Parltrack

PURPOSE: to sign a provisional application of the Air Transport Agreement between the European Community and its Member States and the US and to conclude an Air Transport Agreement between the same parties.

PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Union, meeting within the Council.

CONTENT: in June 2003, the European Community and its Member States were given a mandate to negotiate an Agreement with the United States of America for an "Air Transport Agreement". The mandate was given following rulings by the European Court of Justice in November 2002 which stated that existing bi-lateral arrangements in the air transport sector were incompatible with EU law. Currently, there are twenty separate Agreements in place governing the laws and provisions of air operations between Europe and the US.

The objective of the negotiations, therefore, was the establishment of an "Open Aviation Area" (OOA) between the EU and US. The idea being to create a single market for air transport between the EU and US in which EU and US airlines would be able to provide air services without any restriction and which would include the domestic markets of both parties. Given the wide-ranging implications of such an Agreement, most notably the requirement for the US to remove restrictions on foreign legal ownership and control of US airlines cabotage, the Agreement became a politically sensitive issue for the US government. To address this problem both parties have agreed to a staggered implementation of the Agreement. At the same time, however, there is an implicit understanding that mechanisms should be put in place which allow the Agreement to become more complete.

As a first stage, the EU has accepted that cabotage will not be included in the first Agreement. The EU has made clear to the US that this would only be acceptable if meaningful progress can be made towards the removal of restrictions on ownership and control of US airlines. As such the Council has stated that it will take particular notice of progress made by the US Department of Transportations and its pledge to re-interpret the statutory requirement that US airlines can only be under the "actual control" of US citizens.

In other words, the adoption of this Decision by the Council will be subject to US adoption of rules deemed to constitute clear, meaningful and robust changes to the US' policy vis-à-vis foreign ownership of its commercial air fleet. Depending on the speed with which the US confirms its commitment to re-assessing its current statutes, signature of the Agreement could take place in the first half of 2006.

The Agreement represents a comprehensive first-stage agreement that will replace the existing bilateral agreements concluded by the Member States with the United States. It removes all existing restrictions on the rights of both Community air carriers and Unites States air carriers to operate between points in the European Community and points in the United States. Further, the Agreement established provisions which allow Community air carriers uniform conditions for market access; it establishes new arrangements for regulatory co-operation between the European Community and the United States  and it establishes provisions essential to the safe, secure and efficient operation of transatlantic air services.

There will be strengthened co-operation in matters concerning aviation security and aviation safety and there will be new arrangement for co-operation between the EU-US Competition authorities concerning the application of their respective competition regimes affecting the transatlantic market. All of the terms will simultaneously apply to the 25 EU Member States who will apply the same rules without discrimination and in a uniform manner. In return, Community air carriers will be able to access commercial opportunities, which Member States, acting individually, have been unable to secure. In short, adoption of the proposed Agreement will help enact one of the main objectives of the negotiations, namely the creation of a level playing field between all the EU and US air carriers, complemented by tight regulatory rules.

The proposal has no implications for the Community budget.

The Council was informed by Vice-President Barrot of the latest state of play regarding the negotiations on the Air Transport Agreement with the US, following a delay in the adoption of the rules on control of US airlines.

The Council referred to the results of the EU-US Transatlantic Summit in Vienna on 21 June 2006, after the last meeting of the Transport Council on 9 June, where EU and US leaders agreed to redouble their efforts to conclude a first-stage Air Transport Agreement by the end of 2006.

The Council underlined the importance it attached to the conclusion of an historic EU-US air transport agreement. It reaffirmed its unanimous satisfaction with the text of the draft agreement negotiated in November 2005 but regretted the further delay in the US reform on control of U.S. air carriers, which it considered an essential element before proceeding with the agreement. The results must be absolutely clear, meaningful and robust.

Several delegations expressed particular concerns regarding the implications of this delay and that the existing agreements do not ensure a level playing field.

The Council requested the Commission to continue its efforts, on the basis of further contacts with the United States, to secure a satisfactory and balanced outcome with the necessary safeguards, including the transitional provisions, in preparation for the December Council and in accordance with the EU-US Summit conclusions.

The Council welcomes the results of the negotiations between the European Community and its Member States and the United States of America on a first stage comprehensive air services agreement. It the agreement which will be endorsed at the forthcoming EU-US Summit on 30 April in Washington.

The Council also reiterates its ultimate objective of a fully liberalised open aviation area covering the EU and the US in accordance with the mandate agreed by the Council in June 2003. It underlines the importance of reaching a second stage agreement in order to pursue the benefits of liberalisation on both sides of the Atlantic. It calls upon the Commission to engage robustly with the United States Government so as to secure this goal as quickly as possible.

The Council instructs COREPER to proceed without delay with the necessary formalities for the signature of the agreement. In this respect, the Council confirms that:

a) the provisional application of the agreement will take place from 30 March 2008. The Commission was asked to secure agreement of the United States to confirm their agreement to reflect this;

b) if no Stage 2 agreement has been reached within 12 months of the start of the review mentioned in Article 21 (3), any Member State may notify to the Commission which traffic rights in relation to its own territory it wishes to suspend. Such traffic rights may not include any rights specified in the agreements mentioned in Annex 1 to the Agreement. The President of the Council on behalf of the EC and its Member States shall then give notice of the suspension of such rights to the US in accordance with Article 21 (3).

