Meeting in plenary at the European Parliament on Tuesday 12 September, MEPs gave mass support to the resolution allowing the signature of an air transport agreement between the EU and Canada on behalf of the European Union (668 votes to 14 with 22 abstentions).
This vote was merely a formality in light of the outcome of the European Parliament’s transport committee on 10 July (40 votes to zero with no abstentions). An initial agreement between the two parties aiming to encourage a rise in international air transport was approved in May 2009 and then signed on 17 and 18 December of the same year by the European Commission and its member states on the one hand, and Canada on the other.
However, due to the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaties, a new vote was needed so that the European Union, which has now acquired its own legal personality, with the last treaties, can become a signatory to the agreement and to take account of the accession of Croatia to the EU. With this vote of approval, the Council of the European Union will now be able to sign the agreement on behalf of the European Union. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)