The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 (EU) with offices in Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, which has been given regulatory and executive tasks in the field of civilian aviation safety. It was created on 15 July 2002, and it reached full functionality in 2008, taking over functions of the JAA (Joint Aviation Authorities

Joint Aviation Authorities

The Joint Aviation Authorities, or JAA, was an associated body of the ECAC representing the civil aviation regulatory authorities of a number of European States who had agreed to co-operate in developing and implementing common safety regulatory standards and procedures...

). EFTA

European Free Trade Association

The European Free Trade Association or EFTA is a free trade organisation between four European countries that operates parallel to, and is linked to, the European Union . EFTA was established on 3 May 1960 as a trade bloc-alternative for European states who were either unable to, or chose not to,...

 countries have been granted participation in the agency.

The agency’s responsibilities include:

• giving advice to the European Union for drafting new legislation;
• implementing and monitoring safety rules, including inspections in the Member States;
• type-certification of aircraft and components, as well as the approval of organisations involved in the design, manufacture and maintenance of aeronautical products;
• authorization of third-country (non EU) operators;
• safety analysis and research.

As part of Single European Sky

Single European Sky

The Single European Sky is a European Commission initiative by which the design, management and regulation of airspace will be coordinated throughout the European Union ....

-II the agency have been given more tasks.