Civil aviation: common rules, European Aviation Safety Agency

Parliament adopted twenty eight amendments to the Council common position on second reading. All these amendments are accepted by the Commission. It makes the following comments: - certain amendments request the Commission to make proposals covering aviation safety, in particular flight crew licensing and operations of aircraft. The Commission's acceptance of these can in no way be regarded as limiting its right of initiative. - on Parliament's desire for common rules concerning contributions in cash or kind from Member States to the Agencies to facilitate their establishment on Member States' territory, the Commission reserves the right to decide on the advisability of proposing common rules for all of the Agencies. - the Commission accepts the amendments designed to facilitate the appointment of the Executive Driector and to increase his or her authority over the other directors. Also accepted are the amendments relating to the removal of the reference to commercial interests, the strengthening of the Agency's autonomy and the transition period. On the latter, the Commission feels that the Parliament's political arguments are admissible.