The Commission is in a position to accept the common position given that it largely follows the opinion of the European Parliament in first reading. It also appreciates that the delicate and balanced compromise found in the Council text has been arrived at only after very long discussions.
It should be added that the Commission agrees with the view expressed in the 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.