The “what” in certification standards is black and white, the “how” in terms of how the aircraft meets that certification standard has many shades of grey. Rumour I am hearing is that with the new MCAS lite, the airplane can’t meet the certification standard in all circumstances, all though it is close to compliance. The FAA has apparently approved it anyway on the basis that sometime in the future there will be a third synthetic AOA input added.
EASA has indicated that they have not decided if they will accept this work around. The future of the MAX and maybe the company is hanging on the EASA flight test program in September.....