dusk2dawn
8th May 2001, 07:03
It certainly took some time but here they come:
From the Diary for The Court of Justice:
Tuesday 8 May:
Hearing C-466/98 Commission v United Kingdom
Hearing C-467/98 Commission v Denmark
Hearing C-468/98 Commission v Sweden
Hearing C-469/98 Commission v Finland
Hearing C-471/98 Commission v Belgium
Hearing C-472/98 Commission v Luxembourg
Hearing C-475/98 Commission v Austria
Hearing C-476/98 Commission v Germany
With the exception of "C-466/98 Commission v United Kingdom" the cases are described as,
Transport
Failure by a Member State to fulfil obligations — Breach of Community law governing the internal market in air transport (Regulations No 2407/92, No 2408/92, No 2409/92) and of Articles 5 and 52 of the EC Treaty (now Articles 10 and 43 EC) — Conclusion and application of a bilateral "Open Skies" agreement with the United States.
-----------------
The following is the press release from 1998:
March 11, 1998
No. 16/1998
EUROPEAN COMMISSION TAKES LEGAL ACTION AGAINST EU MEMBER STATES'
"OPEN SKIES" AGREEMENTS WITH THE UNITED STATES
The European Commission today decided to proceed with its legal action against eight member states who, in violation of the law of the European Union, have concluded aviation agreements with the United States.
The Commission's decision, which is in the form of a reasoned opinion under Article 169 of the EU treaties, gives the member states concerned two months in which to reply. If the response is not satisfactory, the Commission may subsequently decide to take the case to the European Court of Justice.
Since 1995 a certain number of member states (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg and Sweden) have signed Open Skies agreements with the United States. Although it has not signed a full Open Skies agreement, the United Kingdom in 1995 concluded a new agreement with the United States, which is also in breach of the treaty and of EU aviation rules. A reasoned opinion is also addressed to the United Kingdom.
According to the Commission, the signing of bilateral aviation agreements with the US has a negative impact on the operation of the liberalized EU market in civil aviation and is thus an infringement of European law. To ensure that aviation agreements negotiated with the US guarantee free and fair competition for all EU air carriers, the Commission has asked for, and been granted a mandate to negotiate such an agreement on behalf of the Union. At present, member states have limited the scope of the mandate and without immediate change it is, in the Commission's view, impossible to open a dialogue with the US.
EU Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock said today:
"By unilaterally granting US carriers traffic rights to, from and within the EU while ensuring exclusively for their own air carriers the right to fly from their territory to the United States, these member states create serious discrimination and distortions of competition, thereby rendering EU rules ineffective."
The decision today to reopen the infringement procedures is not motivated simply by the legal breach of EU rules. The bilateral Open Skies agreements concluded by member states do not safeguard the long-term interests of the European air transport industry. They create an unbalanced situation within the EU by opening the national markets to major US airlines. European carriers are given no reciprocal chance to compete with US airlines for business in the US. These agreements not only distort the competition between airlines, but also between airports.
Background
Already in 1994, the Commission reacted to the US Open Skies initiative which would cause discrimination within the EU's internal aviation market, and made it clear in a letter to the member states that the conclusion of such bilateral agreements would affect the internal aviation market.
In 1995 and 1996, the Commission sent, as a first stage in the legal procedure, letters of formal notice to the seven member states informing them that the individual Open Skies agreements negotiated or concluded with the United States constituted an infringement of Community law.
The Commission suspended the legal procedure following the July 25, 1996 agreement in the EU Council of Ministers to give the Commission a mandate to negotiate a EU-wide agreement. The Commission's decision was motivated by the reasonable prospect of re-establishing legality through a global EU agreement.
It now appears that the Council is unwilling to grant the Commission, within a reasonable time frame, a full mandate covering all issues, including traffic rights, which are necessary for the negotiation of a common aviation area with the United States. In the meantime, several member states are continuing to negotiate Open Skies agreements with the United States, which would further weaken the EU's negotiating position in possible future negotiations and constitute a further breach of EU law.
In addition, member states are not only failing to comply with EU law, but are also not cooperating to adopt, within a reasonable time, an EU approach making it possible to remedy the legal infringements and ensure equivalent regulatory conditions for airlines to compete on a fair and equal basis within the EU/US market.
Article 169 of the treaty provides a procedure to deal with all infringements of EU law. When a potential case emerges, the Commission usually first uses informal meetings/letters to try to resolve the problem. If informal talks fail, the Commission sends a formal letter of notice to the member state concerned asking for explanations. If these are not fully satisfactory, the Commission delivers a reasoned opinion. The reasoned opinion sets out the Commission's reasons for believing the member state concerned is breaking the law.
