27.12.2006 Official Journal of the European Union L3771 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) REGULATION (EC) No 1899/2006 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 12 December 2006 amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91 on the harmonisation of technical requirements and administrative procedures in the field of civil aviation (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EURO- PEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com- munity, and in particular Article 80(2) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (%), After consulting the Committee of the Regions, Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (), Whereas: 1 Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91 (}) provides for common safety standards listed in Annex II to that Regulation with respect, in particular, to the design, manufacture, opera- tion and maintenance of aircraft, as well as persons and organisations involved in those tasks. Those harmonised safety standards apply to all aircraft operated by Com- munity operators, whether such aircraft are registered in a Member State or in a third country. Article 4(1) of that Regulation requires the adoption of common technical requirements and administrative procedures, on the basis of Article 80(2) of the Treaty, for the fields that are not listed in Annex II to that Regu- lation. () 0JC14,16.1.2001, p. 33. (3 Opinion of the European Parliament of 3 September 2002 (O] C 272E, 13.11.2003, p. 103), Council Common Position of 9 March 2006 (O] C179E, 1.8.2006, p. 1), Position of the European Parliament of 5 July 2006 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 23 Octoger 2006. () OJL373,31.12.1991, p. 4. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 (O] L 240, 7.9.2002, p. 1). G) Article 9 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92 of 23 July 1992 on licensing of air carriers (*) provides that the granting and validity at any time of an operating licence shall be dependent upon the possession of a valid air operator’s certificate specifying the activities covered by the operating licence and complying with the criteria to be established in a prospective regulation. It is now appropriate to establish such criteria. The Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) have adopted a set of harmonised rules for commercial air transportation by aeroplane, called Joint Aviation Requirements for Commercial Air Transportation (Aeroplanes) (JAR-OPS 1), as amended. Those rules (Amendment 8 of 1 January 2005) provide for a minimum level of safety requirements and therefore constitute a good basis for Community legislation covering the operation of aero- planes. Changes had to be made to JAR-OPS 1 in order to bring it into conformity with Community legislation and policies, account being taken of its numerous impli- cations in the economic and social field. That new text cannot be introduced into Community law by simple reference to JAR-OPS 1 in Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91. A new Annex containing the common rules should therefore be added to that Regulation. Air operators should be given sufficient flexibility to address unforeseen urgent operational circumstances, or operational needs of a limited duration, or to demon- strate that they can achieve an equivalent level of safety by means other than the application of the common rules set out in the Annex (hereinafter referred to as Annex III). Member States should therefore be empow- ered to grant exemptions or introduce variations to the common technical requirements and administrative procedures. Because such exemptions and variations could, in certain cases, undermine the common safety standards or create distortions on the market, their scope should be strictly limited and their grant should be subject to appropriate Community control. In that respect, the Commission should be empowered to take safeguard measures. () OJL240,24.8.1992,p.1.