Common Position (EC) No 29/2003

adopted by the Council on 18 March 2003

with a view to adopting Regulation (EC) No .../2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... laying down the framework for the creation of the single European sky (the framework Regulation)

(2003/C 129 E/01)

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 80(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(2),

Having regard to the Opinion of the Committee of the Regions(3),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(4),

Whereas:

(1) Implementation of the common transport policy requires an efficient air transport system allowing safe and regular operation of air transport services, thus facilitating the free movement of goods, persons and services.

(2) At its Extraordinary Meeting in Lisbon on 23 and 24 March 2000, the European Council called on the Commission to put forward proposals on airspace management, air traffic control and air traffic flow management, based on the work of the High Level Group on the Single European Sky set up by the Commission. This Group, made up largely of the civil and military air navigation authorities in the Member States, submitted its report in November 2000.

(3) Smooth operation of the air transport system requires air navigation services allowing optimum use of Europe's airspace and a consistent, high level of safety in air travel, in keeping with the duty of general interest of air navigation services, including public service obligations.

(4) The Single European Sky initiative should be developed in line with the obligations stemming from the membership of the Community and its Member States of Eurocontrol, and in line with the principles laid down by the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.

(5) Decisions relating to the content, scope or carrying out of military operations and training do not fall within the sphere of competence of the Community.

(6) Airspace constitutes a limited resource, the optimum and efficient use of which will be possible only if the requirements of all users are taken into account. Member States should enhance civil-military cooperation and, if and to the extent deemed necessary by all Member States concerned, facilitate cooperation between their armed forces in all matters of air traffic management.

(7) For all these reasons, and with a view to extending the Single European Sky to include a larger number of European States, the Community should, while taking into account the developments occurring within Eurocontrol, lay down common objectives and an action programme to mobilise the efforts by the Community, the Member States and the various economic stakeholders in order to create a more integrated operating airspace: the Single European Sky.

(8) Where Member States take action to ensure compliance with Community requirements, the authorities performing verifications of compliance should be sufficiently independent of air navigation service providers.

(9) Air traffic services are comparable to public authorities requiring functional or structural separation and are organised according to very different legal forms in the various Member States.

(10) Where independent audits are required relating to providers of air navigation services, inspections by the official auditing authorities of the Member States where those services are provided by the administration, or by a public body subject to the supervision of the abovementioned authorities, should be recognised as independent audits, whether the audit reports drawn up are made public or not.

(11) It is desirable to extend the Single European Sky to European third countries, either within the framework of participation by the Community in the work of Eurocontrol, after the accession by the Community to Eurocontrol, or by means of agreements concluded by the Community with these countries.

(12) The accession of the Community to Eurocontrol is an important component in the creation of a pan-European airspace.

(13) In the process of creating the Single European Sky, the Community should, where appropriate, develop the highest level of cooperation with Eurocontrol in order to ensure regulatory synergies and consistent approaches, and to avoid any duplication between the two sides.

(14) In accordance with the conclusions of the High Level Group, Eurocontrol is the body that has the appropriate expertise to support the Community in its role as regulator. Accordingly, implementing rules should be developed, for matters falling within the remit of Eurocontrol as a result of mandates to that organisation, subject to the conditions to be included in a framework of cooperation between the Commission and Eurocontrol.

(15) The drafting of the measures necessary in order to create the Single European Sky requires broad-based consultations of economic and social stakeholders.

(16) The social partners should be informed and consulted in an appropriate way on all measures having significant social implications. The Sectoral Dialogue Committee set up under Commission Decision 1998/500/EC of 20 May 1998 on the establishment of Sectoral Dialogue Committees promoting the Dialogue between the social partners at European level(5) should also be consulted.

(17) The performance of the air navigation services system as a whole at European level should be assessed on a regular basis, with due regard to the maintenance of a high level of safety, to check the effectiveness of the measures adopted and to propose further measures.

(18) The impact of the measures taken to apply this Regulation should be evaluated in the light of reports to be submitted regularly by the Commission.

(19) This Regulation does not affect the power of Member States to adopt provisions in relation to the organisation of their armed forces. This power may lead Member States to adopt measures to ensure that their armed forces have sufficient airspace for adequate education and training purposes. Provision should therefore be made for a safeguards clause to enable this power to be exercised.

