Council Decision (EU) 2023/2079 of 18 September 2023 on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and Japan on certain provisions of agreements between Member States of the European Union and Japan for air services

What it is

to conclude, on behalf of the European Union, the agreement between the European Union and Japan on certain aspects of air services. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act. BACKGROUND: following the judgements of the Court of Justice in the so-called “Open Skies” cases, on 5 June 2003 the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with third countries on the replacement of certain provisions in existing bilateral air services agreements with an agreement at Union level (the “horizontal authorisation”). The objectives of such agreements are to give all EU air carriers non-discriminatory access to routes between the European Union and third countries, and hence to bring bilateral air services agreements between Member States and third countries in line with Union law. BACKGROUND: in accordance with Council Decision (EU) 2023/362, the Agreement between the European Union and Japan on certain aspects of air services agreements between Member States of the European Union and Japan was signed on 20 February 2023, subject to its conclusion at a later date. The Agreement should be approved. CONTENT: the purpose of the draft Council Decision is to approve, on behalf of the Union, the Agreement between the European Union and Japan on certain aspects of air services. The purpose of the Agreement is to bring the bilateral air services agreements between 13 Member States and Japan into line with EU law. The Committee on Transport and Tourism adopted the report by Cláudia MONTEIRO DE AGUIAR (EPP, PT) on the draft Council decision on the conclusion on behalf of the Union of the Agreement between the European Union and Japan on certain provisions of the air service agreements between Member States of the European Union and Japan. The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament give its consent to the conclusion of the agreement. The Commission has negotiated an agreement with Japan to replace certain provisions in the already existing bilateral air services agreements between Member States and Japan in order to bring the bilateral air services agreements in line with EU law, as requested by the Court of Justice in the so-called “Open Skies” cases of 2002. On this basis, the Agreement will bring the bilateral air services agreements between 13 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden) and Japan in line with the EU law. The Agreement provides all EU air carriers non-discriminatory access to routes between the European Union and Japan. 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: any EU carrier can fly from any Member State that has a bilateral agreement with Japan where unused traffic rights are available. The European Parliament adopted by 626 votes to 5, with 5 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion on behalf of the Union of the Agreement between the European Union and Japan on certain…

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