Final report of the JAA FUJA II working group adopted by ECAC directors general of civil aviation

This discussion took place on the basis of a report from the FUJA II Working Group which had been reactivated upon agreement of ECAC Directors General at their Fifty-sixth Special Meeting in Nicosia, at the end of August 2007, in order to discuss the fine-tuning for the final phase of JAA in the light of the extension of EASAs competences to the fields of air operations and pilot licensing. The revised EC Regulation 1592/2002 (Basic Regulation), as legal basis for this competence extension, was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 19 March 2008 to enter into force 20 days later. As of that date, the Commission - including EASA - will take over responsibility, which was previously in the hands of JAA. Directors General supported the different steps for the final phase of JAA and adopted the recommended decisions as proposed by the FUJA II Working Group. The main results of the FUJA II deliberations can be summarised as follows: 1: The JAA system, including the JAA Liaison Office, will be closed by 30 June 2009. In addition, the Cyprus Arrangements will be dissolved by unilateral acts of all Member States, based on an ECAC Resolution to be submitted to the Special Plenary Session of ECAC on 18 June 2008. 2: The JAA Training Organisation in Hoofddorp will continue its activities in the legal form of a Dutch Foundation and as an associated body of ECAC. The JAA foundation Statutes will be adapted accordingly. 3: EASA will establish a liaison function in early 2009 which will take care of the legitimate wish of all to maintain the pan-European approach and to help the non-EASA JAA Member States in becoming associated with EASA. ECAC Directors General recognised the need for appropriate resources to EASA for the liaison function and additional standardisation tasks given to the Agency. In addition, ECAC Directors General reaffirmed that their meetings are and will continue to be an important forum for all ECAC Member States to express their views and wishes and will help with liaison and integration in order to promote truly pan-European solutions on aviation matters. All non-EASA JAA Members were urged to continue with their efforts leading to a relationship, preferably association with the Agency, at the same time pleading that the EC shows all possible flexibility to include all these States in a suitable relationship with the Agency and emphasise the need to continue with standardisation visits to non-EASA JAA Member States after closing of JAA. In addition to the aforementioned issues, the Working Group also considered all other aspects related to the closing-down of the JAA, such as social and financial aspects. The JAA Chief Executive will immediately start to implement the Final Report of the FUJA II Working Group and report regularly to Directors General on progress, inter alia on the establishment of a liaison function within EASA as required by a number of Member States.