Introductory text

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard 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^f1, and in particular Article 126(4) thereof,

After consulting the Management Board of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency,

Whereas:

In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, the revenues of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (the Agency), include, among other items, the fees paid by applicants for, and holders of, certificates issued by the Agency, and by persons who have registered declarations with the Agency, and charges for publications, handling of appeals, training and any other service provided by the Agency.

Commission Regulation (EU) No 319/2014^f2 established the fees and charges to be levied by the Agency. However, the tariffs need to be adjusted in order to achieve recovery of cost while avoiding significant accumulation of surplus, in accordance with the provisions set out in Article 126(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.

In this respect, the Agency’s forecasts as regards its workload, related costs and other relevant factors should be taken into account.

Fees and charges provided for in this Regulation should be set in a transparent, fair, non-discriminatory and uniform manner.

Without prejudice to the principle of cost coverage established in Article 126 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, fees and charges levied by the Agency should not jeopardise the competitiveness of the Union industry concerned. Likewise, they should be established on a basis which takes due account of the ability of the legal or natural persons concerned to pay, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises.

While civil aviation safety should be the prime concern, the Agency should nevertheless take full account of cost efficiency when conducting the tasks incumbent on it, having regard to the scope of those tasks, as they stands following the entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, and the resources available to it.

The Agency should be enabled to levy fees and charges for certification tasks or the provision of other services, which are not specifically mentioned in the Annex to this Regulation, but which are within the remit of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.

Agreements referred to in Article 68(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 should provide a basis for the evaluation of the actual workload involved in the certification of third countries’ products. In principle, the process for validation by the Agency of certificates issued by a third country with which the Union has an appropriate agreement is described in such agreement and should result in workload that differs from the workload required for certification activities by the Agency.

Time limits for the payment of fees and charges levied under this Regulation should be fixed.

In order to contribute to fees and charges being recovered to the fullest extent possible, appropriate remedies in cases of non-payment and risk of non-payment should be laid down.

The geographical location of undertakings in the territories of the Member States should not be a discriminatory factor. Consequently, the travel costs related to the certification tasks carried out on behalf of [such] undertakings should be aggregated and divided among the applicants.

Applicants should be able to request an estimate of the amount to be paid for the certification tasks and services, so as to increase predictability. In certain cases, the preparation of the estimate may require the Agency to perform a prior technical analysis. Given the cost of such analysis, it is justified for the Agency to be remunerated accordingly.

It is reasonable that the full payment of the charges for an appeal against decisions of the Agency is a prerequisite for an appeal to be admissible.

While this Regulation should enable industry to anticipate the level of the fees and charges it will be required to pay, it is necessary to regularly examine whether its terms need to be revised, in accordance with Article 126(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.

Interested parties should be consulted prior to any change of fees, and should be given information as to how the fees are calculated. Such information should provide interested parties with an insight into the costs incurred by the Agency and its productivity.

The revision of the tariffs should follow a procedure that permits amendment without undue delay based on the Agency’s experience gained from the application of this Regulation, continuous resource and working methodology monitoring, and the continuous assessment of the financial needs.

Regulation (EU) No 319/2014 should be repealed, without prejudice to transitional provisions.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the committee established by Article 127(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: