EC lifts safeguard clause on Bulgarian aviation

On September 8, the European Commission (EC) lifted a safeguard clause imposed on Bulgarian aviation. Bulgarian now has the same rights as other participants in the European Union’s aviation market, SofiaEcho  said.

The college of EC commissioners has finalised procedures for abolishing the safeguard measure and the decision would be published in the EU’s official newspaper.

The EC imposed the measure at the end of 2006, banning Bulgarian-registered aircraft from flying between cities in the EU because they did not meet EU safety standards. Although Bulgaria entered the EU on January 1 2007, the aircraft had been treated as a ‘third party’ on the European aviation market and barred from flying on routes with a starting point outside Bulgaria, SofiaEcho said.

“Concerning aviation safety, Bulgaria has verified deficiencies regarding its weak administrative capacity in regulation, supervision and oversight of carriers and organisations involved in the continued airworthiness and maintenance of aeronautical products,” the 2007 Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Bulgaria's progress on accompanying measures following accession, read. “Various verification visits since 2005 have shown that Bulgaria was not capable of applying either Community or Joint Aviation Authority (JAA) rules on the safety of aeronautical products and maintenance organisations. Nor was Bulgaria able to exercise its supervisory obligations in line with international (ICAO), JAA or EU standards. Consequently, safeguards were applied in December 2006.” Thus, on one hand, Bulgarian carriers did not have the status of community carriers and continued operating with third country status. On the other hand, safety certificates issued by the Bulgarian authorities were not recognised within the EU.

In November 2007 and April 2008, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) carried out examinations and evaluations of all aspects of aviation safety and the capacity of the Bulgarian Directorate General civil aviation administration to impose and control the EU safety regulations. The results of the examinations showed that the weaknesses, which caused the safeguard clause imposition, had been overcome, Dnevnik said.

Transport and Communications Minister Petar Moutafchiev, writing a letter of thanks to the EC’s vice-presidents, Jacques Barrot and Antonio Tajani, said that the safeguard clause had exerted “a strong disciplinary impact on Bulgaria’s aviation sector”.

In mid-June 2008, the US also lifted its ban on Bulgarian aviation and Bulgarian air companies were allowed to operate direct flights to the US. The ban on Bulgarian aviation was imposed in 2002.

Source: American Shipper