
Article 1 
For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

1.. ‘prioritisation of ramp inspections’ means the dedication of an appropriate portion of the total number of ramp inspections conducted by a Member State on an annual basis, as provided under Article 2 of this Regulation;
2.. ‘subject’ means an operator and/or all operators from a particular State and/or an aircraft type and/or a particular aircraft.
Article 2 
Without prejudice to Article 8(3) of Directive 2004/36/EC, Member States shall prioritise their ramp inspections on the following subjects landing at any of their airports open to international air traffic:

1.. Subjects identified as posing a potential safety threat on the basis of the regular analyses conducted by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
2.. Subjects identified on the basis of an opinion expressed by the Air Safety Committee within the context of the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005 of the European Parliament and the Council that further verification of effective compliance with relevant safety standards through systematic ramp inspections on those subjects is necessary. This may include subjects which have been withdrawn from the list of air carriers subject to an operating ban within the Community established by Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005 (the Community list).
3.. Subjects identified on the basis of information obtained by the Commission from the Member States or EASA pursuant to Article 4(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005.
4.. Aircraft operated into the Community by operators included in Annex B of the Community list.
5.. Aircraft operated by other operators certified in the same state as any operator featuring concurrently on the Community list.
Article 3 

1. A list of the subjects referred to in Article 2 shall be communicated electronically by EASA to the Member States at least every four months.
2. EASA shall monitor the prioritisation process and provide to the Member States, in cooperation with competent international organisations in the field of aviation, the information needed to enable them to follow the progress across the Community with regard to the prioritisation of inspections on subjects referred to in Article 2, including relevant statistical air traffic data.
Article 4 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the first day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.Done at Brussels, 16 April 2008.
For the Commission
Jacques BARROT
Vice-President