However, the Council, acting by unanimity on a proposal from the Commission, may decide not to give notice of suspension or subsequently to withdraw it.

The Commission is invited to draw up provisions to that effect for insertion in the draft Council Decisions on signature and conclusion of the EU-US air transport agreement.

The Committee on Transport and Tourism adopted a report drafted by Saïd EL KHADRAOUI (PES, BE), and approved the proposal for a decision of the Council and Member States of the EU, on the conclusion of the Air Transport Agreement between the EC and its Member States, and the United States of America. 

The Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, amended the EU's two core treaties, the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty establishing the European Community (EC Treaty). The latter was renamed the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

These changes had various consequences for many ongoing procedures. First of all, the articles of the TEU and of the old EC Treaty that constitute the legal basis of all the proposals founded on those Treaties were renumbered in accordance with the table of equivalences mentioned in Article 5 of the Lisbon Treaty.

In addition, some proposals underwent a change to their legal basis going beyond a mere change to their numbering, and this resulted in changes to the type of procedure.

The Lisbon Treaty also introduced new concepts of decision-making procedure. The old "codecision procedure" was extended to new areas and renamed the "ordinary legislative procedure". A new "consent procedure" replaced the old "assent procedure". New interinstitutional procedures were also set up for the adoption of certain non-legislative acts, for example the conclusion of some international agreements.

The ongoing proposals concerned by these changes were formally modified by the Commission in a Communication published on 2 December 2009 (COM(2009)0665).

In the case of the proposal for a Decision of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Union, meeting within the Council on the conclusion of the Air Transport Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, on the one hand, and the United States of America, on the other hand, the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty had the following impacts:

·        the old legal basis - Treaty/EC/Art.80(2), Art.300(2) first para and (3). - became Art 100(2), Art 218 (6)(a) of the TFEU. Please note that the numbering of the old legal basis corresponds to the consolidated version of the Treaty that was applicable immediately before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, and may differ from the references in the original Commission proposal;

·        the proposal, which had previously fallen under the old consultation procedure (CNS), was classified as an interinstitutional non-legislative procedure (NLE).

Le Conseil a été informé par le vice-président de la Commission Jacques Barrot des dernières évolutions des négociations menées avec les États-Unis au sujet d'un accord sur les services aériens, à la suite d'un retard dans l'adoption des dispositions relatives au contrôle des compagnies aériennes des États-Unis.

Le Conseil a rappelé les résultats du Sommet transatlantique UE-États-Unis, qui a eu lieu le 21 juin 2006 à Vienne après la dernière réunion du Conseil "Transports" du 9 juin, à l'occasion duquel les dirigeants de l'UE et des États-Unis sont convenus de redoubler leurs efforts pour conclure un accord sur les services aériens de première étape d'ici la fin de 2006.

Le Conseil a souligné l'importance qu'il attache à la conclusion d'un accord historique sur les services aériens entre l'UE et les États-Unis. Il a à nouveau exprimé sa satisfaction unanime quant au texte du projet d'accord négocié en novembre 2005, tout en regrettant le nouveau retard pris aux États Unis pour réformer la réglementation relative au contrôle des transporteurs aériens des États Unis, réforme qu'il estime essentielle avant de décider d'accepter l'accord. Il est impératif que les résultats soient clairs, significatifs et énergiques.

Plusieurs délégations se sont déclarées particulièrement préoccupées par les conséquences de ce retard et par le fait que les accords existants ne garantissent pas des conditions de concurrence équitable.

Le Conseil a demandé à la Commission de poursuivre ses efforts, dans le cadre de nouveaux contacts avec les États-Unis, en vue de parvenir à un résultat satisfaisant et équilibré avec les garanties qui s'imposent, y compris des dispositions provisoires, dans la perspective du Conseil de décembre et conformément aux conclusions du Sommet UE États Unis.

Le Conseil s'est félicité des résultats des négociations menées entre la Communauté européenne et ses États membres et les États-Unis d'Amérique en vue de la conclusion d'un accord global de première étape sur les services aériens. Il approuve l'accord qui sera entériné lors du prochain sommet UE-États-Unis qui se tiendra le 30 avril à Washington.

Le Conseil rappelle son objectif final d'un espace aérien ouvert totalement libéralisé couvrant l'UE et les États-Unis conformément au mandat approuvé par le Conseil en juin 2003. Il souligne l'importance de parvenir à un accord de seconde étape en vue de réaliser les avantages que présente la libéralisation des deux côtés de l'Atlantique. Il invite la Commission à engager résolument des discussions avec le gouvernement des États-Unis de manière à assurer cet objectif le plus rapidement possible.

Le Conseil charge le Coreper de poursuivre sans délai les formalités nécessaires pour la signature de l'accord. À cet égard, il confirme que:

a)      l'application provisoire de l'accord se fera à compter du 30 mars 2008. La Commission a été chargée d'obtenir l'accord des États-Unis pour qu'ils confirment leur accord sur cette date;

b)      si aucun accord de seconde étape n'est obtenu dans un délai de douze mois suivant le début de l'examen visé à l'article 21, paragraphe 3, tout État membre peut notifier à la Commission les droits de trafic concernant son propre territoire qu'il souhaite suspendre. De tels droits de trafic ne peuvent pas comprendre les droits prévus dans les accords mentionnés à l'annexe 1 de l'accord. Le président du Conseil, au nom de la Communauté et de ses États membres, notifie aux États-Unis la suspension de ces droits conformément à l'article 21, paragraphe 3.

