Regulation (EU) 2020/723

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[36], and in particular Article 68(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)     With the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and in particular its Article 68, the Commission is now empowered to adopt delegated acts with regard to the acceptance of certificates and other documentation attesting compliance with civil aviation rules issued in accordance with the laws of a third country, whilst ensuring an equivalent level of safety to that provided for in Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.

(2)     The main objective of this Regulation is to bring the current legal framework into line with Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and therefore the content of Article 8, Annex III and related provisions of Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011[37] concerning the acceptance of third country certificates should be transferred into a delegated act. Furthermore, those provisions should now also include rules on acceptance of third-country sailplanes and balloons certificates.

(3)     Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 lists conditions for the acceptance of licences from third countries. Under certain conditions, a pilot licence issued by a third country may currently be accepted by Member States or the holder of such a third country licence can obtain credit when applying for a licence in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011. Such credit is currently determined based on a recommendation from an approved training organisation.

(4)     The rules applicable to training organisations providing training for certain non-commercial pilot licences and ratings have been simplified and the declared training organisation (‘DTO’) has been introduced, pursuant to Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/1119[38]. Therefore, the rules concerning the acceptance of licences from third countries should be updated in order to permit DTOs to give credit to holders of third country licences who apply for a licence issued under the Union legal framework.

(5)     Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 as well Annex III to that Regulation, currently containing requirements for the acceptance of licences from third countries, should therefore be deleted,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: