On August 14, 2026, the Civil Aviation Authority of Kosovo (AAC) formalized two Working Arrangements with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), opening a direct technical-cooperation channel between Prishtine and the EU safety regulator. EASA Executive Director Florian Guillermet signed the instruments on August 3, 2026; AAC Acting Director General Arianit Islami formalized them today in Prishtine, in the presence of the Minister of Infrastructure and representatives of the EU Office in Kosovo.
The arrangements cover expert exchange, direct technical assistance, and alignment with European aviation safety standards for Kosovo operators and authorities. For Kosovo-certificated carriers, the most consequential strand is the expected path into the EU Ramp Inspection Programme (SAFA/SACA), the common European regime that already applies to Kosovo's European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) peers Albania, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
What exactly was signed, and is it binding law?
Two Working Arrangements, not regulations. They are non-binding cooperation instruments concluded under the EASA Basic Regulation framework, not legislation entered into Kosovo's Official Gazette (Gazeta Zyrtare). Kosovo is not an EASA member state and EU regulations have no direct effect there; the legal hook for alignment remains the ECAA Agreement, integrated into domestic law through Law 03/L-051 on Civil Aviation. The arrangements operationalize that framework by giving AAC a standing technical relationship with EASA, rather than creating new mandatory rules.
This is the milestone the ECAA Joint Committee anticipated. At its fourth meeting on October 15, 2025 in Skopje, the European Commission formally requested EASA to initiate the procedure, and the EASA representative indicated signing was expected in 2026.
Who is impacted, and what changes operationally?
Kosovo-certificated operators and aircraft, plus carriers operating into Kosovo subject to SAFA ramp checks. AAC already conducts SAFA (Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft) ramp inspections under CAA Regulation 04/2015 on third-country carriers. The new arrangements move Kosovo toward reciprocal participation: Kosovo-registered aircraft become subject to, and Kosovo inspectors join, the EU SAFA/SACA ramp-inspection cycle alongside the Western Balkans peers already inside it.
For AAC, the instruments promise institutional-capacity building and more effective implementation of the standards transposed through CAA Regulation 05/2020, which mirrors the EASA Basic Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2018/1139. For operators, expect closer scrutiny aligned with EU methodology, not a new domestic penalty regime. Note the institutional split that catches foreign auditors: AAC owns safety, while aviation security sits with the Ministry of Internal Affairs under MIA Regulation 01/2009 (transposing Regulation (EC) No. 300/2008); the EASA arrangements touch the safety side, not the security file.
How does this fit Kosovo's ECAA trajectory?
Kosovo's aviation regime is built on the ECAA Agreement, not EU membership. The ECAA framework lets non-EU participants approximate the EU aviation acquis through national instruments; AAC issues CAA Regulations that transpose ICAO SARPs and the EASA Basic Regulation. Today's signing is a functional step within that ladder, not a jump to membership. Standardisation audits remain an EASA-member matter; Kosovo's alignment is verified through ECAA and bilateral working arrangements like these.
| Instrument | Issuer | Legal force in Kosovo |
|---|---|---|
| ECAA Agreement | International treaty | Binding, ratified, supersedes conflicting law (Art. 19(3) Const.) |
| Law 03/L-051 on Civil Aviation | Kuvendi (Assembly) | Binding domestic law |
| CAA Regulation 05/2020 (transposes 2018/1139) | AAC | Binding bylaw |
| Two EASA Working Arrangements (Aug 2026) | EASA + AAC | Non-binding cooperation |
Continuous, per-jurisdiction real-time monitoring surfaces this kind of cooperation milestone the moment a national regulator publishes it, before trade press picks it up.
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What to do next
Confirm whether your operation holds Kosovo certification or flies into Prishtine and would enter the SAFA/SACA cycle; brief flight-ops and compliance teams on the EU ramp-inspection methodology AAC already applies under CAA Regulation 04/2015; and track AAC's implementing bylaws and any EASA working-arrangements register update for the operational start date. Obsidian follows these Western Balkans aviation developments as they publish.
