Brussels, 09/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has asked the Council to authorise negotiations for the for the European Community's accession to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The expansion of EU competence in the aviation and maritime sectors and the increasing participation of the Community in the work of the ICAO and the IMO over the past ten years make it necessary for the European Community to become a member of these two organisations, a communiqué explained. In order for the Community to become a member, the conventions establishing these organisations will have to be amended namely the Chicago Convention for the ICAO and the Geneva Convention for the IMO. These amendments will have to be approved by two thirds of the members of these organisations. This will take several years. While waiting, two provisional measures are proposed. With regard to the ICAO, the Commission intends to designate a representative at Montreal and adapt internal procedures to the workings of the ICAO; with regard to the IMO, the Commission asks the Member States to reach agreement so as to enable the Presidency of the Union or the Commission, in accordance with its responsibilities, to formulate the European position.