Research on working methods for the planned European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) has begun, though final procedures conferring legal authority on the organisation will not be completed until around September.
Management consultant Deloitte & Touche (D&T) and the Bureau Veritas organisation Air Eurosafe have been contracted to "establish the structure, staffing and working methods" for the European Commission's new safety agency. The Spanish and UK civil aviation authorities will advise the team on European and international aviation regulation practice as it determines how best to establish EASA's rule-making processes.
D&T says that one of the main tasks is to review the precise relationships between EASA, and the European Commission and Parliament, which is the least complex task, but also relationships with the industry, national aviation authorities of European Union member and non-member states, and international bodies like the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the European Civil Aviation Conference. Some of these relationships break new ground because the EASA will be a single body with legal authority in all the EU states, yet some of the entities it deals with - like ICAO - have a constitution which only provides for dealing with individual states.
India has started an EU-backed joint project aimed at improving civil aviation safety in India. This will include issues ranging from airworthiness standards to pilot instructor training. The EU, the Indian government, and Indian and European aerospace industries will contribute toward the €32 million ($29 million) cost.Source: Flight International
