Sovereignty of Aeronautical Information Publications of the Member States
Dear European Aviation Safety Agency,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, please explain the current judicial conception of the EU/EASA in regard to the following question:
Are the Aeronautical Information Publications of the Member States considered sovereign publications in the context of EU aviation-related regulations? If not, why?
In addition, please provide all supporting documents, decisions or communication that helps in understanding the judicial conception of the EU/EASA in this matter.
Yours faithfully,
Theo Voss
Dear Mr Voss,
Thank you very much for your request for access to documents. We are
currently experiencing a significant increase in workload concerning
access to documents requests which results in extended delays for replies.
In your request you ask EASA to explain the current judicial conception
of the EU/EASA in regard to the following question: Are the Aeronautical
Information Publications of the Member States considered sovereign
publications in the context of EU aviation-related regulations. You are
then asking to provide all supporting documents, decisions or
communication that helps in understanding the judicial conception of the
EU/EASA in this matter.
Please be informed that this question is not clear to the Agency and we
are unable to start processing your request until you clearly specify
which documents you are exactly requesting.
Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP)’ is defined in Article 2 of
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 923/2012 and means a
publication issued by or with the authority of a State and containing
aeronautical information of a lasting character essential to air
navigation’. Please note that these documents are not issued by EASA but
by Member States or with the authority of a Member State.
In view of the above and in accordance with Article 6(2) of Regulation
1049/2201 we would like to ask you to clarify your request by specifying
the documents that you would like EASA to release. Failure to provide
these clarification may result in the impossibility to process your
application. Your application will be registered upon the provision of
the requested clarification.
Kind regards
Legal & Procurement Department
European Union Aviation Safety Agency
Visitor: Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, D-50668, Cologne, Germany
Postal: Postfach 10 12 53, D-50452 Cologne, Germany
An agency of the European Union
Disclaimer: This message is intended for the use of the addressee only and
may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If you are
not the intended recipient, you are notified that any dissemination of
this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this
communication in error, please notify us immediately by returning this
email. This communication does not constitute any formal commitment on
behalf of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency unless explicitly so
stated.
Dear RATAJCZYK Mikolaj,
Thank for your reply. I'm well aware that these documents are not issued by EASA but by Member States or with the authority of a Member State. I'll try to re-phrase my questions:
- Must/should the AIP be available free of charge to pilots or may the member states impose fees?
- Does EASA consider the AIP a sovereign publication in the context of EU aviation-related regulations? (in other words: Does EASA consider the various national AIPs binding for all pilots?)
- Is or was there any ongoing discussion inside EASA or with the member states about the free of charge publication of the national AIPs?
- Is EASA aware that EASA-licensed pilots phase different treatment across member states in terms of cost and accessibility of the corresponding national AIPs?
Yours sincerely,
Theo Voss