Air Transport Agreement between Canada and the European Community and its Member States

Background and further information:

Air services between the EU and Canada presently operate on the basis of bilateral agreements between individual Member States and Canada. These bilateral agreements contain provisions that the European Court of Justice ruled in November 2002 to be incompatible with Community law. It is therefore essential that a new Community-level framework for EU/Canada air services is established.

The Air Transport Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, on the one hand, and Canada, on the other hand has been negotiated under a mandate received from the Council of the European Union in October 2007. The Agreement represents a comprehensive agreement and includes a gradual phasing-in of traffic rights and investment opportunities. It meets the legal requirements of the Community and delivers substantial immediate economic benefits for transatlantic air travellers and shippers.

The European Commission presented proposals for the signing and conclusion of the Agreement in February 2009. The signing of the Agreement was approved on 30 November by Council Decision 2010/417/EC and the signature took place on 17 December.

Taking into account the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, and following the judgment of the European Court of Justice of 28 April 2015 in Case C-28/12, the Commission’s proposal for the conclusion of the Agreement was modified and submitted to the Council on 10 January 2018. The conclusion of the Agreement was finally approved on 15 April 2019 by Council Decision (EU) 2019/702.

• Primary Source

Official

EUR-Lex: Official Journal, L207, 06/08/2010: Decision 2010/417/EC on the signing and provisional application of the Agreement on Air Transport between the European Community and its Member States and Canada https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2010.207.01.0030.01.ENG

EUR-Lex: Official Journal, L120, 08/05/2019: Decision (EU) 2019/702 on the conclusion of the Air Transport Agreement between the European Community and its Member States and Canada https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2019.120.01.0001.01.ENG

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