Toutefois, le Conseil, statuant à l'unanimité sur proposition de la Commission, peut décider de ne pas donner notification de la suspension ou de la retirer ultérieurement.

La Commission est invitée à élaborer des dispositions à cet effet qui seront intégrées dans les projets de décisions du Conseil relatives à la signature et à la conclusion de l'accord sur les services aériens entre l'UE et les États-Unis.

En adoptant le rapport de consultation de Saïd EL KHADRAOUI (PSE, BE), la commission des transports et du tourisme propose d'approuver la conclusion de l'accord sur les services aériens entre la Communauté européenne et ses États membres, d'une part, et les États-Unis d'Amérique, d'autre part.

En adoptant par 513 voix pour, 15 contre et 35 abstentions le rapport de consultation de Saïd EL KHADRAOUI (PSE, BE), le Parlement européen a approuvé la conclusion de l'accord sur les services aériens entre la Communauté européenne et ses États membres, d'une part, et les États-Unis d'Amérique, d'autre part. Ce rapport fait suite à un premier avis du Parlement donné sous la forme d'une résolution adoptée le 14 mars 2007 qui soulignait notamment la nécessité de traiter lors des négociations du futur accord de seconde phase des questions non résolues (voir RSP/2007/2525).

PURPOSE: to sign a provisional application of the Air Transport Agreement between the European Community and its Member States and the US and to conclude an Air Transport Agreement between the same parties.

PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Union, meeting within the Council.

CONTENT: in June 2003, the European Community and its Member States were given a mandate to negotiate an Agreement with the United States of America for an "Air Transport Agreement". The mandate was given following rulings by the European Court of Justice in November 2002 which stated that existing bi-lateral arrangements in the air transport sector were incompatible with EU law. Currently, there are twenty separate Agreements in place governing the laws and provisions of air operations between Europe and the US.

The objective of the negotiations, therefore, was the establishment of an "Open Aviation Area" (OOA) between the EU and US. The idea being to create a single market for air transport between the EU and US in which EU and US airlines would be able to provide air services without any restriction and which would include the domestic markets of both parties. Given the wide-ranging implications of such an Agreement, most notably the requirement for the US to remove restrictions on foreign legal ownership and control of US airlines cabotage, the Agreement became a politically sensitive issue for the US government. To address this problem both parties have agreed to a staggered implementation of the Agreement. At the same time, however, there is an implicit understanding that mechanisms should be put in place which allow the Agreement to become more complete.

As a first stage, the EU has accepted that cabotage will not be included in the first Agreement. The EU has made clear to the US that this would only be acceptable if meaningful progress can be made towards the removal of restrictions on ownership and control of US airlines. As such the Council has stated that it will take particular notice of progress made by the US Department of Transportations and its pledge to re-interpret the statutory requirement that US airlines can only be under the "actual control" of US citizens.

In other words, the adoption of this Decision by the Council will be subject to US adoption of rules deemed to constitute clear, meaningful and robust changes to the US' policy vis-à-vis foreign ownership of its commercial air fleet. Depending on the speed with which the US confirms its commitment to re-assessing its current statutes, signature of the Agreement could take place in the first half of 2006.

The Agreement represents a comprehensive first-stage agreement that will replace the existing bilateral agreements concluded by the Member States with the United States. It removes all existing restrictions on the rights of both Community air carriers and Unites States air carriers to operate between points in the European Community and points in the United States. Further, the Agreement established provisions which allow Community air carriers uniform conditions for market access; it establishes new arrangements for regulatory co-operation between the European Community and the United States  and it establishes provisions essential to the safe, secure and efficient operation of transatlantic air services.

There will be strengthened co-operation in matters concerning aviation security and aviation safety and there will be new arrangement for co-operation between the EU-US Competition authorities concerning the application of their respective competition regimes affecting the transatlantic market. All of the terms will simultaneously apply to the 25 EU Member States who will apply the same rules without discrimination and in a uniform manner. In return, Community air carriers will be able to access commercial opportunities, which Member States, acting individually, have been unable to secure. In short, adoption of the proposed Agreement will help enact one of the main objectives of the negotiations, namely the creation of a level playing field between all the EU and US air carriers, complemented by tight regulatory rules.

The proposal has no implications for the Community budget.

The Council emphasised the importance it attaches to concluding a historic first-stage EU/US air transport agreement that would establish an open market based on principles of fair competition. It reaffirmed its unanimous satisfaction with the draft EU/US air transport agreement resulting from the negotiations in November 2005, while noting that it would await the outcome of the US rulemaking process in relation to the control of US air carriers by foreign nationals before deciding whether to proceed with the agreement.

The Council stressed the crucial importance of clear, meaningful and robust policy changes in this area and noted that the US process has been extended and looks forward to reaching a conclusion in the second half of 2006, following its assessment of the US rule.

The Council was informed by Vice-President Barrot of the latest state of play regarding the negotiations on the Air Transport Agreement with the US, following a delay in the adoption of the rules on control of US airlines.

