RECOMMENDATION on the proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Cape Verde on certain aspects of air services
12.9.2011 - (09114/2011 – C7-0123/2011 – 2010/0296(NLE)) - ***
Committee on Transport and Tourism
Rapporteur: Dominique Riquet
DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION
on the proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Cape Verde on certain aspects of air services
(09114/2011 – C7-0123/2011 – 2010/0296(NLE))
(Consent)
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the draft Council decision (09114/2011),
– having regard to the Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Cape Verde on certain aspects of air services (16459/2010 + COR1 + COR2),
– having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Articles 100(2), 218(8), first subparagraph, and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a), of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C7-0123/2011),
– having regard to Rules 81 and 90(8) of its Rules of Procedure,
– having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A7-0307/2011),
1. Consents to the conclusion of the agreement;
2. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of the Republic of Cape Verde.
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
In 2002, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that certain provisions of the existing bilateral agreements between the Member States and third countries in the field of air services conflicted with Article 49 TFEU on (non‑discriminatory) freedom of establishment. Those provisions needed to be brought into line with EU law to allow all EU air carriers non‑discriminatory access to routes between the EU and those third countries.
In its Decision of 5 June 2003, the Council therefore authorised the Commission to open negotiations with those third countries with a view to replacing the provisions in question with an EU‑level agreement (‘horizontal mandate’).
The EU has sole competence in this field. The resulting agreements satisfy the criteria of effectiveness, proportionality and subsidiarity. They also meet a basic objective of the EU's external policy in the field of aviation.
In the case in point, Cape Verde has signed eight bilateral agreements, the relevant provisions of which must be replaced or supplemented by the provisions of a single agreement at EU level.
More specifically, this single agreement contains the following:
Article 2 of the Agreement replaces the traditional designation clauses with an EU designation clause, permitting all European Union carriers to benefit from the right of establishment. The article governs designation, authorisation and revocation of authorisation and clearly states that in exercising its rights, Cape Verde shall not discriminate between air carriers of Member States on the grounds of nationality.
Article 4 concerns the taxation of aviation fuel, which must conform to the provisions of Council Directive 2003/96/EC on the taxation of energy products.
Under Article 5, EU competition rules take precedence over the existing provisions of bilateral agreements.
The Agreement was signed on 23 March 2011. In its Decision of 17 May 2011, the Council requested that Parliament give its consent to the conclusion of the agreement, in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
Rule 81 of its Rules of Procedure stipulates that when Parliament is required to give consent to an international agreement it shall do so by means of a single vote. No amendments to the agreement may be tabled.
The rapporteur recommends that the Committee on Transport and Tourism give its consent to the conclusion of the agreement.
RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE
Date adopted |
8.9.2011 |
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Result of final vote |
+: –: 0: |
31 0 0 |
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Members present for the final vote |
Georges Bach, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Antonio Cancian, Michael Cramer, Ryszard Czarnecki, Luis de Grandes Pascual, Ismail Ertug, Carlo Fidanza, Jacqueline Foster, Mathieu Grosch, Jim Higgins, Ville Itälä, Dieter-Lebrecht Koch, Gesine Meissner, Olga Sehnalová, Keith Taylor, Silvia-Adriana Ţicău, Giommaria Uggias, Thomas Ulmer, Artur Zasada |
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Substitute(s) present for the final vote |
Spyros Danellis, Markus Ferber, Gilles Pargneaux, Dominique Riquet, Olle Schmidt, Laurence J.A.J. Stassen, Nuno Teixeira, Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, Sabine Wils, Janusz Władysław Zemke |
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Substitute(s) under Rule 187(2) present for the final vote |
David Campbell Bannerman |
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