Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty concerning the Common position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EEC) n° 3922/91 on the harmonisation of technical requirements and administrative procedures in the field of civil aviation (EU-OPS)
Date: 2006-03-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: administrative procedure, air safety, civil aviation, harmonisation of standards, technical regulations

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 14.3.2006 
COM(2006) 128 final 

2000/0069 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty 

concerning the  

Common position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European 
Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EEC) 
n° 3922/91 on the harmonisation of technical requirements and administrative 
procedures in the field of civil aviation (EU-OPS) 

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2000/0069 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty 

concerning the  

Common position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European 
Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EEC) 
n° 3922/91 on the harmonisation of technical requirements and administrative 
procedures in the field of civil aviation (EU-OPS) 

Background 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the EP and the Council
(document COM(2000)[121] final – [2000]/[0069]COD) 

[24 March 2000] 

Date of the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee: 

[19 October 2000] 

Date of the first opinion of the European Parliament, first 
reading: 

[18 January 2001] 

Date of transmission of the amended proposal to the EP and 
the Council 
(document COM(2002)[30] final – [2000]/[0069]COD) 

[04 February 2002] 

Date of the second opinion of the European Parliament, first 
reading 

[03 September 2002] 

Date of transmission of the revised amended proposal to the 
EP and the Council 
(document COM(2004)[73] final – [2000]/[0069]COD) 

[12 February 2004] 

Date of partial political agreement by Council(qualified 
majority) 

[10 December 2004] 

Date of adoption of the common position 

[9 March 2006] 

1. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL 

1.1.  When preparing the second aviation liberalisation package in 1989, the Council and 
the Commission agreed that Community air transport policy should also address the 
harmonisation  of  the  regulatory  framework  applicable  to  civil  aviation  in  order  to 
maintain a high level of aviation safety and guarantee fair competition between 
air  carriers.  In  that  context,  the  Community  adopted  Regulation  3922/91  on  the 
harmonisation of technical requirements and administrative procedures in the field of 

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1.2. 

1.3. 

1.4. 

1.5. 

civil aviation with the aim of establishing and keeping up to date harmonised rules 
for the design, manufacture, operation and maintenance of aircraft, and for personnel 
and organisations involved in these tasks. 

In March 2000, the Commission submitted to the Council a proposal to amend that 
Regulation in order to include operational rules designed to guarantee the operation 
of aircraft under satisfactory safety conditions1. These rules, applicable to air carriers, 
were based on rules already drawn up by the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA).2 

As  this  first  proposal  to  amend  Regulation  3922/91  was  held  up  in  the  Council,  in 
February 2004  the  Commission  submitted  an  amended  proposal  to  amend 
Regulation  3922/91,  in  particular  to  take  into  account  the  comments  made  by  the 
Council and Parliament when examining its initial proposal. 

Accordingly, the new Commission proposal included minimum requirements3 for 
cabin crew who must now be certified, as is already the case in the United States 
and  was  called  for  by  the  personnel  concerned  and  part  of  the  industry.  These 
minimum requirements should help to improve aviation safety by raising personnel 
standards.  In  addition,  they  should  facilitate  their  mobility  within  a  completely 
liberalised aviation transport market 

The new Commission proposal also included a flight time limitation (FTL) scheme 
for flight crew, as requested by the European Parliament which was concerned about 
national  disparities  in  this  connection.  For  a  long  time  in  fact,  professional  pilots’ 
associations and several air carriers have been very critical of these disparities which 
adversely affect safety and the normal operation of competition: 

–  Many aviation accident investigations have identified crew fatigue as  one of the 

factors contributing to the accident. 

–  The national flight time regulations are in some cases lax and allow air carriers to 
get  the  personnel  concerned  to  work  excessively  long  hours,  to  the  detriment  of 
safety and of companies subject to stricter laws. 

The flight time provisions contained in the Commission proposal were presented in the form 
of  minimum  requirements  which  the  Member  States  would  be  at  liberty  to  make  more 
restrictive. In addition, they are sufficiently flexible to allow specific national situations to be 
taken into account. 

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3 

These  operational  rules  concern  operator  certification,  aircraft  operation  and  maintenance  and  crew 
training. 
The  Joint  Aviation  Authorities  is  an  association  of  the  national  aviation  authorities  of  thirty-seven 
European  countries,  including  the  twenty-five  EU  Member  States,  created  to  establish  harmonised 
aviation safety requirements. 
The  minimum  requirements  may  be  supplemented  by  the  Member  States,  which  may  adopt  stricter 
requirements. In the case of cabin crew, the minimum requirements concern age, physical fitness and 
professional training. 
A  minimum  requirement  may  lay  down,  for  example,  a  minimum  content  for  training  or  a  minimum 
age. However, the Member States may lay down stricter rules (require more training or increase the age 
limit). Similarly, a minimum requirement may lay down a minimum rest period for crew which can be 
increased  but  not  reduced  by  Member  States,  or  a  maximum  flight  time.  National  rules  allowing  a 
longer maximum flight time would be incompatible while a national rule allowing a shorter maximum 
flying time would be compatible.  

