Civil Aviation Authority: Staffed with additional personnel

Issues related to the operation of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are regulated in the draft law of the Ministry of Development & Investment.

Edited by Vaso Veγιάzi

Article 73 is included in the bill, entitled «Measures to support the relatives of the victims and victims of the railway accident of 28 February 2023, pension provision, provisions to enhance the safety of public transport, provisions to enhance development, interventions for the modernization of tourism legislation and other urgent provisions».

As noted:

a. Notwithstanding the applicable provisions, expenditure or obligations during the specified period, including uncleared expenditure against the Initial Budget and the Authority's Fixed Advance, are considered legal and regular, cleared and carried out by the competent units of the Authority (Article 51(1)(o) of Law 4757/2020).

β. A decision of the Governor of the APA shall determine the organisational units of the Authority that operate on a 24-hour basis to serve its specific mission and work.

γ. The maximum number of vacant organic posts of the APA that may be filled by staff serving in General Government bodies is increased by 25 additional vacant organic posts.

δ. The possibility is provided for the AIA Commander to enter into contracts for the lease or any kind of concession or disposal of premises of Athens International Airport «Eleftherios Venizelos» (AIA) with the competent AIA body, as the case may be, in order to serve the needs of the AIA's ancillary services within the AIA premises.

ε. Provision is made for the transfer to the APA of amounts deposited with the State as revenue from fees during the period specified and which have not been refunded to the APA. The procedure for the reimbursement of these amounts shall be determined by means of a subsidy to the APA from the State budget, in accordance with the procedure laid down.

According to the Ministry of Transport, this provision is mandatory, due to the failure to achieve the initial target for the staffing of the PDO (111 posts against 172).

The proposed arrangement is the quickest, simplest and most transparent way to fill the vacancies, through the existing lists, from the next candidates in the order of the three-member committee's lists.

Also, taking into account the fact that there was no strong interest from the employees of the Ministry of Public Administration, an increase in the number of posts that can be filled by all the bodies of the General Government is foreseen, always through the final evaluation tables.

Article 73

Regulation of matters of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) - Amendment of paragraph d’ of par. 1 Article 37 of Law 4757/2020

1. The balances of the amounts of a) the special account entitled «All types of Civil Aviation Authority (APA) revenue», b) the Civil Aviation Authority (APA) Fixed Advances account and c) the account held by the APA in a commercial bank, as provided for in paragraph o) of Article 2(1) of this article, shall be deducted from the amounts of the account. 1 of Article 51 of Law No 51. 4757/2020 (A’ 240), shall be transferred, by order of the Governor of the APA, to a bank account of the APA, except for the blocked liabilities and until their payment, and the amounts shall be used for all kinds of needs of the APA.
2. Expenditure or liabilities in the period since the entry into force of Law No. 4757/2020 until the entry into force of this Act, including uncleared expenditures against the Initial Budget and the Fixed Advance under paragraph o) of par. 1 of Article 51 of Law No. 4757/2020, shall be considered legal and regular, cleared and carried out by the competent units of the APA, notwithstanding the provisions of Law No. 4412/2016 (A’ 147), Law No. 4270/2014 (A’ 143), the provisions of Decree 80/2016 (A’ 145), the provisions on commitments and any other general or specific provision. The above expenditure and obligations shall be cleared by the competent units of the APA by means of a decision discharging the accounting officer and, if they have not been effected, they shall be effected by the competent units of the APA with the sole order for payment thereof, against the appropriations of the APA 2023 regular budget, provided that they are within the amount of these appropriations.
3. A decision of the Commander of the APA shall determine the organisational units of the APA that operate on a 24-hour basis in order to serve its specific mission and work.
4. Vacant posts in the APA, following the call for expressions of interest no. 23/2.6.2021, published in accordance with paragraph a’ of par. 1 of article 51 of Law 4757/2020, may be filled by transfers of the next candidates in order of priority on the lists of results of the three-member committee. The maximum number of vacant posts that may be filled by staff serving in the general government bodies referred to in paragraph b) of subsection (b) of Section 4(a) shall not exceed the maximum number of posts that may be filled by staff serving in the general government bodies. 1 of Article 14 of Law No. 4270/2014, sub-paragraph ab’ of paragraph a’ of par. 1 of Article 51 of Law No. 4757/2020, shall be increased by twenty-five (25) additional vacant posts. The transfers under this provision are carried out by decision of the competent body of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, which is issued upon the recommendation of the Governor of the APA.
5. Contracts for the lease or any kind of concession or allocation of premises of Athens International Airport «Eleftherios Venizelos» (AIA) with the competent body of AIA to serve the needs of the AIA's ancillary services within the AIA's premises may be concluded by the AIA's Governor following a decision of the AIA's Executive Board, issued notwithstanding any general or specific provision to the contrary.
6. Amounts which:

a) have been deposited in favour of the State as revenue from fees, since the entry into force of Law no. 4757/2020 until the adoption of the joint decision of paragraph a’ of par. 2 of Article 49 of the same Act, which provides for the determination of matters relating to the management of parafiscal charges, and

b) have not been allocated to the APA, they shall be transferred from the State Treasury to an account of the APA, for their disposal in accordance with Article 5 and para. 5 of Article 36 of Law No. 4757/2020. For the application of the first subparagraph, the transfer of the amounts to an account of the APA may be made through a subsidy to the APA from the budget of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, which is reinforced for this purpose from the reserve, in accordance with par. 1 of Article 59 of Law No. 4270/2014, of the General State Expenditure of the Ministry of Finance.

7. Point (d) of paragraph (d) shall be deleted. 1 of article 37 of Law No. 4757/2020 is amended a) with regard to the specification of the envisaged legal support positions and b) by adding a second subparagraph with regard to the procedure for filling the vacant position of legal advisor and par. 1 is amended as follows:

«1. In the A.P.A. 172 posts are recommended, broken down as follows:

α. One hundred and fifteen (115) posts in the educational category of University Education (TE),

b. forty-two (42) posts of educational category of Technological Education (TE),

c. thirteen (13) positions of educational category Secondary Education (TE),

d. one (1) post of lawyer and one (1) post of legal adviser with a paid mandate, which are not incompatible with the practice of law, subject to Article 24. Where the post of legal adviser is vacant, it shall be filled by a proposal from the Director of the APA and a decision of the Executive Board.