Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/446

Contents

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^note, and in particular Articles 105(1) and 106(6) thereof,Whereas:

(1)Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 enables the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (‘the Agency’) to issue certificates, register declarations, conduct investigation of undertakings, and levy the payment of applicable fees and charges. It also establishes a Board of Appeal responsible for deciding on appeals against decisions taken by the Agency regarding those matters.

(2)The Board of Appeal is also responsible for deciding on appeals against the individual decisions of the Agency referred to in Article 14(6) and (7) of Regulation (EU) 2023/2405 of the European Parliament and of the Council^note).

(3)The Board of Appeal should examine matters for which a high level of general technical experience in the fields of certification, oversight, enforcement and environmental performance of flights is mainly required. Therefore, Board members should be adequately qualified. It is also necessary that the Board of Appeal be chaired by a legally qualified member with recognised experience in Union law and public international law, so that quality and consistency of the decisions of the Board of Appeal are ensured.

(4)In order to ensure that it can operate smoothly and efficiently, the Board of Appeal should consist of a Chairperson and two other members. Where the Board of Appeal considers that the nature of the appeal so requires (e.g., particularly complex appeal case), it should be allowed to call up two further members from the alternates.

(5)The Chairperson should ensure that technical, legal and procedural expertise and/or experience is ensured for each appeal proceedings. The Chairperson, where the nature of the appeal proceedings so requires, should be able to replace a member by an alternate if such a replacement is justified by the need to rely during the appeal proceedings on the specific legal, procedural or technical expertise of that alternate.

(6)To facilitate the handling and disposal of appeals, a rapporteur should be designated for each case. The rapporteur should be at least responsible for preparing communications with the parties and for drafting decisions.

(7)To ensure a smooth and efficient operation, the Board of Appeal should be assisted by a secretariat, referred to as the registry, in the exercise of its duties.

(8)Commission Regulation (EC) No 104/2004^note lays down the rules on the organisation and composition of the Board of Appeal of the Agency. However, provisions of that Regulation should be adjusted to reflect the extended mandate of the Agency under both Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and Regulation (EU) 2023/2405. In particular, the list of disciplines in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 104/2004 should be adapted to cover the disciplines or the areas under the scope of the Agency where appeals are possible. In view of the number of the necessary changes and the new legal basis, a new act should be adopted instead of amending Regulation (EC) No 104/2004.

(9)Regulation (EC) No 104/2004 should therefore be repealed,

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