Cooperation with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)

EASA maintains close working relations with ICAO on a wide range of activities. Among others, EASA:

  • Works with the European Commission and EASA Member States to coordinate common positions on matters addressed at global level.
  • Supports its Member States in implementing the ICAO standards, for example through the compliance checklists (see below).
  • Exchanges safety information with ICAO in order to reduce the burden on its Member States. Specifically, EASA and ICAO have signed a Working Arrangement through which they coordinate their auditing activities. This means that, when inspecting a Member State, EASA may collect evidence needed by ICAO to close their own findings or assess the level of compliance with ICAO standards.
  • Provides technical expertise to ICAO activities. EASA experts take part in the work of around 50 ICAO panels, committees, working groups, study groups and task forces. Additionally, under the Working Arrangement mentioned above, EASA staff are trained as ICAO auditors and take part in USOAP audits (ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme) in the EASA states and elsewhere.
  • Has a permanent representation in Montréal, which serves as a liaison office towards ICAO, by participating in ICAO meetings, informing on EASA policies and regulatory developments, and maintaining a working relationship on technical matters with the ICAO Secretariat.
  • Contributes to the No Country Left Behind initiative, by coordinating its technical assistance activities with ICAO and other donors at global and regional level. EASA also co-chairs ICAO’s Aviation Safety Implementation Assistance Partnership (ASIAP).

ICAO compliance checklists

Member States of ICAO are required (*) to complete and keep up-to-date so-called ‘compliance checklists’ (CC). The CCs show the status of implementation of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) in a particular State, as well as any differences that may exist between the national/European regulations and the ICAO SARPS.

EASA must also fill and maintain compliance checklists in the areas of the Agency’s remit, being subject to the ICAO USOAP-CMA (Continuous Monitoring Approach) by virtue of the above-mentioned Working Arrangement. The information in the compliance checklists of EASA can then be used by the EASA Member States in their own CCs.

Draft CCs and amendments to existing ones are consulted with the EASA Member States through an informal network of European National Continuous Monitoring Coordinators.

Extracts of the compliance checklists developed by EASA are available in the ‘Downloads’ section of this page.

For further information, please contact us.

Note: the compliance checklists are made available here only for information purposes. Developed on the basis of the existing EU rules and EASA’s internal procedures and practices, they do not constitute an official Agency statement on compliance with ICAO provisions, do not constitute a notification of differences under Article 38 of the Chicago Convention and they cover all elements of EFOD, including the Recommended Practices. They do not determine the compliance of individual Member States with ICAO SARPs and do not cover the areas of national competence, exemptions, derogations or alternative means of compliance.

Cooperation with other international organisations

EASA works with IATA to address issues of common interest and coordinate actions. A particular area of cooperation is the exchange of safety information, based on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the two organisations in 2012. EASA also provides support to IATA’s audit programme (IATA Operational Safety Audit - IOSA) by taking part in its oversight committee.