The Council referred to the results of the EU-US Transatlantic Summit in Vienna on 21 June 2006, after the last meeting of the Transport Council on 9 June, where EU and US leaders agreed to redouble their efforts to conclude a first-stage Air Transport Agreement by the end of 2006.

The Council underlined the importance it attached to the conclusion of an historic EU-US air transport agreement. It reaffirmed its unanimous satisfaction with the text of the draft agreement negotiated in November 2005 but regretted the further delay in the US reform on control of U.S. air carriers, which it considered an essential element before proceeding with the agreement. The results must be absolutely clear, meaningful and robust.

Several delegations expressed particular concerns regarding the implications of this delay and that the existing agreements do not ensure a level playing field.

The Council requested the Commission to continue its efforts, on the basis of further contacts with the United States, to secure a satisfactory and balanced outcome with the necessary safeguards, including the transitional provisions, in preparation for the December Council and in accordance with the EU-US Summit conclusions.

The Council welcomes the results of the negotiations between the European Community and its Member States and the United States of America on a first stage comprehensive air services agreement. It the agreement which will be endorsed at the forthcoming EU-US Summit on 30 April in Washington.

The Council also reiterates its ultimate objective of a fully liberalised open aviation area covering the EU and the US in accordance with the mandate agreed by the Council in June 2003. It underlines the importance of reaching a second stage agreement in order to pursue the benefits of liberalisation on both sides of the Atlantic. It calls upon the Commission to engage robustly with the United States Government so as to secure this goal as quickly as possible.

The Council instructs COREPER to proceed without delay with the necessary formalities for the signature of the agreement. In this respect, the Council confirms that:

a) the provisional application of the agreement will take place from 30 March 2008. The Commission was asked to secure agreement of the United States to confirm their agreement to reflect this;

b) if no Stage 2 agreement has been reached within 12 months of the start of the review mentioned in Article 21 (3), any Member State may notify to the Commission which traffic rights in relation to its own territory it wishes to suspend. Such traffic rights may not include any rights specified in the agreements mentioned in Annex 1 to the Agreement. The President of the Council on behalf of the EC and its Member States shall then give notice of the suspension of such rights to the US in accordance with Article 21 (3).

However, the Council, acting by unanimity on a proposal from the Commission, may decide not to give notice of suspension or subsequently to withdraw it.

The Commission is invited to draw up provisions to that effect for insertion in the draft Council Decisions on signature and conclusion of the EU-US air transport agreement.

The Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Union, meeting within the Council, have decided to approve the signing of the Air Transport Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the United States of America, of the other part, subject to a Council Decision concerning the conclusion of the Agreement.

The Committee on Transport and Tourism adopted a report drafted by Saïd EL KHADRAOUI (PES, BE), and approved the proposal for a decision of the Council and Member States of the EU, on the conclusion of the Air Transport Agreement between the EC and its Member States, and the United States of America. 

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Saïd EL KHADRAOUI (PSE, BE) by 513 votes in favour to 15 against, and 35 abstentions, and approved the proposal for a decision of the Council and Member States of the EU, on the conclusion of the Air Transport Agreement between the EC and its Member States, and the United States of America. 

The Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, amended the EU's two core treaties, the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty establishing the European Community (EC Treaty). The latter was renamed the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

These changes had various consequences for many ongoing procedures. First of all, the articles of the TEU and of the old EC Treaty that constitute the legal basis of all the proposals founded on those Treaties were renumbered in accordance with the table of equivalences mentioned in Article 5 of the Lisbon Treaty.

In addition, some proposals underwent a change to their legal basis going beyond a mere change to their numbering, and this resulted in changes to the type of procedure.

The Lisbon Treaty also introduced new concepts of decision-making procedure. The old "codecision procedure" was extended to new areas and renamed the "ordinary legislative procedure". A new "consent procedure" replaced the old "assent procedure". New interinstitutional procedures were also set up for the adoption of certain non-legislative acts, for example the conclusion of some international agreements.

The ongoing proposals concerned by these changes were formally modified by the Commission in a Communication published on 2 December 2009 (COM(2009)0665).

In the case of the proposal for a Decision of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Union, meeting within the Council on the conclusion of the Air Transport Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, on the one hand, and the United States of America, on the other hand, the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty had the following impacts:

·        the old legal basis - Treaty/EC/Art.80(2), Art.300(2) first para and (3). - became Art 100(2), Art 218 (6)(a) of the TFEU. Please note that the numbering of the old legal basis corresponds to the consolidated version of the Treaty that was applicable immediately before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, and may differ from the references in the original Commission proposal;

·        the proposal, which had previously fallen under the old consultation procedure (CNS), was classified as an interinstitutional non-legislative procedure (NLE).

The Council was informed by Vice-President Barrot of the latest state of play regarding the negotiations on the Air Transport Agreement with the US, following a delay in the adoption of the rules on control of US airlines.

The Council referred to the results of the EU-US Transatlantic Summit in Vienna on 21 June 2006, after the last meeting of the Transport Council on 9 June, where EU and US leaders agreed to redouble their efforts to conclude a first-stage Air Transport Agreement by the end of 2006.

The Council underlined the importance it attached to the conclusion of an historic EU-US air transport agreement. It reaffirmed its unanimous satisfaction with the text of the draft agreement negotiated in November 2005 but regretted the further delay in the US reform on control of U.S. air carriers, which it considered an essential element before proceeding with the agreement. The results must be absolutely clear, meaningful and robust.