(20) Arrangements for greater cooperation over the use of Gibraltar airport were agreed in London on 2 December 1987 by the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom in a joint declaration by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two countries. Such arrangements have yet to enter into operation.

(21) Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the creation of the Single European Sky, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, by reason of the transnational scale of the action, and can therefore be better achieved at Community level, while allowing for detailed implementing rules that take account of specific local conditions, the Community may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve this objective.

(22) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(6),

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Objective and scope

1. The objective of the Single European Sky initiative is to enhance current safety standards and overall efficiency for general air traffic in Europe, to optimise capacity meeting the requirements of all airspace users and to minimise delays. In pursuit of this objective, the aim of this Regulation is to establish a harmonised regulatory framework for the creation of the Single European Sky by 31 December 2004.

2. The application of this Regulation and of the measures referred to in Article 3 shall be without prejudice to Member States' sovereignty over their airspace and to the requirements of the Member States relating to public order, public security and defence matters, as set out in Article 11. This Regulation and the abovementioned measures do not cover military operations and training.

3. The application of this Regulation and of the measures referred to in Article 3 shall be without prejudice to the rights and duties of Member States under the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.

4. The application of this Regulation and of the measures to be adopted in accordance with Article 3 to the airport of Gibraltar is understood to be without prejudice to the respective legal positions of the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom with regard to the dispute over sovereignty over the territory in which the airport is situated.

5. Application of this Regulation and of the measures to be adopted in accordance with Article 3 to Gibraltar airport shall be suspended until the arrangements included in the Joint Declaration made by the Foreign Ministers of the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom on 2 December 1987 enter into operation. The Governments of Spain and the United Kingdom will inform the Council of such date of entry into operation.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation and of the measures referred to in Article 3, the following definitions shall apply:

1. "air traffic control (ATC) service" means a service provided for the purpose of:

(a) preventing collisions:

- between aircraft, and

- in the manoeuvring area between aircraft and obstructions; and

(b) expediting and maintaining an orderly flow of air traffic;

2. "aerodrome control service" means an ATC service for aerodrome traffic;

3. "aeronautical information service" means a service established within the defined area of coverage responsible for the provision of aeronautical information and data necessary for the safety, regularity, and efficiency of air navigation;

4. "air navigation services" means air traffic services; communication, navigation and surveillance services; meteorological services for air navigation; and aeronautical information services;

5. "air navigation service providers" means any public or private entity providing air navigation services for general air traffic;

6. "airspace block" means an airspace of defined dimensions, in space and time, within which air navigation services are provided;

7. "airspace management" means a planning function with the primary objective of maximising the utilisation of available airspace by dynamic time-sharing and, at times, the segregation of airspace among various categories of airspace users on the basis of short-term needs;

8. "airspace users" means all aircraft operated as general air traffic;

9. "air traffic flow management" means a function established with the objective of contributing to a safe, orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic by ensuring that ATC capacity is utilised to the maximum extent possible, and that the traffic volume is compatible with the capacities declared by the appropriate air traffic service providers;

10. "air traffic management" means the aggregation of the airborne and ground-based functions (air traffic services, airspace management and air traffic flow management) required to ensure the safe and efficient movement of aircraft during all phases of operations;

11. "air traffic services" means the various flight information services, alerting services, air traffic advisory services and ATC services (area, approach and aerodrome control services);

12. "area control service" means an ATC service for controlled flights in a block of airspace;

13. "approach control service" means an ATC service for arriving or departing controlled flights;

14. "bundle of services" means two or more air navigation services;

15. "certificate" means a document issued by a Member State in any form complying with national law, which confirms that an air navigation service provider meets the requirements for providing a specific service;

16. "communication services" means aeronautical fixed and mobile services to enable ground-to-ground, air-to-ground and air-to-air communications for ATC purposes;

17. "European air traffic management network" ("EATMN") means the collection of systems listed in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No .../2003 of ... on the interoperability of the European Air Traffic Management network (the "interoperability Regulation")(7) enabling air navigation services in the Community to be provided, including the interfaces at boundaries with third countries;

18. "concept of operation" means the criteria for the operational use of the EATMN or of part thereof;

19. "constituents" means tangible objects such as hardware and intangible objects such as software upon which the interoperability of the EATMN depends;

20. Eurocontrol is the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation set up by the International Convention of 13 December 1960 relating to Cooperation for the Safety of Air Navigation(8);

