Carlos Bermejo Acosta, Head of Unit in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), discussed air agreements with third countries with members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) on Monday 18 November. He defended the Commission’s position of parallel ratification at Member State and EU level.
“We think that ratification procedures at EU level are very slow and that Member States are taking their time”, he deplored, pointing out that ratification takes an average of ten years. The Commission first asks the Council for a negotiating mandate, which must be granted unanimously by the EU Member States.
Once the agreement has been finalised, the Board authorises signature. It is only after ratification by the Member States that the agreement is submitted to the European Parliament for approval.
“But this is in the hands of the Council to decide whether this is done in parallel or consecutively, and so far, the position is that they will do it consecutively after the State ratification has been done”, he reported. In the meantime, the agreements are beginning to be applied. “It’s important for legal certainty to have the ratification and the entry to force as soon as possible”, he stressed.
Mr Acosta explained that two agreements had been negotiated but not yet signed with Tunisia and the Sultanate of Oman. The signing of this agreement was delayed because the Commission requested the opinion of the Court of Justice on the question of jurisdiction (see EUROPE 13510/21). The European Commission and the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) discussed this issue in October, as the two parties do not have the same interpretation of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
Asked by Siegbert Frank Droese (ENS, German) about the benefits of these agreements, the Commission representative replied that it had been found that these agreements resulted in greater connectivity, lower prices and more passengers flying. “It is therefore economically beneficial for everyone”, he commented, adding that “these agreements make it possible to introduce elements of fair competition on social and environmental aspects”. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)