International cooperation explained

As globalisation advances, aviation safety is increasingly a cooperative, global effort.  EASA partners with civil aviation authorities, regional and international organisations alike, in order to enhance aviation safety worldwide, support the free movement of European products and services and promote European and global safety standards.

Bilateral Agreements and Working Arrangements

EASA works at facilitating the free movement of European products and services worldwide. It assists non-European authorities when they certify European products and services. Reciprocally, it issues European certificates for non-European products. The legal tools to do so are bilateral agreements and Working Arrangements.

A Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) is signed between the EU (and its Member States) and a non-EU country. It is used when the cooperation between the two sides aims at the mutual acceptance of certificates. EASA supports the European Commission during the negotiation and implementation of such agreements. So far, the EU has concluded a BASA with the US, Canada and Brazil, China and Japan.

A Working Arrangement (WA) is usually signed between EASA and the authority of a non-EU country, or a regional or international organisation. It covers matters of technical nature. It is typically used to facilitate EASA’s certification tasks or the validation by a foreign authority of EASA certificates. Unlike BASAs, WAs do not allow for the mutual recognition of certificates. EASA directly negotiates and concludes such arrangements.  

International offices

In addition to its offices in Europe, EASA has international offices in Washington (USA), Beijing (China), Montréal (Canada) and Singapore, in order to:

  • further strengthen the cooperation with the local authorities and industry;
  • facilitate the exchange of safety information;
  • support the implementation of agreements;
  • support EU industry, in particular when European products are being certified by the local authorities..