The European Union Aviation Safety Agency ( EASA) is the European counterpart of the FAA. It is responsible for civil aviation safety in the European Unionand carries out certification, regulation, and standardization roles – although its influence extends far beyond the European Union. After Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was downed over Ukraine in 2014, the EU developed the “EU Conflict Zone Alerting System” (the EU CZ Alerting System). It is designed to provide more consistency in the advice given to airlines on whether airspace is safe or unsafe.