1.2Why developing guidance material for Regulation 376/2014?

1.2 Why developing guidance material for Regulation 376/2014? European legislation is generally the result of a political compromise between the co-legislators i.e. the European Parliament and the Council (representing the Member States). This reality may impact the overall coherence of an adopted legislation and may lead to provisions which are vague or unclear because they are resulting from a political compromise. Furthermore, legal provisions that are contained in a regulation may be read without a clear understanding of the purpose intended by the co-legislators. This may therefore lead to diverging implementation across the Member States. It may also sometimes lead to implementation that is contracting with the objective pursued by the co-legislators. Regulation 376/2014 repeals and replaces the existing occurrence legal framework (Directive 2003/42/EC and its implementing regulations) and introduces a number of new legal requirements. Impacted stakeholders expressed the need to benefit from guidance material supporting the implementation of that Regulation and its implementing rules. Furthermore, Article 7(8) of Regulation 376/2014 requires the Commission and EASA to develop guidance material to support the implementation of certain provisions of it. In addition, the interaction between Regulation 376/2014 and other occurrence reporting, analysis and follow-up related requirements contained in other existing European regulations should be explained to ensure the proper implementation of all these rules and to allow Regulation 376/2014 to fully achieve its objectives. This paper aims to explain the intended purpose of Regulation 376/2014 provisions and its implementing regulations, in accordance with the spirit of the agreement found between colegislators. It proposes, where relevant, possible means of compliance and examples of good practices, with a view to contribute to a consistent and appropriate implementation of Regulation 376/2014 and its implementing rules across the EU. It has been prepared by the services of the European Commission, with the support of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). If relevant, this paper may be updated by the European Commission, based on feedback and experience with the application of the Regulation and when new delegating or implementing provisions will be introduced.