21. "Eurocontrol's principles for establishing the cost-base for route facility charges and the calculation of unit rates" means the principles as specified in document No 99.60.01/01 of 1 August 1999, issued by Eurocontrol;

22. "flexible use of airspace" means an airspace management concept applied in the European Civil Aviation Conference area, as specified in the first edition of 5 February 1996 of the "Airspace Management Handbook for the application of the Concept of the Flexible Use of Airspace" issued by Eurocontrol;

23. "flight information region" means an airspace of defined dimensions within which flight information services and alerting services are provided;

24. "flight level" means a surface of constant atmospheric pressure which is related to the specific pressure datum of 1013.2 hectopascals and is separated from other such surfaces by specific pressure intervals;

25. "functional airspace block" means an airspace block based on operational requirements, reflecting the need to ensure more integrated management of the airspace regardless of existing boundaries.

26. "general air traffic" means all movements of civil aircraft, as well as all movements of State aircraft (including military, customs and police aircraft) when these movements are carried out in conformity with the procedures of the ICAO;

27. "ICAO" means the International Civil Aviation Organisation, as established by the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.

28. "interoperability" means a set of functional, technical and operational properties required of the systems and constituents of the EATMN and of the procedures for its operation, in order to enable its safe, seamless and efficient operation. Interoperability is achieved by making the systems and constituents compliant with the essential requirements;

29. "meteorological services" means those facilities and services that provide aircraft with meteorological forecasts, briefs and observations as well as any other meteorological information and data provided by States for aeronautical use;

30. "navigation services" means those facilities and services that provide aircraft with positioning and timing information;

31. "operational data" means information concerning all phases of flight that are required to take operational decisions by air navigation service providers, airspace users, airport operators and other actors involved;

32. "procedure", as used in the context of the interoperability Regulation, means a standard method for either the technical or the operational use of systems, in the context of agreed and validated concepts of operation requiring uniform implementation throughout the EATMN;

33. "putting into service" means the first operational use after the initial installation or an upgrade of a system;

34. "route network" means a network of specified routes for channelling the flow of general air traffic as necessary for the provision of ATC services;

35. "routing" means the chosen itinerary to be followed by an aircraft during its operation;

36. "seamless operation" means the operation of the EATMN in such a manner that from the user's perspective it functions as if it were a single entity;

37. "sector" means a subdivision of the totality of control tasks into manageable airspace portions;

38. "surveillance services" means those facilities and services used to determine the respective positions of aircraft to allow safe separation;

39. "system" means the aggregation of airborne and ground-based constituents, as well as space-based equipment, that provides support for air navigation services for all phases of flight;

40. "upgrade" means any modification that changes the operational characteristics of a system.

Article 3

Fields for action by the Community

1. This Regulation establishes a harmonised regulatory framework for the creation of the Single European Sky in conjunction with:

(a) Regulation (EC) No .../2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... on the organisation and use of the airspace in the Single European Sky ("the airspace Regulation")(9);

(b) Regulation (EC) No .../2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... on the provision of air navigation services in the Single European Sky ("the service provision Regulation")(10) and

(c) the interoperability Regulation;

and with the implementing rules adopted by the Commission on the basis of this Regulation and the measures referred to above.

2. The measures referred to in paragraph 1 shall apply subject to the provisions of this Regulation.

Article 4

National Supervisory Authorities

1. Member States shall nominate or establish a body or bodies as their national supervisory authority in order to assume the tasks assigned to such authority under this Regulation and under the measures referred to in Article 3.

2. The national supervisory authorities shall be independent of air navigation service providers. This independence shall be achieved through adequate separation, at the functional level at least, between the national supervisory authorities and such providers. Member States shall ensure that national supervisory authorities exercise their powers impartially and transparently.

3. Member States shall notify the Commission of the names and addresses of the national supervisory authorities, as well as changes thereto, and of the measures taken to ensure compliance with paragraph 2.

Article 5

Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee, hereinafter referred to as "the Single Sky Committee", composed of two representatives of each Member State and chaired by a representative of the Commission.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 3 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at one month.

4. The Single Sky Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 6

Relations with European third countries

The Community shall endeavour, either within the framework of agreements concluded with European third countries, or within the context of Eurocontrol, to extend the scope of this Regulation, and of the measures to be adopted in accordance with Article 3, to those countries.

