The agreement on Cooperation in the Regulation of Civil Aviation Safety between the European Union and the United States enters into force, which will boost safety and create opportunities for businesses. With this step, it opens the way to progressively reaching the same level of mutual trust in other areas of safety and simplifies technical and administrative procedures for the recognition of certificates and approvals.

Despite difficult economic times, trade in the aeronautical sector has continued to grow. Already in 2009 and 2010 the total transatlantic trade in aeronautical products and services was more than €17 billion. The agreement is designed to boost trade in aeronautical products and services even further and it will help the aeronautical industry grow further in a sustainable way. Therefore, it means the cornerstone of cooperation between the two sides in all matters of aviation safety.

After several cooperation agreements, such as the agreement to cooperate on civil aviation on 2010, this new one goes well beyond mutual recognition of certification findings in the area of design, production and maintenance as it sets the framework for a continuous, transparent and timely exchange of solid and verifiable information affecting all areas of aviation safety law and policy.

The Commission is ready to explore with the United States how to expand the scope of the agreement rapidly into new areas such as flight crew licensing and aircraft operations. Furthermore, it gives the two sides a firm basis for tackling safety problems when and where they arise through joint actions on a timely and effective basis.