REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the delegation of power under Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation, amending Regulation (EU) No 996/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Directive 2003/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulations (EC) No 1321/2007 and (EC) No 1330/2007
Date: 2023-07-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: accident prevention, air safety, civil aviation, data collection, delegated legislation, delegation of power, disclosure of information, exchange of information, risk management, transport accident

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 14.7.2023  COM(2023) 444 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the delegation of power under Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation, amending Regulation (EU) No 996/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Directive 2003/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulations (EC) No 1321/2007 and (EC) No 1330/2007  
 
 
1.  INTRODUCTION 

Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 (hereinafter "the Regulation") aims to improve aviation safety by 
ensuring that relevant safety information relating to civil aviation is reported, stored, protected, 
exchanged,  disseminated  and  analysed.  The  sole  objective  of  occurrence  reporting  is  the 
prevention of accidents and incidents. 

Paragraph 6 of Article 7 of this Regulation empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts in 
order to define the common European Risk Classification Scheme (ERCS). As a complement to 
this provision, paragraph 7 of Article 7 of the Regulation furthermore instructs the Commission 
to adopt arrangements for the implementation of the ERCS by means of implementing acts. 

In addition, Article 17 of the Regulation empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts for 
the purpose of updating of Annexes I and III of the Regulation, as appropriate, to take account of 
experience gained and of new developments, and to align any of the Annexes of the Regulation 
with the ECCAIRS1 software used to collect civil aviation occurrences and the ADREP2 aviation 
taxonomy  operated  by  ICAO3,  as  well  as  with  legal  acts  adopted  by  the  Union  and  with 
international agreements. 

In connection with this empowerment, paragraph 2 of Article 18 of the Regulation stipulates that 
the Commission is to present a report to the European Parliament and to the Council in respect of 
the delegation of power conferred on it by the Regulation. 

2.  EXERCISE OF THE POWER TO ADOPT DELEGATED ACTS 

Common European risk classification scheme (ERCS) 

Whereas the relevant delegated act is addressed in paragraph 6 of Article 7 of the Regulation, it 
is, from a contextual perspective, important to note the link with the provisions of paragraphs 5 
and 7 of this Article. 

The purpose of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/20344 adopted in accordance with 
paragraph  6  of  Article  7  of  the  Regulation  is  to  define  the  ERCS,  the  latter  developed  in 
accordance  with  paragraph  5  of  the  same  Article.  Furthermore,  the  ERCS,  as  defined  in  the 
aforementioned delegated act, is to be implemented in accordance with arrangements established 
by means of an implementing act adopted in accordance with paragraph 7 of Article 7. Finally, 
paragraph  3  of  Article  24  of  the  Regulation  lays  down  that  paragraph  2  of  Article  7  (e.g. 

1 ECCAIRS: European Co-ordination Centre for Accident and Incident Reporting Systems.  
2 ADREP: Accident/Incident Data Reporting. This system is operated and maintained by ICAO. The ADREP system 
operates using ECCAIRS software platform. 
3 ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organization. It is a UN specialized agency, established by States in 1944 to 
manage the administration and governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention). 
4  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. 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
obligation to use the ERCS) shall apply once the delegated and implementing acts defining and 
implementing the ERCS enter into force. 

The completion of the ERCS development was achieved by the legal deadline, i.e. 15 May 2017, 
as stipulated in paragraph 5 of Article 7. The subsequent adoption of the delegated act to cater 
for its definition took place in 2020. In addition to the delegated act, Commission Implementing 
Regulation (EU) 2021/20825 laying down the arrangements for the implementation of the ERCS 
was adopted in November 2021. 

Consequently,  the  empowerment  to  adopt  the  delegated  act  on  the  common  European  risk 
classification scheme has been exercised by the Commission. 

Amendment of the Annexes  

Article 17 of the Regulation empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts, as appropriate, 
to amend Annexes I and III of the Regulation. Whereas it is expected that such amendments will 
be needed in due course in view of experience gained and of new developments associated with 
the implementation of the Regulation, it has been determined that the content of the Annexes, as 
they stand today, is still fit for purpose.  

Consequently,  the  empowerment  to  adopt  delegated  acts  for  the  purpose  of  amending  the 
Annexes has not been exercised within the timeframe provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 18 
of the Regulation.  

3.  CONCLUSIONS 

For  the  reasons  outlined  in  the  preceding  section,  the  Commission  has  exercised  its  power  to 
adopt the delegated act on the ERCS as provided for in the aforementioned provisions.  

Nonetheless,  the  empowerment  stemming  from  Article  17  of  the  Regulation  has  not  yet  been 
exercised  with  regard  to  adopting  delegated  acts  for  amending  Annexes  I  and  III  of  the 
Regulation.  The  adoption  of  such  acts  may  become    necessary  in  view  of  new  developments 
associated with the implementation of the Regulation. 

Consequently, the Commission is of the view that the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on 
it in Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 should be extended for a period of five years. 

With this report, the Commission complies with the reporting requirement under paragraph 2 of 
Article  18  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  376/2014,  and  invites  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council to take note of this report. 

5 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2082 of 26 November 2021 laying down the arrangements for 
the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the 
common European risk classification scheme, OJ L 426, 29.11.2021, p. 32.