The Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) was an associated body of the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) representing the civil aviation regulatory authorities of a number of European States who had agreed to co-operate in developing and implementing common safety regulatory standards and procedures. This co-operation was intended to provide high and consistent standards of safety and a "level playing field" for competition in Europe. Much emphasis was placed on harmonising the JAA regulations with those of the USA. The JAA Membership was based on signing the "JAA Arrangements" document originally signed by the then current Member States in Cyprus in 1990. The JAA started as the Joint Airworthiness Authorities in 1970. Originally, its objectives were only to produce common certification codes for large aeroplanes and for engines in order to meet the needs of European industry and international consortia (e.g., Airbus). After 1987 its work was extended to operations, maintenance, licensing and certification/design standards for all classes of aircraft.