The safeguard clause on civil aviation safety, invoked against Bulgaria before the country's accession to the European Union, may be lifted in May, Bulgarian Transport Minister Peter Mutafchiev said Thursday.
Mutafchiev said that after meeting in Brussels with Jacques Barrot, the European Commission's vice president in charge of transport, local press reported.
The safeguard clause for Bulgarian aviation was invoked on Dec.20, 2006, just days ahead of this country's accession to the EU, over Bulgaria's inability to ensure full compliance with EU's rules on aviation safety and on the internal aviation market.
The decision was based on inspections by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) which identified a number of deficiencies, including what was described as "important shortcomings in the administrative capacity of the Bulgarian Civil Aviation Authorities in the field of safety oversight in general, and for the certification of airworthiness and maintenance of aircraft".
The safeguard clause excluded local air carriers from the benefit of being considered a "Community carrier", so they continued to operate as "third country operators" to and from member states in accordance with existing bilateral agreements. Five local cargo airlines were stripped of licence.
EASA technical services were in Bulgaria for an inspection late last year and it emerged Thursday in Brussels that another inspection is due by the middle of next month, whose findings will determine whether or not the safeguard will be lifted.
According to Mutafchiev, Bulgaria "is a step away from having the (safeguard) clause scrapped". According to him, of the 44 issues that had to be addressed by Bulgaria, only one remains and the country is ready to deal with it and has an action plan for that to be approved by the EASA.
Source:Xinhua
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