Several delegations expressed particular concerns regarding the implications of this delay and that the existing agreements do not ensure a level playing field.

The Council requested the Commission to continue its efforts, on the basis of further contacts with the United States, to secure a satisfactory and balanced outcome with the necessary safeguards, including the transitional provisions, in preparation for the December Council and in accordance with the EU-US Summit conclusions.

The Council welcomes the results of the negotiations between the European Community and its Member States and the United States of America on a first stage comprehensive air services agreement. It the agreement which will be endorsed at the forthcoming EU-US Summit on 30 April in Washington.

The Council also reiterates its ultimate objective of a fully liberalised open aviation area covering the EU and the US in accordance with the mandate agreed by the Council in June 2003. It underlines the importance of reaching a second stage agreement in order to pursue the benefits of liberalisation on both sides of the Atlantic. It calls upon the Commission to engage robustly with the United States Government so as to secure this goal as quickly as possible.

The Council instructs COREPER to proceed without delay with the necessary formalities for the signature of the agreement. In this respect, the Council confirms that:

a) the provisional application of the agreement will take place from 30 March 2008. The Commission was asked to secure agreement of the United States to confirm their agreement to reflect this;

b) if no Stage 2 agreement has been reached within 12 months of the start of the review mentioned in Article 21 (3), any Member State may notify to the Commission which traffic rights in relation to its own territory it wishes to suspend. Such traffic rights may not include any rights specified in the agreements mentioned in Annex 1 to the Agreement. The President of the Council on behalf of the EC and its Member States shall then give notice of the suspension of such rights to the US in accordance with Article 21 (3).

However, the Council, acting by unanimity on a proposal from the Commission, may decide not to give notice of suspension or subsequently to withdraw it.

The Commission is invited to draw up provisions to that effect for insertion in the draft Council Decisions on signature and conclusion of the EU-US air transport agreement.

The Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, amended the EU's two core treaties, the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty establishing the European Community (EC Treaty). The latter was renamed the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

These changes had various consequences for many ongoing procedures. First of all, the articles of the TEU and of the old EC Treaty that constitute the legal basis of all the proposals founded on those Treaties were renumbered in accordance with the table of equivalences mentioned in Article 5 of the Lisbon Treaty.

In addition, some proposals underwent a change to their legal basis going beyond a mere change to their numbering, and this resulted in changes to the type of procedure.

The Lisbon Treaty also introduced new concepts of decision-making procedure. The old "codecision procedure" was extended to new areas and renamed the "ordinary legislative procedure". A new "consent procedure" replaced the old "assent procedure". New interinstitutional procedures were also set up for the adoption of certain non-legislative acts, for example the conclusion of some international agreements.

The ongoing proposals concerned by these changes were formally modified by the Commission in a Communication published on 2 December 2009 (COM(2009)0665).

In the case of the proposal for a Decision of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Union, meeting within the Council on the conclusion of the Air Transport Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, on the one hand, and the United States of America, on the other hand, the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty had the following impacts:

·        the old legal basis - Treaty/EC/Art.80(2), Art.300(2) first para and (3). - became Art 100(2), Art 218 (6)(a) of the TFEU. Please note that the numbering of the old legal basis corresponds to the consolidated version of the Treaty that was applicable immediately before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, and may differ from the references in the original Commission proposal;

·        the proposal, which had previously fallen under the old consultation procedure (CNS), was classified as an interinstitutional non-legislative procedure (NLE).

OBJECTIF : signature, application provisoire et conclusion de l'accord sur les services aériens entre la Communauté européenne et ses États membres, d'une part, et les États-Unis d'Amérique, d'autre part.

ACTE PROPOSÉ : Décision du Conseil.

CONTENU : l'accord sur les services aériens entre la Communauté européenne et ses États membres, d'une part, et les États-Unis d'Amérique, d'autre part, a été négocié dans le cadre d'un mandat reçu du Conseil en juin 2003. Les services aériens exploités entre l'Union européenne et les États-Unis actuellement sont fondés sur des accords bilatéraux conclus entre les différents États membres et les États-Unis. Ces accords bilatéraux contiennent des dispositions que la Cour européenne de justice, en novembre 2002, a jugées incompatibles avec le droit communautaire. Il est par conséquent essentiel d'établir à l'échelon communautaire un nouveau cadre pour les services aériens entre l'Union européenne et les États-Unis.

L'accord constitue un accord de première étape complet, qui remplacera les accords bilatéraux conclus entre les États membres et les États-Unis. Il supprime toutes les dispositions existantes qui limitent les droits des transporteurs aériens de la Communauté et des États-Unis d'exploiter des services aériens entre des points situés dans la Communauté européenne et des points situés aux États-Unis. À cet égard, l'accord supprime les obstacles qui empêchent les transporteurs aériens de la Communauté de bénéficier du droit d'établissement dans la Communauté, notamment le droit d'accès non discriminatoire au marché, en relation avec la fourniture de services aériens à destination et au départ des États-Unis, qui ont été mis en évidence dans les arrêts de la Cour de justice des Communautés européennes rendus dans les affaires C-466/98, C-467/98, C-468/98, C-469/98, C-471/98, C-472/98, C-475/98 et C-476/98.

