THE INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANISATION (ICAO),
and
THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY (EC),
hereinafter referred to as ‘the Parties’,
RECALLING the Convention on International Civil Aviation signed at Chicago on 7 December 1944 (hereinafter referred to as the Chicago Convention) and in particular Annex 17 thereto (hereinafter referred to as Annex 17),
BEARING IN MIND ICAO Assembly Resolution A35-9, which directed the Secretary General to continue the ICAO Universal Security Audit Programme (USAP), comprising regular, mandatory, systematic and harmonised security audits of all Contracting States to the Chicago Convention (hereinafter referred to as the Contracting States),
RECALLING Regulation (EC) No 2320/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2002 establishing common rules in the field of civil aviation security, (hereinafter referred to as Regulation (EC) No 2320/2002), and Regulation (EC) No 300/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2008 on common rules in the field of civil aviation security and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2320/2002, (hereinafter referred to as Regulation (EC) No 300/2008) which will replace Regulation (EC) No 2320/2002 upon the adoption of the necessary implementing measures,
NOTING Commission Regulation (EC) No 1486/2003 of 22 August 2003 laying down procedures for conducting Commission inspections in the field of civil aviation security, and in particular Article 16 thereof establishing that the European Commission shall take into consideration the planned or recently undertaken security audits of intergovernmental organisations in order to ensure the overall effectiveness of the various security inspection and audit activities,
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the application of relevant Community law, in particular Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to Parliament, Council and Commission documents; and Commission Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom of 29 November 2001 amending its internal Rules of Procedure, (hereinafter referred to as Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom), in particular sections 10 and 26 thereof, and its amendments,
BEARING IN MIND the fact that most standards contained in Annex 17 are also covered by Regulation 2320/2002 and that the European Commission conducts inspections in Member States of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as the EU) to monitor the application of this Regulation,
CONSIDERING that the primary objectives of the ICAO audit programme and the European Commission’s inspection programme are to enhance aviation security by evaluating the implementation of respective standards, identifying deficiencies, if any, and ensuring the rectification of deficiencies, where necessary,
CONSIDERING that it is desirable to establish mutual cooperation in the area of aviation security audits/inspections and related matters in a manner ensuring better use of limited resources and avoiding duplication of efforts, while preserving the universality and integrity of the ICAO USAP programme,
CONSIDERING that the European Commission has enforcement powers to ensure the implementation of Community legislation on civil aviation security,
CONSIDERING that the Council of ICAO during its 176th Session directed that, wherever possible, ICAO aviation security audits should be focussed on a State’s capability to provide appropriate national oversight; and further requested the Secretary General to explore cooperative arrangements and the most effective use of resources in regions where mandatory regional governmental audit programmes exist,