Text tabled : A7-0044/2011

  Maria do Céu Patrão Neves (PPE), in writing. − (PT) Following the 2002 judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union ruling that the traditional designation clauses included within bilateral Air Services Agreements signed by Member States contravened Union law, it became necessary to negotiate an agreement that sought to replace certain provisions within the current 17 bilateral air services agreements between Member States and Vietnam.

The clause in question contravened Article 49 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which guarantees nationals of Member States exercising their freedom of establishment the same treatment within a host Member State as that given to nationals of that Member State. Thus, in order to avoid discrimination between EU air carriers, the traditional designation clauses relating to air carriers of a Member State that is a party to a bilateral Agreement are being replaced by an EU designation clause, applicable to all EU carriers. The aim of this is to provide all EU air carriers with non-discriminatory access to routes between the European Union and Vietnam.

In light of all of the above, I voted in favour of this report, which also merited a favourable opinion from the Committee on Transport and Tourism.