[This message has been edited by dusk2dawn (edited 08 May 2001).]
From the Diary for The Court of Justice:
Tuesday 8 May:
Hearing C-466/98 Commission v United Kingdom
Hearing C-467/98 Commission v Denmark
Hearing C-468/98 Commission v Sweden
Hearing C-469/98 Commission v Finland
Hearing C-471/98 Commission v Belgium
Hearing C-472/98 Commission v Luxembourg
Hearing C-475/98 Commission v Austria
Hearing C-476/98 Commission v Germany
With the exception of "C-466/98 Commission v United Kingdom" the cases are described as,
Transport
Failure by a Member State to fulfil obligations — Breach of Community law governing the internal market in air transport (Regulations No 2407/92, No 2408/92, No 2409/92) and of Articles 5 and 52 of the EC Treaty (now Articles 10 and 43 EC) — Conclusion and application of a bilateral "Open Skies" agreement with the United States.
-----------------
The following is the press release from 1998:
March 11, 1998
No. 16/1998
EUROPEAN COMMISSION TAKES LEGAL ACTION AGAINST EU MEMBER STATES'
"OPEN SKIES" AGREEMENTS WITH THE UNITED STATES
The European Commission today decided to proceed with its legal action against eight member states who, in violation of the law of the European Union, have concluded aviation agreements with the United States.
The Commission's decision, which is in the form of a reasoned opinion under Article 169 of the EU treaties, gives the member states concerned two months in which to reply. If the response is not satisfactory, the Commission may subsequently decide to take the case to the European Court of Justice.
Since 1995 a certain number of member states (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg and Sweden) have signed Open Skies agreements with the United States. Although it has not signed a full Open Skies agreement, the United Kingdom in 1995 concluded a new agreement with the United States, which is also in breach of the treaty and of EU aviation rules. A reasoned opinion is also addressed to the United Kingdom.
According to the Commission, the signing of bilateral aviation agreements with the US has a negative impact on the operation of the liberalized EU market in civil aviation and is thus an infringement of European law. To ensure that aviation agreements negotiated with the US guarantee free and fair competition for all EU air carriers, the Commission has asked for, and been granted a mandate to negotiate such an agreement on behalf of the Union. At present, member states have limited the scope of the mandate and without immediate change it is, in the Commission's view, impossible to open a dialogue with the US.
EU Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock said today:
"By unilaterally granting US carriers traffic rights to, from and within the EU while ensuring exclusively for their own air carriers the right to fly from their territory to the United States, these member states create serious discrimination and distortions of competition, thereby rendering EU rules ineffective."
The decision today to reopen the infringement procedures is not motivated simply by the legal breach of EU rules. The bilateral Open Skies agreements concluded by member states do not safeguard the long-term interests of the European air transport industry. They create an unbalanced situation within the EU by opening the national markets to major US airlines. European carriers are given no reciprocal chance to compete with US airlines for business in the US. These agreements not only distort the competition between airlines, but also between airports.
Background
Already in 1994, the Commission reacted to the US Open Skies initiative which would cause discrimination within the EU's internal aviation market, and made it clear in a letter to the member states that the conclusion of such bilateral agreements would affect the internal aviation market.
In 1995 and 1996, the Commission sent, as a first stage in the legal procedure, letters of formal notice to the seven member states informing them that the individual Open Skies agreements negotiated or concluded with the United States constituted an infringement of Community law.
The Commission suspended the legal procedure following the July 25, 1996 agreement in the EU Council of Ministers to give the Commission a mandate to negotiate a EU-wide agreement. The Commission's decision was motivated by the reasonable prospect of re-establishing legality through a global EU agreement.
It now appears that the Council is unwilling to grant the Commission, within a reasonable time frame, a full mandate covering all issues, including traffic rights, which are necessary for the negotiation of a common aviation area with the United States. In the meantime, several member states are continuing to negotiate Open Skies agreements with the United States, which would further weaken the EU's negotiating position in possible future negotiations and constitute a further breach of EU law.
In addition, member states are not only failing to comply with EU law, but are also not cooperating to adopt, within a reasonable time, an EU approach making it possible to remedy the legal infringements and ensure equivalent regulatory conditions for airlines to compete on a fair and equal basis within the EU/US market.
Article 169 of the treaty provides a procedure to deal with all infringements of EU law. When a potential case emerges, the Commission usually first uses informal meetings/letters to try to resolve the problem. If informal talks fail, the Commission sends a formal letter of notice to the member state concerned asking for explanations. If these are not fully satisfactory, the Commission delivers a reasoned opinion. The reasoned opinion sets out the Commission's reasons for believing the member state concerned is breaking the law.
[This message has been edited by dusk2dawn (edited 08 May 2001).]