Cover Regulation
Regulation (EU) 2020/2034
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation, amending Regulation (EU) No 996/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Directive 2003/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulations (EC) No 1321/2007 and (EC) No 1330/2007 (36 OJ L 122, 24.4.2014, p. 18.), and in particular Article 7(6) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) The Commission, in close cooperation with the Member States and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (‘Agency’) through the network of aviation safety analysts, developed a methodology for the classification of occurrences in terms of safety risk, by taking into account the need for compatibility with existing risk classification schemes. The common European risk classification scheme (‘ERCS’) was developed by 15 May 2017 in accordance with the target date set out in Article 7(5) of Regulation (EU) No 376/2014. The ERCS should be now set out in this Regulation.
(2) It should support the competent authorities of the Member States and the Agency in their assessment of occurrences, its key purpose should be the identification and classification in a harmonised manner of the level of risk posed by each occurrence to aviation safety. Its purpose should not be the identification of the outcome of the occurrence.
(3) The ERCS should also allow for the identification of rapid actions needed in reply to high-risk safety occurrences. It should also enable the identification of key risk areas from aggregated information and the identification and comparison of their risk levels.
(4) The ERCS should facilitate an integrated and harmonised approach to risk management across the European aviation system and therefore enable the competent authorities of Member States and the Agency to focus on safety improvement efforts in a harmonised manner as part of the European Plan for Aviation Safety referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council(37 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 (OJ L 212, 22.8.2018, p. 1).).
(5) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/317(38 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/317 of 11 February 2019 laying down a performance and charging scheme in the single European sky and repealing Implementing Regulations (EU) No 390/2013 and (EU) No 391/2013 (OJ L 56, 25.2.2019, p. 1).) laying down a performance and charging scheme in the single European sky establishes the rate of runway incursions and separation minima infringement at Union level with a safety impact as the indicators to be monitored on an annual basis during the third reference period (RP3) that covers the calendar years 2020 to 2024 inclusive. This Regulation should be applied as of 1 January 2021 to align the use of the ERCS with the start of the RP3 second annual monitoring period and ensure the harmonised assessment of occurrences,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Regulation (EU) 2020/2034
This Regulation sets out the common European risk classification scheme (ERCS) for the determination of the safety risk of an occurrence.
Regulation (EU) 2020/2034
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) ‘European risk classification scheme’ or ‘ERCS’ means the methodology applied for the assessment of the risk posed by an occurrence to civil aviation in the form of a safety risk score;
(2) ‘ERCS matrix’ means a grid made up of the variables described in Article 3(3) which serves for the illustrative representation of the safety risk score;
(3) ‘safety risk score’ means the result of the risk classification of an occurrence by combining the values of the variables described in Article 3(3);
(4) ‘high-risk area’ means an area where an aircraft impact would cause numerous injuries, result in a high number of fatalities, or both because of the nature of the activities in that area, such as nuclear or chemical plants;
(5) ‘populated area’ means an area with clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent human population, such as city, settlement, town, or village;
(6) ‘life changing injury’ means an injury reducing the person’s quality of life in regard to reduced mobility or reduced cognitive or physical ability in daily life.
Article 3 – Common European risk classification scheme
Regulation (EU) 2020/2034
1. The ERCS is set out in the Annex.
2. The ERCS shall address the safety risk of an occurrence and not its actual outcome. The assessment of each occurrence shall determine the worst likely accident outcome that the occurrence might have led to, and how close to that accident outcome the occurrence was.
3. The ERCS shall be based on the ERCS matrix composed of the following two variables:
(a) severity: identification of the worst likely accident outcome that would have resulted if the occurrence under assessment had escalated into an accident;
(b) probability: identification of the likelihood of the occurrence under assessment to escalate into the worst likely accident outcome referred to in point (a).
Regulation (EU) 2020/2034
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 January 2021.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 6 October 2020.
For the Commission
The President
Ursula VON DER LEYEN