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2. 

COMMENTS ON THE COMMON POSITION 

2.1. 

2.2. 

In its Common Position, the Council observes that the amendment proposed by the 
Parliament has been entirely taken on board, subject to some minor refinements. The 
Commission agrees that with the inclusion of these minor adjustments, the text of the 
Council’s  common  position  ensures  that  the  aim  sought  by  the  amendment  of 
Parliament is achieved. 

In agreeing to the Council’s Common Position the Commission accepts the Council’s 
disposition to agree on the major tenets of the Commission proposal, whilst on some 
points deciding to modify the text citing the need for more clarity and simplification 
in order to facilitate the readability of the text. 

2.3. 

In the content of the Articles per se:  

–  The Council made some changes to the flexibility provisions in Article 8, namely 
in paragraph 4, where the Council widened the prerogative for Member States to 
adopt or maintain provisions relating to a very limited number of OPS (technical 
requirements  and  administrative  procedures  in  the  field  of  civil  aviation)  until 
common rules based on scientific knowledge and best practices are established at 
a  Community  level.  The  Commission  considers  that  this  as  an  acceptable 
compromise in particular because the means of compliance in this area may vary 
without  necessarily  implying  a  threat  to  safety  levels.  Furthermore,  the 
Commission  has  now  submitted  a  new  proposal4  which  will  task  inter  alia 
European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to develop implementing rules in all of 
these domains. 

–  In  Article  8a  the  Council  offers  that  the  provisions  of  Subpart  Q  (flight  time 
limitation)  and,  as  appropriate,  Subpart  O  (cabin  crew)  of  Annex  III  should  be 
evaluated  from  a  scientific  and  medical  point  of  view  within  a  period  of  three 
years following the entry into force of the Regulation. Additionally, the Council 
position  places  upon  the  European  Aviation  Safety  Agency  (EASA),  the 
responsibility to carry out this work as well as that of assisting the Commission in 
preparing proposals for the modification of the technical provisions of Subpart Q 
as  applicable.  This  is  acceptable  to  the  Commission,  furthermore  since  it  tallies 
with  its  parallel  initiative  (see  above)  of  extending  the  competences  ascribed  to 
the Agency. 

–  The Council states that given the time needed for adaptation to the new technical 
rules,  Member  States  should  apply  Annex  III  with  effect  from  18  months  after 
entry into force of this Regulation (and not with effect from 6 months, as proposed 
by the Commission). The Commission can accept this compromise. 

–  Within  Annex  III  itself,  the  Council  has  made  some  modifications  in  order  to 
align the text fully to JAR-OPS 1 Amendment 8 citing the intention to making the 
text clearer and more precise. This is also acceptable to the Commission. 

4 

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 
1592/2002 of 15 July 2002 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European 
Aviation Safety Agency (document COM(2005)[579] final – [2005]/[0228]COD) 

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2.4. 

2.5. 

The Commission agrees with the view expressed in the Council’s Common Position 
that in the context of advancing techniques and changing circumstances in the field 
of modern aviation, given the lengthy period of inter-institutional deliberation needed 
for  the  finalisation  of  the  current  text,  Annex  III  could  already  be  improved  on 
certain  points  at  this  point  in  time.  However,  the  lengthy  work  on  this  voluminous 
text has now been matured enough for finalisation as it currently stands. 

In this respect, the Commission reiterates once again its commitment that its services 
would  as  soon  as  possible  after  entry  into  force  of  the  Regulation  start  the  work 
regarding further fine-tuning and updating of the text via the comitology procedure, 
whereby it would carefully consider the proactive suggestions for modification that 
have already been presented by some Member States. 

Conclusions 

The Commission notes that the Common Position adopted on 9 March 2006 largely follows 
the opinion of the European Parliament in first reading. The Commission also appreciates that 
the delicate and balanced compromise found in the Council text has been arrived at only after 
very  long  discussions.  The  Commission  is  therefore  in  a  position  to  accept  the  Common 
Position. 

COMMISSION DECLARATION 

The Commission together with the Council made a declaration at the occasion of the adoption 
of the Common Position (see Annex I). 

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ANNEX  

Statement by the Commission and the Council re Article 8a 

The  Commission  has  submitted  a  proposal  to  the  European Parliament  and  to  the  Council 
amending Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council on 
common  rules  in  the  field  of  civil  aviation  and  establishing  a  European  Aviation  Safety 
Agency to extend its scope to air operations and crew licensing. A decision on this proposal 
will enable EASA to carry out the evaluation referred to in Article 8a. The Council undertakes 
that it will examine such proposal with priority. 

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