Civil aviation: common rules, European Aviation Safety Agency

The Council welcomes favourably that proposal which provides a good basis for the establishment of a European Aviation Safety Agency and broadly accepts the institutional architecture proposed which, in accordance with the Community institutional balance, enables a clear division of roles between the Commission, the Agency. It requests that the COREPER to continue the examination of the Commission proposal with a view to ensuring that:essential requirements truly reflect the legislator's intentions while remaining generic in nature; the Agency is endowed with the necessary powers to exercise its responsibilities in the field of aviation safety and to manage fully the type certification process and issue the related certificates; the definition of the liability of the Agency and the other actors of the Community system is clearly established. More generally, the objectives that the Council had set for the establishment of a European Aviation Safety Authority and the additional orientations adopted on 26 June 2000 are reached. It also confirms its will that this new process for European Aviation Safety should be open to European third countries in conformity with Community law. Lastly, the Council restates its willingness to give the highest priority to this matter and invites the Presidency to inform the European Parliament of its intention to reach a common position in its June 2001 meeting. �