Recital 38

(38)In order to provide minimum harmonised standards for the certification of qualifications, to facilitate the exchange of information between Member States and to facilitate the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of this Directive by the Commission, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of the setting of standards of competence, standards for medical fitness, standards for practical examinations, standards for the approval of simulators and standards defining the characteristics and conditions of use for the database, to be maintained by the Commission, that is to host a copy of key data related to Union certificates of qualification, service record books, logbooks and recognised documents. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making ¹⁰ . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.