CIVIL AVIATION
(21159)
7589/00
COM(00) 121
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Draft Council Regulation amending Council Regulation (EEC) No.
3922/91 on the harmonisation of technical requirements and
administrative procedures in the field of civil aviation.
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| Legal base:
| Article 80(2) EC; co-decision; qualified majority voting
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| Document originated:
| 24 March 2000
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| Forwarded to the Council:
| 5 April 2000
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| Deposited in Parliament:
| 20 April 2000
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| Department: |
Environment, Transport and the Regions
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| Basis of consideration:
| EM of 3 May 2000
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| Previous Committee Report:
| None |
| To be discussed in Council:
| Second half of 2000
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| Committee's assessment:
| Politically important
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| Committee's decision:
| Not cleared; further information requested
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Background
6.1 The Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA)
is an associate body of the European Civil Aviation Conference
which has been developing harmonised aviation safety standards,
known as Joint Aviation Requirements (JARs), since 1970. It now
has 32 member states. Council Regulation 3922/91 requires the
national aviation authorities of all EC Member States to be members
of the JAA and adopts as the relevant EC standard a number of
JARs. These are listed in Annex II to the Regulation.
6.2 In 1995 the JAA adopted the Joint Aviation
Requirement — Commercial Air Transportation (JAR-OPS) which
sets harmonised standards for public transport aircraft operations.
JAR-OPS 1 covers aeroplane operations and JAR-OPS 3 covers helicopter
operations.
The document
6.3 The Commission recognises the need to
adopt harmonised operational standards, both to ensure high levels
of safety across Europe and to help provide a level playing field
in the aviation single market. However, instead of proposing a
Regulation adding JAR-OPS to Annex II of Council Regulation 3922/91,
the Commission has produced a revised version of JAR-OPS 1 entitled
OPS 1 which would become Annex III to the Regulation.
6.4 In addition to placing OPS 1 in Annex
III to 3922/91, the proposed Regulation provides that Member States
may grant exemptions from the requirements in case of urgent operational
needs. Member States may also give derogations, without discrimination,
from the requirements where an equivalent level of safety can
be achieved by another means. Any exemption or derogation granted
by a Member State would be subject to review by the Commission.
The Government's view
6.5 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 3 May
2000, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department
of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Mr Mullin) says
that the implementation date for JAR-OPS had passed but that the
Government had not sought to amend the Air Navigation Order to
reflect the requirements because of the Commission's intention
to adopt JAR-OPS through a Regulation. He says that the Commission's
intention to amend JAR-OPS rather than simply transposing it into
Community law is causing the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) some
concerns. These will be discussed with the CAA after which a Supplementary
Explanatory Memorandum (SEM) will be submitted. A Regulatory Impact
Assessment will also be provided.
Conclusion
6.6 We see from the document that the
Commission says that it would not be possible simply to transpose
JAR-OPS into Community law because:
- it considers that some of the provisions are
incompatible with Community law and policies;
- some interested parties are not happy with
JAR-OPS;
- the importance of the subject matter is such
that the details should be subject to the full legislative process.
6.7 We note that the Minister intends
to provide an SEM and Regulatory Assessment. In principle, it
seems to us undesirable that the Community should seek to enforce
different standards to those in JARs. We ask the Minister to tell
us in his SEM whether he agrees that some parts of JAR-OPS are
incompatible with Community law and policies, and if so, in what
respects; and also to comment on the merits or otherwise of any
changes proposed for other reasons.
6.8 Given that it is Member States that
belong to, and presumably have obligations under, the JAA we also
ask the Minister to comment on the implications, if any, of the
Commission's approach for the Community's external competence
in this field.
6.9 Meanwhile we do not clear the document.
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