A news story on the Flyer website says the following (and more, but this is the relevant bit)
The CAA has confirmed that the UK implementation of significant elements of the European Union’s Standardised European Rules of the Air (SERA) has been delayed. As a result, there will be no changes to the UK Rules of the Air stemming from SERA that will impact UK pilots. The changes to be introduced on 4 December 2014 resulting from SERA will only be those that replicate existing UK rules.
The decision has been prompted by concerns over the impact of the changes on UK aviation, the need to complete the derogation process with the European Commission and delays in providing the CAA with the authority to administer the rules seamlessly.
The proposed change to move the UK from quadrantal to semi-circular cruising levels is therefore postponed and will not now happen in December. There will be no changes to minimum height rules, and both VFR and Special VFR flight at night will continue to be permitted.
How can they do this? I thought this was an EU regulation which overrode any national legalisation and therefore the UK (and everyone else) aren’t able to ignore it?
It seems like everyone took the 2 year derogation and now they don’t want to implement it, but nothing during that 2 year period to address their concerns.
I understand that the Irish will be implementing it, and taking the options to ban VFR at night, but allow SVFR at night (so no change to current rules on these in Ireland). But these were options available within the SERA.
What the UK seems to be doing is just deciding that they aren’t going to implement it. How can they do that?
EU laws aren’t enforceable per se. Only when they are enabled in domestic legislation.
EU laws aren’t enforceable per se. Only when they are enabled in domestic legislation.
There are two kinds of EU “laws”. Directives and regulations. You are thinking about directives. Regulations are immediately binding. SERA is a regulation.
That means that from the EU point of view, SERA will be in effect in the UK from December 4th on.
Ah OK, sorry. Hadn’t realised it was a regulation. In which case the CAA view makes no sense.
The only explanation I can think of is that the CAA has received an informal confirmation from the EU Commission that the directive will be modified to allow for yet another derogation. We’ve had a similar case with the cost sharing where Germany chose to ignore valid EU law (basically giving pilots carte blanche to break the law) in anticipation of a changed directive.
But good to see that for once, the German administration is ahead of the UK administration in implementing EU aviation law even though they have the major disadvantage of having to wait for the official German translation of the directive (a common excuse of theirs) 
Long live the EU harmonization process!
It’s a directive and therefore effective immediately. Regulations require implementation.
It’s the other way around.
Sorry about that, the EU legal framework is complex matter that early in the morning
I wonder what’s happened here?
Has GA not been fully engaged in the consultation process and then someone stirred the cauldron when they suddenly discovered the consequences at the eleventh hour?
We shall just have to see. As someone said elsewhere, que SERA SERA…
