Speaker 1: The EU legislative process is a three-institution system. Legislative proposals come from the European Commission and are approved by the European Parliament, which is directly elected, and the European Council or the Member States. Some high-level, fundamental EU aviation regulations go through this full process, but other regulations are given to the Commission to draft, and approved by a committee of Member States and scrutinized by Parliament. If there is no successful motion against the draft regulation as a package, it becomes law. The entity within the European Commission responsible for aviation is DIGIMOVE, or the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport. In turn, DIGIMOVE is assisted by the European Aviation Safety Agency, or EASA. EASA drafts opinions for the Commission to turn into legislative proposals. EASA also makes decisions on soft law, using specific procedures but without external scrutiny. It does so through the Committee for the Application of Common Safety Rules in the Field of Aviation, which everyone calls the EASA Committee. The Basic Regulation 2018-1139, as the name implies, is the most basic essential regulation. It provides the framework for the rest of the rules in EU aviation. But simply, the Basic Regulation maps out requirements which are essential in its annexes. It also says that these essential requirements are supplemented by rules created by the Commission, and these are known as Implementing Rules. The Basic Regulation can only be changed by an act of the EU Parliament. And it might be worth noting here, that the Basic Regulation was recently changed as part of the European Commission's new aviation strategy for Europe. This strategy wants to address the future challenges faced by European aviation, as well as improve the competitiveness of the European aerospace industry on a global level. The Implementing Rules which supplement the Basic Regulation are Commission Regulations, and they usually consist of a Cover Regulation. And this Cover Regulation calls for an Annex, what we colloquially refer to as Part Something. And it contains detailed rules on the particular area. Let's take an example. For air operations, we have the Implementing Rule, or Commission Regulation 965-2012. And Commission Regulation 965-2012 has a Cover Regulation and multiple annexes, such as Part Aro, Part Oro, and so on. These contain detailed information on air operations. The Implementing Rules cover other aviation themes, such as aircrew licensing, unmanned aircraft systems, or airworthiness. Sometimes Implementing Rules are also known as Hard Law, because they can only be adopted through the European Commission. So let's summarise. The Basic Regulation establishes the basic framework for the rest of the rules. Implementing Rules, which must be Commission Regulations, and which are known sometimes as Hard Law, are passed through Parliament for each thematic area. In turn, Soft Law consists of technical content, which supplements the Implementing Rules, and can only be verified by an Executive Act, a decision with an EASA. So for Soft Law, no Legislative Act is necessary. There are three types of Soft Law. Certification Specifications, CS, are non-binding technical standards adopted by the EASA to meet the essential requirements of the Basic Regulation. Acceptable Means of Compliance, AMCs, are linked to individual Implementing Rules, and set out one way of complying with the Implementing Rule. But this is not the only possible way. An Alternative Means of Compliance, known as an ALTMOC, can be applied for to demonstrate another way of complying with the rule. In the Regulation, you will see the Acceptable Means of Compliance worded with the word SHOULD. For example, the operator SHOULD, or the flight crew member SHOULD. Unless an ALTMOC has been applied for, then always treat that SHOULD as mandatory. In other words, imagine it is a SHELL. Guidance Materials are also linked to individual Implementing Rules, and provide interpretative and explanatory material, including in some cases good practice. Guidance material is not mandatory.