L'accord constitue une étape importante vers le but final que poursuit l'UE, c'est-à-dire l'établissement d'un espace aérien sans frontières entre l'Union européenne et les États-Unis. Selon un rapport élaboré pour la Commission en 2002 par le groupe Brattle (consultant américain), cet espace aérien sans frontières ferait augmenter de 17 millions le nombre annuel de passagers, générerait au moins 5 milliards d'euros par an de gains pour les consommateurs, et stimulerait l'emploi des deux côtés de l'Atlantique. L'accord établit un comité mixte qui aura la responsabilité d'examiner la mise en œuvre de l'accord et ses effets. 

Le Conseil a été informé par le vice-président de la Commission Jacques Barrot des dernières évolutions des négociations menées avec les États-Unis au sujet d'un accord sur les services aériens, à la suite d'un retard dans l'adoption des dispositions relatives au contrôle des compagnies aériennes des États-Unis.

Le Conseil a rappelé les résultats du Sommet transatlantique UE-États-Unis, qui a eu lieu le 21 juin 2006 à Vienne après la dernière réunion du Conseil "Transports" du 9 juin, à l'occasion duquel les dirigeants de l'UE et des États-Unis sont convenus de redoubler leurs efforts pour conclure un accord sur les services aériens de première étape d'ici la fin de 2006.

Le Conseil a souligné l'importance qu'il attache à la conclusion d'un accord historique sur les services aériens entre l'UE et les États-Unis. Il a à nouveau exprimé sa satisfaction unanime quant au texte du projet d'accord négocié en novembre 2005, tout en regrettant le nouveau retard pris aux États Unis pour réformer la réglementation relative au contrôle des transporteurs aériens des États Unis, réforme qu'il estime essentielle avant de décider d'accepter l'accord. Il est impératif que les résultats soient clairs, significatifs et énergiques.

Plusieurs délégations se sont déclarées particulièrement préoccupées par les conséquences de ce retard et par le fait que les accords existants ne garantissent pas des conditions de concurrence équitable.

Le Conseil a demandé à la Commission de poursuivre ses efforts, dans le cadre de nouveaux contacts avec les États-Unis, en vue de parvenir à un résultat satisfaisant et équilibré avec les garanties qui s'imposent, y compris des dispositions provisoires, dans la perspective du Conseil de décembre et conformément aux conclusions du Sommet UE États Unis.

Le traité de Lisbonne, entré en vigueur le 1^er décembre 2009, a modifié les deux traités fondamentaux de l'Union européenne, à savoir le traité sur l'Union européenne (TUE) et le traité instituant la Communauté européenne (TCE) - ce dernier ayant été renommé «traité sur le fonctionnement de l'Union européenne» (TFUE).

Ces modifications ont eu différents types de conséquences sur de nombreuses procédures pendantes. En premier lieu, les articles du TUE et de l'ancien TCE qui constituaient la ou les bases juridiques de toutes les propositions fondées sur ces traités ont été renumérotés conformément aux tableaux de correspondance visés à l'article 5 du traité de Lisbonne.

En outre, pour un nombre limité de propositions, l'entrée en vigueur du traité de Lisbonne a entraîné un changement de leur base juridique allant au-delà d'une simple renumérotation des articles, impliquant un changement de type de procédure applicable.

Le traité de Lisbonne a également introduit de nouveaux concepts de procédure décisionnelle : l'ancienne procédure dite de « codécision » a été étendue à de nouveaux domaines et rebaptisée « procédure législative ordinaire », une nouvelle « procédure d'approbation » est venue remplacer l'ancienne procédure dite de l' « avis conforme » et de nouvelles procédures interinstitutionnelles ont été instituées pour l'adoption d'actes non-législatifs, par exemple la conclusion de certains accords internationaux.

Les propositions pendantes concernées par ces changements ont été formellement modifiéespar la Commission dans une communication publiée le 2 décembre 2009 (voir COM(2009)0665).

Dans le cas de la proposition de décision du Conseil et des représentants des gouvernements des États membres de l'Union européenne, réunis au sein du Conseil, concernant la conclusion de l'accord sur les services aériens entre la Communauté européenne et ses États membres, d'une part, et les États-Unis d'Amérique, d'autre part, les conséquences de l'entrée en vigueur du traité de Lisbonne sont les suivantes :

• l'ancienne  base juridique - article 80, paragraphe 2 ; article 300, paragraphe 2, al.1 et paragraphe 3 du traité CE - devient l'article 100, paragraphe 2 ; article 218, paragraphe 6, a) du TFUE. Il faut noter que la référence à l'ancienne base juridique correspond à la version consolidée du Traité qui était d'application immédiatement avant l'entrée en vigueur de Lisbonne, et qu'elle peut différer de la référence contenue dans la proposition initiale de la Commission ;
• la proposition, qui relevait de l'ancienne procédure dite de « consultation » (CNS), est désormais identifiée comme procédure interinstitutionnelle non-législative (NLE).

The Council was informed by Vice-President Barrot of the latest state of play regarding the negotiations on the Air Transport Agreement with the US, following a delay in the adoption of the rules on control of US airlines.

The Council referred to the results of the EU-US Transatlantic Summit in Vienna on 21 June 2006, after the last meeting of the Transport Council on 9 June, where EU and US leaders agreed to redouble their efforts to conclude a first-stage Air Transport Agreement by the end of 2006.

