, 
p.1 
15 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1087 of 7 April 2021 amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of 
the European Parliament and of the Council, as regards updating the references to the provisions of the Chicago 
Convention, OJ L 236, 5.7.2021, p. 1 
16 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1088 of 7 April 2021 amending Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 
as regards updating the references to the environmental protection requirements, OJ L 236, 5.7.2021, p. 3 

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aircraft engines. The ICAO Council adopted the final amendments on 11 March 202017. 
Thus, these Regulations amend Article 9 ‘Essential requirements’ of Regulation (EU) 
2018/1139,  Article 9 ‘Production organisations’  of Commission Regulation  (EU) No 
748/2012 and its Annex I (Part 21). These Regulations are expected to ensure a high 
uniform level of environmental protection and to provide a level playing field for all 
actors in the aviation sector. 

k)  The  Commission  adopted  on  10  December  2021  the  Delegated  Regulation  (EU) 
2022/20118. This Regulation establishes a safety management system (SMS) framework 
for design and production (Part 21) as well as  maintenance organisations (Part-145), 
which are the remaining  two domains for which  ICAO Annex 19 has not  been fully 
transposed  yet  into  the  EU  regulatory  framework.  In  addition,  Annex  II  ‘Essential 
requirements  for  airworthiness’  to  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1139  explicitly  calls  for 
design,  production  and  maintenance  organisations  to  implement  and  maintain  a 
management system (MS), including the management of safety risks, and aim for its 
continuous  improvement,  supported  by  the  establishment  of  an  occurrence-reporting 
system.  By  establishing  such  an  MS  framework,  aviation  safety  will  be  enhanced 
through a) the establishment of safety policies and objectives associated with sufficient 
resources, b) the systematic identification of hazards and a risk management system; c) 
safety  assurance  systems,  giving  consideration  to  the  safety  performance  of 
organisations; and d) safety promotion and communication. This Regulation is in line 
with the regulatory concept of MS established for other domains, such as Air Operations 
or  Aerodromes,  or  for  continuing  airworthiness  management  organisations  (Part-
CAMO). By aligning the MS provisions across all aviation domains, it will be ensured 
that the organisations which have to comply with several MS requirements in different 
domains  can  implement  a  single  MS,  and  that  competent  authorities  that  oversee 
different  organisations  in  different  domains  can  plan  and  organise  their  oversight 
activities on the basis of the same regulatory principles. 

l)  The  Commission  adopted  on  14  December  2021  the  Delegated  Regulation  (EU) 
2022/20819. The objective of this Regulation is to modernise the EU aviation regulatory 
framework  applicable  to  all-weather  operations  (AWOs)  and  flight  crew  training  to 
ensure the highest level  of safety while  enabling efficiency  gains based  on the latest 
technological  advancements.  As  regards  AWOs,  this  Regulation  sets  the  appropriate 
balance between performance-based and prescriptive principles depending on the type 
of air operations. The rules are not technology-dependent and may accommodate future 
changes. It addresses all relevant disciplines and update the AWO-relevant rules in the 

17 At the fifth meeting of its 219th Session. 
18 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/201 of 10 December 2021 amending Regulation (EU) No 
748/2012 as regards management systems and occurrence-reporting systems to be established by design and 
production organisations, as well as procedures applied by the Agency, and correcting that Regulation, OJ L 33, 
15.2.2022, p. 7 
19 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/208 of 14 December 2021 amending Regulation (EU) No 
139/2014 as regards the requirements for all-weather operations, OJ L 35, 17.2.2022, p. 1 

8 

 
 
                                                 
domains of air operations, aircrew and aerodromes, in a coordinated manner. As regards 
flight crew training, this Regulation improves the existing mandatory crew training and 
checking requirements for air operators. It addresses initial and recurrent training and 
checking, the conditions for the operation on more than one aircraft type or variant, the 
acceptance of previous training and checking by non-commercial operators, and multi-
pilot  operations  of  single-pilot  certified  helicopters.  This  Regulation  is  expected  to 
increase  safety  in  a  cost-effective  way  and  maintain  safety,  reduce  the  regulatory 
burden, increase cost-effectiveness, improve harmonisation regarding AWOs (e.g. with 
the Federal Aviation Administration), and transpose as much as feasible the Standards 
and Recommended Practices (SARPs) of ICAO. 

Prior  to  the  adoption  of  all  the  delegated  acts  referred  to  above,  the  Commission  consulted 
experts from the Member States and the representatives of the European Parliament. 

NOTE:  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2022/1358  of  2  June  2022  amending 
Commission  Regulation  (EU)  No  748/2012  as  regards  the  implementation  of  more 
proportionate requirements for aircraft used for sport and recreational aviation (Part 21 Light) 
was adopted on 02/06/2022 and is currently under scrutiny by the European Parliament and the 
Council for 2 months. This Regulation provides a lighter approach to the certification of general 
aviation  aircraft,  and  introduces  the  possibility  for  a  declaration  of  design  compliance  to  be 
submitted as an alternative to certification. It also provides for the possibility to demonstrate 
design and production capabilities through a declaration, instead of an approval, and for certain 
low-risk production activities the demonstration of production capabilities is not required at all. 
It is expected that the barriers to the entry into the European regulatory system will be lowered 
while maintaining aviation safety and that it will permit the easier development of new aircraft 
types. 

4.  

CONCLUSION AND OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE 

The Commission has exercised its empowerment to adopt all these Delegated Regulations with 
the  objective  to  improve  air  safety  accross  almost  every  operational  domain  mandated  by 
Regulation (EU) 2018/1139. 

The Commission invites the European Parliament and the Council to take note of this Report. 

In the future, the Commission plans to use its delegated powers for further implementation of 
Regulation (EU) 2018/1139. 

9