Article 7

Implementing rules

1. For the development of implementing rules pursuant to Article 3 which fall within the remit of Eurocontrol, the Commission shall issue mandates to Eurocontrol setting out the tasks to be performed and the timetable therefor. The Commission shall act in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 5(2).

2. On the basis of the work completed pursuant to paragraph 1, decisions regarding the application of the results of such work within the Community and the deadline for their implementation shall be taken in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 5(3). These decisions shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, if Eurocontrol cannot accept a mandate that was issued to it under paragraph 1, or if the Commission, in consultation with the Single Sky Committee, considers that

(a) the work carried out on the basis of such mandate is not progressing satisfactorily given the deadline set, or

(b) the results of the work carried out are not adequate,

the Commission, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 5(3), may adopt alternative measures to achieve the objectives of the mandate concerned.

4. For the development of implementing rules pursuant to Article 3 which fall outside the remit of Eurocontrol, the Commission shall act in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 5(3).

Article 8

Consultation of stakeholders

The Member States, acting in accordance with their national legislation, and the Commission shall establish consultation mechanisms for appropriate involvement of stakeholders in the implementation of the Single European Sky.

Such stakeholders may include:

- air navigation service providers,

- airspace users,

- airports,

- manufacturing industry, and

- professional staff representative bodies.

Consultation of stakeholders shall cover, in particular, the development and introduction of new concepts and technologies in the EATMN.

Article 9

Performance review

1. The Commission shall ensure the examination and evaluation of air navigation performance, drawing upon the existing expertise of Eurocontrol.

2. The analysis of the information collected for the purposes of paragraph 1 aims at:

(a) allowing the comparison and improvement of air navigation service provision;

(b) assisting air navigation service providers to deliver the required services;

(c) improving the consultation process between airspace users, air navigation service providers and airports;

(d) allowing the identification and the promotion of best practice.

3. Without prejudice to the public's right of access to the Commission's documents as laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents(11), the Commission shall adopt, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 5(3), measures for the dissemination to interested parties of the information referred to in paragraph 2.

Article 10

Supervision, monitoring and methods of impact assessment

1. The supervision, monitoring and methods of impact assessment shall be based on the submission of regular reports by the Member States on implementation of the actions taken pursuant to this Regulation.

2. The Commission shall periodically review the application of this Regulation and of the measures to be adopted in accordance with Article 3, and shall report to the European Parliament and to the Council, on the first occasion by ...(12). For this purpose, the Commission may request from the Member States information additional to the information contained in the reports submitted by them in accordance with paragraph 1.

3. For the purposes of drafting the reports referred to in paragraph 2, the Commission shall request the opinion of the Single Sky Committee.

4. The reports shall contain an evaluation of the results achieved by the actions taken pursuant to this Regulation in the various fields of action in the light of the original objectives and with a view to future needs.

Article 11

Safeguards

This Regulation shall not prevent the application of measures by a Member State to the extent to which these are needed to safeguard essential security or defence policy interests. Such measures are in particular those which are imperative:

- for the surveillance of airspace that is under its responsibility in accordance with ICAO Regional Air Navigation agreements, including the capability to detect, identify and evaluate all aircraft using such airspace, with a view to seeking to safeguard safety of flights and to take action to ensure security and defence needs,

- in the event of serious internal disturbances affecting the maintenance of law and order,

- in the event of war or serious international tension constituting a threat of war,

- for the fulfilment of a Member State's international obligations in relation to the maintenance of peace and international security,

- in order to conduct military operations and training, including the necessary possibilities for exercises.

Article 12

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth 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 ...

For the European Parliament

The President

For the Council

The President

(1) OJ C 103 E, 30.4.2002, p. 1.

(2) OJ C 241, 7.10.2002, p. 24.

(3) OJ C 278, 14.11.2002, p. 13.

(4) Opinion of the European Parliament of 3 September 2002 (not yet published in the Official Journal), Council Common Position of 18 March 2003 and Decision of the European Parliament of ... (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(5) OJ L 225, 12.8.1998, p. 27.

(6) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

(7) See page 26 of this Official Journal.

(8) Convention as amended by the Protocol of 12 February 1981, and revised by the Protocol of 27 June 1997.

(9) See page 11 of this Official Journal.

(10) See page 16 of this Official Journal.

(11) OJ L 145, 31.5.2002, p. 43.

(12) Three years after the entry into force of this Regulation.

STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL'S REASONS(1)

I. INTRODUCTION

In the framework of the codecision procedure (Article 251 EC-Treaty), the Council reached on 5 December 2002 a political agreement on the package of four draft Regulations aimed at creating a "Single European Sky".

In taking its position, the Council took account of the opinion of the European Parliament in first reading on 3 September 2002, as well as of the opinions of the Committee of the Regions and of the Economic and Social Committee.

The Single European Sky initiative envisages to enhance current safety standards and overall efficiency for general air traffic in Europe, to optimise capacity meeting the requirements of all airspace users and to minimise delays. Within this context, the main objectives of the four Regulations are 1) to improve and reinforce safety, 2) to support the concept of a more integrated operating airspace within the context of the common transport policy, 3) to establish common requirements for the safe and efficient provision of air navigation services in the Community, and 4) to achieve interoperability between the different systems, constituents and associated procedures of the European air traffic management network.

II. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION

1. General

The Council made a number of modifications to the proposals of the Commission, both regarding form and substance. As far as the formal modifications are concerned, the Council endeavoured to make the texts simpler, clearer and generally easier to understand. The Council rearranged the texts considerably in order to enhance their logical disposition, and deleted a number of provisions with a view to avoiding duplication.

With respect to the substantive modifications, the Council introduced certain modifications in order to take care of specific requests by Member States. Modifications were also made in view of requests by the military authorities of the Member States. The main modifications are set out hereafter with respect to each individual Regulation (first the framework Regulation, than the three specific Regulations).

2. Specific comments regarding the individual Regulations

(a) Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the framework for the creation of the Single European Sky ("framework Regulation")

The Council, being of the opinion that the provisions of the framework Regulation apply automatically to the three specific Regulations as well, agreed to reinforce the "horizontal" character of the framework Regulation by transferring to it provisions that are common to those specific Regulations. In this sense, the Council agreed to shift all the definitions that were previously contained in the three specific Regulations - and which the Council aligned as close as possible to the ICAO definitions - to the framework Regulation. The Council also introduced new horizontal Articles on national supervisory authorities and on consultation of stakeholders, and adapted the Article on committee-procedure for application to all Regulations of the Single European Sky (SES). The Articles "summarizing" the contents of the specific Regulations were deleted, in order to make the text of the framework Regulation clearer and to avoid duplication.

The Council could accept 31 December 2004 as the indicative date for the establishment of the harmonised regulatory framework for the creation of the SES. The Council underlined that the application of the SES Regulations is without prejudice to Member States' sovereignty over their airspace, and recalled, in line with the amendment by Parliament, that these Regulations are without prejudice to the rights and obligations stemming from the 1944 Chicago Convention. With regard to military matters, the Council underlined that the SES Regulations do not prejudice the requirements of the Member States relating to public order, public security and defence matters, and stated that the Regulations do not cover military operations and training. The Council also refined the safeguard clause. In addition, the Member States submitted a statement on civil-military cooperation.

As regards the relationship with Eurocontrol, the Council agreed to reinforce considerably the position of that organisation. To that effect, the Council laid down arrangements for involving Eurocontrol in the future work on implementing rules. In the Council's view, it has arrived at a balanced text which should ensure that in all circumstances appropriate action is taken.

As regards the amendments of Parliament, the Council endeavoured to incorporate them to the greatest extent possible. However - and this also applies to the specific Regulations - in various cases this could not be done, because the relevant texts had been substantially modified or had even been deleted. This being so, the Council was able to accept, to the letter or in substance, (part of) amendments nos 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 26, 28, 31 and 33.

(b) Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the organisation and use of the airspace in the Single European Sky ("airspace Regulation")

The Council agreed that the scope of this Regulation should cover the airspace under the responsibility of the Member States as included in the ICAO European and African Regions. The Council added that Member States might decide to apply the Regulation to airspace under their responsibility within other ICAO regions.

The Council substantially modified the Article on the establishment of the European Upper Information Region (EUIR), and specified that, with respect to the recognition of the EUIR by ICAO, the Commission should submit a recommendation to the Council in accordance with Article 300 of the Treaty, as far as matters falling within the competence of the Community are concerned. The Council also stressed that the establishment of the EUIR should not affect the responsibilities of the Member States towards ICAO. Moreover, the Council dissociated some provisions, such as those relating to the division between upper and lower airspace, from the EUIR.

