Brussels, 12/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - Rallying to the position of the European Commission, the European Parliament decided, on Wednesday 12 December, to extend the powers of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Meeting in plenary, the Parliament approved the recommendations of Jörg Leichtfried (PES, Austria) regarding the Council's common position concerning the draft regulation on common rules in the field of civil aviation, and establishing EASA. The vote thus endorses the compromise found between the Council and EP transport committee, on 13 November, and allows the dossier to be closed. According to the European Commission's wish, EASA will be competent for issuing authorisation certificates for third country airlines operating in the EU.
Joint operations. The regulation presented by the European Commission in November 2005 sets out common regulations that will apply to all aviation activity as well as certificates for all commercial operators (see EUROPE 9068). This provision was taken on board in the compromise, despite the initial reluctance of the Council which called for EASA's powers to be restricted to third country operators. Certificates will be issued to operators by national authorities as is the case at present, but EASA will control compliance with common regulations by the civil aviation authorities of member states. For non-commercial operations, rules will be adjusted to aircraft configuration (size and seat numbers of aircraft or helicopters). Pilot licenses. Most pilots operating in the EU should now hold a license issued on the basis of common standards relating to their theoretical and practical knowledge, and to their physical fitness. Certificates will also apply to training bodies. Third country companies. Third country operators wishing to operate in Europe should own a certificate issued by EASA. The certificate should attest the operator's capacity to comply with IACO standards and common security rules.
The proposal voted by the EP also makes the sanctions system more flexible. This system was set in place by the draft regulation for airlines that do not comply with Community regulations. Thanks to the Parliament, the Commission - at the Agency's request - will have the possibility to impose fines and financial penalties before directly withdrawing certificates. The amount of the fines may not, however, exceed 4% of the revenue or annual turnover of the certificate holder, whereas financial penalties should not be higher than 2.5% of the daily earnings or turnover. (A.By.)