The Council underlined the importance it attached to the conclusion of an historic EU-US air transport agreement. It reaffirmed its unanimous satisfaction with the text of the draft agreement negotiated in November 2005 but regretted the further delay in the US reform on control of U.S. air carriers, which it considered an essential element before proceeding with the agreement. The results must be absolutely clear, meaningful and robust.

Several delegations expressed particular concerns regarding the implications of this delay and that the existing agreements do not ensure a level playing field.

The Council requested the Commission to continue its efforts, on the basis of further contacts with the United States, to secure a satisfactory and balanced outcome with the necessary safeguards, including the transitional provisions, in preparation for the December Council and in accordance with the EU-US Summit conclusions.

The Council welcomes the results of the negotiations between the European Community and its Member States and the United States of America on a first stage comprehensive air services agreement. It the agreement which will be endorsed at the forthcoming EU-US Summit on 30 April in Washington.

The Council also reiterates its ultimate objective of a fully liberalised open aviation area covering the EU and the US in accordance with the mandate agreed by the Council in June 2003. It underlines the importance of reaching a second stage agreement in order to pursue the benefits of liberalisation on both sides of the Atlantic. It calls upon the Commission to engage robustly with the United States Government so as to secure this goal as quickly as possible.

The Council instructs COREPER to proceed without delay with the necessary formalities for the signature of the agreement. In this respect, the Council confirms that:

a) the provisional application of the agreement will take place from 30 March 2008. The Commission was asked to secure agreement of the United States to confirm their agreement to reflect this;

b) if no Stage 2 agreement has been reached within 12 months of the start of the review mentioned in Article 21 (3), any Member State may notify to the Commission which traffic rights in relation to its own territory it wishes to suspend. Such traffic rights may not include any rights specified in the agreements mentioned in Annex 1 to the Agreement. The President of the Council on behalf of the EC and its Member States shall then give notice of the suspension of such rights to the US in accordance with Article 21 (3).

However, the Council, acting by unanimity on a proposal from the Commission, may decide not to give notice of suspension or subsequently to withdraw it.

The Commission is invited to draw up provisions to that effect for insertion in the draft Council Decisions on signature and conclusion of the EU-US air transport agreement.

The Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, amended the EU's two core treaties, the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty establishing the European Community (EC Treaty). The latter was renamed the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

These changes had various consequences for many ongoing procedures. First of all, the articles of the TEU and of the old EC Treaty that constitute the legal basis of all the proposals founded on those Treaties were renumbered in accordance with the table of equivalences mentioned in Article 5 of the Lisbon Treaty.

In addition, some proposals underwent a change to their legal basis going beyond a mere change to their numbering, and this resulted in changes to the type of procedure.

The Lisbon Treaty also introduced new concepts of decision-making procedure. The old "codecision procedure" was extended to new areas and renamed the "ordinary legislative procedure". A new "consent procedure" replaced the old "assent procedure". New interinstitutional procedures were also set up for the adoption of certain non-legislative acts, for example the conclusion of some international agreements.

The ongoing proposals concerned by these changes were formally modified by the Commission in a Communication published on 2 December 2009 (COM(2009)0665).

In the case of the proposal for a Decision of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Union, meeting within the Council on the conclusion of the Air Transport Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, on the one hand, and the United States of America, on the other hand, the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty had the following impacts:

·        the old legal basis - Treaty/EC/Art.80(2), Art.300(2) first para and (3). - became Art 100(2), Art 218 (6)(a) of the TFEU. Please note that the numbering of the old legal basis corresponds to the consolidated version of the Treaty that was applicable immediately before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, and may differ from the references in the original Commission proposal;

·        the proposal, which had previously fallen under the old consultation procedure (CNS), was classified as an interinstitutional non-legislative procedure (NLE).

OBJECTIF : signature, application provisoire et conclusion de l'accord sur les services aériens entre la Communauté européenne et ses États membres, d'une part, et les États-Unis d'Amérique, d'autre part.

ACTE PROPOSÉ : Décision du Conseil.

CONTENU : l'accord sur les services aériens entre la Communauté européenne et ses États membres, d'une part, et les États-Unis d'Amérique, d'autre part, a été négocié dans le cadre d'un mandat reçu du Conseil en juin 2003. Les services aériens exploités entre l'Union européenne et les États-Unis actuellement sont fondés sur des accords bilatéraux conclus entre les différents États membres et les États-Unis. Ces accords bilatéraux contiennent des dispositions que la Cour européenne de justice, en novembre 2002, a jugées incompatibles avec le droit communautaire. Il est par conséquent essentiel d'établir à l'échelon communautaire un nouveau cadre pour les services aériens entre l'Union européenne et les États-Unis.

L'accord constitue un accord de première étape complet, qui remplacera les accords bilatéraux conclus entre les États membres et les États-Unis. Il supprime toutes les dispositions existantes qui limitent les droits des transporteurs aériens de la Communauté et des États-Unis d'exploiter des services aériens entre des points situés dans la Communauté européenne et des points situés aux États-Unis. À cet égard, l'accord supprime les obstacles qui empêchent les transporteurs aériens de la Communauté de bénéficier du droit d'établissement dans la Communauté, notamment le droit d'accès non discriminatoire au marché, en relation avec la fourniture de services aériens à destination et au départ des États-Unis, qui ont été mis en évidence dans les arrêts de la Cour de justice des Communautés européennes rendus dans les affaires C-466/98, C-467/98, C-468/98, C-469/98, C-471/98, C-472/98, C-475/98 et C-476/98.