With regard to the creation of functional airspace blocks, the Council agreed that decisions in this field could not be imposed on individual States. Therefore, it stated that a functional airspace block should only be established by mutual agreement between all the Member States who have responsibility for any part of the airspace included in the block (or by a declaration of one Member State if the airspace included in the block is wholly under its responsibility). However, in order to achieve appropriate coordination regarding the establishment of a functional airspace block, the Council specified that the Member State(s) concerned should only act after having consulted interested parties, including the Commission and the other Member States. The definition of common general principles for the establishment and modification of functional airspace blocks should be established by the general procedure on implementing rules involving Eurocontrol.

The Council decided deleting the provision on direct routing in view of the new approach taken by Eurocontrol in this field.

In respect of the coordinated use of airspace by civil and military users, the Council emphasized the uniform application of the concept of flexible use of airspace, as described by ICAO and as developed by Eurocontrol. The Council also underlined that all action in this field, including the establishment of implementing rules, should take place within the context of the common transport policy.

Finally, the Council felt that it would be appropriate firstly to examine the progress in respect of the application of this Regulation to the upper airspace, before taking a decision on the extension of the scope of this Regulation to the lower airspace.

As to the amendments of Parliament, the Council was able to accept, to the letter or in substance, (part of) amendments nos 36, 37, 41, 47, 49, 52, 53, 54, 56, 60, 61, 63 and 64.

(c) Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of air navigation services in the Single European Sky ("service provision Regulation")

In line with the amendments by Parliament, the Council reviewed the Regulation in order to give high priority to safety aspects. The Council excluded search and rescue services from the scope of the Regulation, since these are not part of air navigation services and in some Member States belong to the military.

The Council specified the tasks of national supervisory authorities in respect of air navigation service providers, and agreed to simplify the rules for the delegation of tasks by such authorities to recognised organisations. The Council deleted the provision on licensing and training of controllers, since this provision has a declaratory nature and, as such, has no place in the Regulation.

As regards the rules for the provision of services, the Council made the text clearer by establishing a separate provision on "common requirements", and by replacing the system of authorisation of air navigation service providers by a system of certification of such service providers. The Council agreed to exempt from such system cases where the provider of air navigation services offers those services primarily to aircraft movements other than general air traffic.

With regard to the designation of air traffic service providers, the Council affirmed that the Member States have discretionary powers in choosing a service provider, and agreed to extend this prerogative with respect to the designation of providers of meteorological services.

The Council followed the Parliament's suggestion to ensure consistency of the charging scheme with Eurocontrol's multilateral agreement on route charges. With regard to the establishment of the cost-base for charges, the Council deleted the provisions on external costs. As far as "incentive-mechanisms" in the charging schemes are concerned, the Council agreed that the decision as to whether to apply such mechanisms remains within the sole responsibility of each Member State.

As to the amendments of Parliament, the Council was able to accept, to the letter or in substance, (part of) amendments nos 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34 and 35.

(d) Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the interoperability of the European Air Traffic Management network ("interoperability Regulation")

The Council made no substantial changes to the text as submitted by the Commission. However, it reshuffled the text considerably in order to make it easier to understand.

The Council inserted more detailed provisions concerning transitional arrangements with a view to protecting the investments made by Member States in the period before the entry into force of the Regulation.

Like in the other specific Regulations, the Council felt that the consultation of stakeholders was an issue of a horizontal nature, which should be dealt with in the framework Regulation.

To be noted finally that annexes I and II to the Regulation have been revised by an ad hoc experts group, which refined the relevant texts.

As to the amendments of Parliament, the Council was able to accept, to the letter or in substance, (part of) amendments nos 65, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72 and 73.

III. CONCLUSION

The Council considers that the texts of its common position on the Single European Sky package are appropriate and balanced. With respect to the amendments submitted by the European Parliament in first reading, the Council observes that the large majority of these amendments are, as to their aim and spirit, very similar to the corresponding provisions of the Council's common position. Therefore, the Council holds the opinion that the texts of its common position ensure by and large that the aim sought by these amendments is achieved.

Finally, the Council would like to underline that the agreement that it has reached in respect of civil-military cooperation, which in its present form is acceptable to all relevant parties in the Member States, constitutes the fruit of much and hard work with respect to this very delicate issue.

(1) This statement applies to all four common positions on the Regulations of the Single European Sky package.