| Author (Corporate) | European Commission |
|---|---|
| Series Title | COM |
| Series Details | (2012) 38 final (13.2.12) |
| Publication Date | 13/02/2012 |
| Content Type | Policy-making |
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Following the judgements of the Court of Justice in the so-called "Open Skies" cases, on 5 June 2003 the Council granted the Commission a mandate to open negotiations with third countries on the replacement of certain provisions in existing agreements with an agreement at Union level (the "horizontal mandate"). The objectives of such agreements are to give all European Union air carriers non-discriminatory access to routes between the European Union and third countries, and to bring bilateral air service agreements between Member States and third countries in line with the law of the Union. International aviation relations between Member States and third countries have traditionally been governed by bilateral air services agreements between Member States and third countries, the Annexes to such agreements and other related bilateral or multilateral arrangements. Traditional designation clauses in Member States’ bilateral air services agreements infringe the law of the Union. They allow a third country to reject, withdraw or suspend the permissions or authorisations of an air carrier that has been designated by a Member State but that is not substantially owned and effectively controlled by that Member State or its nationals. This has been found to constitute discrimination against Community carriers established in the territory of a Member State but owned and controlled by nationals of other Member States. This is contrary to Article 49 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which guarantees nationals of Member States who have exercised their freedom of establishment the same treatment in the host Member State as that accorded to nationals of that Member State. In accordance with the mechanisms and directives in the Annex to the "horizontal mandate", the Commission has negotiated an agreement with the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka that replaces certain provisions in the existing bilateral air services agreements between Member States and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Article 2 of the Agreement replaces the traditional designation clauses with an EU designation clause, permitting all EU carriers to benefit from the right of establishment. Article 4 resolves potential conflicts with the competition rules of the Union. |
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| Source Link | http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2012:0038:FIN:EN:PDF |
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| Subject Categories | Mobility and Transport |
| Countries / Regions | Europe, Southern Asia |