L'accord constitue une étape importante vers le but final que poursuit l'UE, c'est-à-dire l'établissement d'un espace aérien sans frontières entre l'Union européenne et les États-Unis. Selon un rapport élaboré pour la Commission en 2002 par le groupe Brattle (consultant américain), cet espace aérien sans frontières ferait augmenter de 17 millions le nombre annuel de passagers, générerait au moins 5 milliards d'euros par an de gains pour les consommateurs, et stimulerait l'emploi des deux côtés de l'Atlantique. L'accord établit un comité mixte qui aura la responsabilité d'examiner la mise en œuvre de l'accord et ses effets. 

Le Conseil a été informé par le vice-président de la Commission Jacques Barrot des dernières évolutions des négociations menées avec les États-Unis au sujet d'un accord sur les services aériens, à la suite d'un retard dans l'adoption des dispositions relatives au contrôle des compagnies aériennes des États-Unis.

Le Conseil a rappelé les résultats du Sommet transatlantique UE-États-Unis, qui a eu lieu le 21 juin 2006 à Vienne après la dernière réunion du Conseil "Transports" du 9 juin, à l'occasion duquel les dirigeants de l'UE et des États-Unis sont convenus de redoubler leurs efforts pour conclure un accord sur les services aériens de première étape d'ici la fin de 2006.

Le Conseil a souligné l'importance qu'il attache à la conclusion d'un accord historique sur les services aériens entre l'UE et les États-Unis. Il a à nouveau exprimé sa satisfaction unanime quant au texte du projet d'accord négocié en novembre 2005, tout en regrettant le nouveau retard pris aux États Unis pour réformer la réglementation relative au contrôle des transporteurs aériens des États Unis, réforme qu'il estime essentielle avant de décider d'accepter l'accord. Il est impératif que les résultats soient clairs, significatifs et énergiques.

Plusieurs délégations se sont déclarées particulièrement préoccupées par les conséquences de ce retard et par le fait que les accords existants ne garantissent pas des conditions de concurrence équitable.

Le Conseil a demandé à la Commission de poursuivre ses efforts, dans le cadre de nouveaux contacts avec les États-Unis, en vue de parvenir à un résultat satisfaisant et équilibré avec les garanties qui s'imposent, y compris des dispositions provisoires, dans la perspective du Conseil de décembre et conformément aux conclusions du Sommet UE États Unis.

Le traité de Lisbonne, entré en vigueur le 1^er décembre 2009, a modifié les deux traités fondamentaux de l'Union européenne, à savoir le traité sur l'Union européenne (TUE) et le traité instituant la Communauté européenne (TCE) - ce dernier ayant été renommé «traité sur le fonctionnement de l'Union européenne» (TFUE).

Ces modifications ont eu différents types de conséquences sur de nombreuses procédures pendantes. En premier lieu, les articles du TUE et de l'ancien TCE qui constituaient la ou les bases juridiques de toutes les propositions fondées sur ces traités ont été renumérotés conformément aux tableaux de correspondance visés à l'article 5 du traité de Lisbonne.

En outre, pour un nombre limité de propositions, l'entrée en vigueur du traité de Lisbonne a entraîné un changement de leur base juridique allant au-delà d'une simple renumérotation des articles, impliquant un changement de type de procédure applicable.

Le traité de Lisbonne a également introduit de nouveaux concepts de procédure décisionnelle : l'ancienne procédure dite de « codécision » a été étendue à de nouveaux domaines et rebaptisée « procédure législative ordinaire », une nouvelle « procédure d'approbation » est venue remplacer l'ancienne procédure dite de l' « avis conforme » et de nouvelles procédures interinstitutionnelles ont été instituées pour l'adoption d'actes non-législatifs, par exemple la conclusion de certains accords internationaux.

Les propositions pendantes concernées par ces changements ont été formellement modifiéespar la Commission dans une communication publiée le 2 décembre 2009 (voir COM(2009)0665).

Dans le cas de la proposition de décision du Conseil et des représentants des gouvernements des États membres de l'Union européenne, réunis au sein du Conseil, concernant la conclusion de l'accord sur les services aériens entre la Communauté européenne et ses États membres, d'une part, et les États-Unis d'Amérique, d'autre part, les conséquences de l'entrée en vigueur du traité de Lisbonne sont les suivantes :

• l'ancienne  base juridique - article 80, paragraphe 2 ; article 300, paragraphe 2, al.1 et paragraphe 3 du traité CE - devient l'article 100, paragraphe 2 ; article 218, paragraphe 6, a) du TFUE. Il faut noter que la référence à l'ancienne base juridique correspond à la version consolidée du Traité qui était d'application immédiatement avant l'entrée en vigueur de Lisbonne, et qu'elle peut différer de la référence contenue dans la proposition initiale de la Commission ;
• la proposition, qui relevait de l'ancienne procédure dite de « consultation » (CNS), est désormais identifiée comme procédure interinstitutionnelle non-législative (NLE).