Considerations on COM(2020)577 - Amendment of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 as regards the capacity of the EU Aviation Safety Agency to act as Performance Review Body of the Single European Sky - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2020)577 - Amendment of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 as regards the capacity of the EU Aviation Safety Agency to act as Performance Review ... |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2020)577  |
| date | September 22, 2020 |
(2) In line with this objective, it is necessary to establish, within the Agency, a corresponding, permanent structure, guaranteeing that the tasks conferred upon the Agency acting as PRB be carried out with the required expertise as well as independence from public or private interests and that, in this context, the Agency can rely on dedicated resources.
(3) Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council2, should therefore be amended, in a manner that separates the discharge of the tasks regarding the performance and charging schemes of the Single European Sky, functionally and hierarchically, from the Agency’s activity as a safety authority.
(4) For these purposes, a Regulatory Board for Performance Review should be established and a Director for Performance Review should be appointed in order to carry out specifically the functions of the Agency acting as PRB.
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 (OJ L 212, 22.8.2018, p. 1)
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(5) In line with the principles set out above, the Regulatory Board for Performance Review should act independently and should not seek or follow instructions or accept recommendations from a government of a Member State, from the Commission or any other public or private entity.
(6) The Management Board of the Agency should have the necessary powers in particular to appoint the Director for Performance Review.
(7) The Director for Performance Review should in particular be the legal representative of the Agency in matters of performance review and be in charge of the day-to-day administration in respect of this matter, as well as of various preparatory tasks. The Director for Performance Review should also draft and submit the section on performance review of the programming document, the annual work programme and the annual activity report of the Agency. The Regulatory Board for Performance Review as an independent body should be involved in those activities as necessary.
(8) Cooperation between national supervisory authorities in the area of performance review is important to ensure smooth application of Union law in this area and should thus be facilitated, namely through the establishment of an Advisory Board for Performance Review.
(9) Where the Agency acting as PRB has decision-making powers, interested parties should, for reasons of procedural economy, be granted a right of appeal to an Appeal Board for Performance Review, which should be part of the Agency acting as PRB, but independent from its administrative and regulatory structure.
(10) The Agency acting as PRB should carry out any necessary consultations and act transparently.
(11) The Agency shall account the revenue and expenditure for performance review separately from other revenue and expenditure. In line with the principle of independence of the Agency acting as PRB, the draft statement of estimates of the revenue and expenditure on performance review to be presented to the Executive Director should be prepared by the Director for Performance Review. Within this draft statement of estimates, changes to the revenue and expenditure on performance review should require the approval of the Director for Performance Review. In the event of disagreement between the Director for Performance Review and the Executive Director, the Director for Performance Review should be put in a position to state his or her views in an effective manner to the attention of the Management Board, before the latter adopts the provisional draft estimate of revenue and expenditure of the Agency.
(12) It is appropriate that designated air traffic service providers contribute to the setting up of the operation of the Agency acting as PRB and its continuous functioning. Designated air traffic service providers hold natural monopolies in respect of the services concerned, and those services are remunerated by airspace users. Because of this specific feature, it is necessary that the performance and charging schemes be applied to them, so as to optimise the provision of the services concerned on a number of points. The principal role of the Agency acting as PRB consists in the application of those schemes, and the funds necessary for its setting up can therefore be considered as necessary for reasons linked to the peculiar features and the peculiar position of the providers of the services concerned.
(13) Costs related to the supervision of designated air traffic service providers by the Agency acting as PRB can be divided into costs for its setting up and running costs.
(14) The costs for the setting up of the Agency acting as PRB are short-term and limited to a few activities, such as recruitment, training and necessary IT equipment, and are necessary to initiate the supervision required for the reasons described.
(15) Those costs should be paid during five financial years by designated air traffic service providers in the form of annual contributions, calculated in a fair and non-discriminatory manner. Individual contributions by designated air traffic service providers should be determined by reference to their size in order to reflect their importance in the provision of air traffic services in Europe and hence the relative benefits they draw from the supervised activity. Concretely, such contributions should be calculated based on the amount of actual revenues produced by the provision of air navigation services over the reference period preceding the reference period during which this Regulation enters into force.
(16) In order to establish uniform rules regarding the calculation of annual contributions, in particular the methodology to allocate the estimated expenditure to categories of designated air traffic service providers and the criteria to determine the level of individual contributions based on size, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council3.
(17) Running costs relate to the cost of the activities conducted by the Agency acting as PRB, in respect of the performance and charging schemes, once the operation of this activity has been set up. Running costs of the Agency acting as PRB should equally be financed by designated air traffic services providers. However, the funding should be based on fees and charges, on account of interventions necessary for the application of the performance and charging schemes. This form of funding can also be expected to enhance the autonomy and independence of the Agency acting as PRB.
(18) No revenue received by the Agency, of whatever source, should compromise its independence and impartiality.
(19) The Agency acting as PRB should also provide for a reserve fund covering one year of its operational expenditure to ensure the continuity of its operations and the execution of its tasks.
(20) The Agency acting as PRB should be open to the participation of third countries which have concluded agreements with the Union and which have adopted and are applying the relevant rules of Union law.
(21) Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 should therefore be amended accordingly.