Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union and its Member States, of a Protocol amending the Euro-Mediterranean Aviation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part, to take account of the accession to the European Union of the Republic of Croatia

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

According to the provisions of the above-mentioned Article 6(2), ‘the accession of Croatia to such agreements shall be agreed by the conclusion of a protocol to such agreements between the Council, acting unanimously on behalf of the Member States, and the third country or countries or international organisation concerned. The Commission [...] shall negotiate these protocols on behalf of the Member States [...]’.

The Commission has negotiated the Protocol amending the Euro-Mediterranean Aviation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part.

COUNCIL DECISION

on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union and its Member States, of a Protocol amending the Euro-Mediterranean Aviation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part, to take account of the accession to the European Union of the Republic of Croatia

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 100(2) in conjunction with Article 218(6)(a)(v) thereof,

Having regard to the Act of Accession of Croatia, and in particular Article 6(2), second subparagraph, thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament,

Whereas:

1. Pursuant to the decision [reference to the signature decision] of the Council, the Protocol amending the Euro-Mediterranean Aviation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union (the ‘Protocol’) was signed on [date of the signature of the agreement], subject to its conclusion at a later date.

2. The Protocol should be approved on behalf of the Union and its Member States,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The Protocol amending the Euro-Mediterranean Aviation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part, to take account of the accession to the European Union of the Republic of Croatia (the ‘Protocol’) is hereby approved on behalf of the Union and its Member States.

Article 2

The Commission is authorised, on behalf of the Union and its Member States,to give the notification provided for in Article 4(1) of the Protocol, in order to express the consent of the Union and its Member States to be bound by the Protocol.

Article 3

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Done at Brussels,

ANNEX

PROTOCOL

amending the Euro-Mediterranean Aviation Agreement

between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part,

and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part, to take account of the accession to the European Union of the Republic of Croatia

THE REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA,

THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM,

THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA,

THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA,

THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS,

THE CZECH REPUBLIC,

THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK,

THE REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA,

THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND,

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC,

THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY,

THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC,

HUNGARY,

IRELAND,

THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC,

THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA,

THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA,

THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG,

MALTA,

THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS,

THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND,

THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC,

ROMANIA,

THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC,

THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA,

THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN,

THE KINGDOM OF SWEDEN,

being parties to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and being Member States of the European Union (hereinafter, ‘the Member States’),

and

THE EUROPEAN UNION,

of the one part,

and

THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO,

of the other part,

Having regard to the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union on 1 July 2013,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The Republic of Croatia is a Party to the Euro-Mediterranean Aviation Agreement signed by the European Community and its Member States and the Kingdom of Morocco on 12 December 2006 (hereinafter ‘the Agreement’), as amended by the Protocol signed on 18 June 2012 to take account of the accession to the European Union of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania (hereinafter ‘the Protocol’).

Article 2

1. The following provision is added to Annex II (‘Bilateral Agreements between Morocco and the Member States of the European Community’) to the Agreement, as amended by the Protocol.

After the second indent concerning Bulgaria:

‘— Air Transport Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco signed in Rabat on 7 July 1999;’.

2. The following provisions are added to the first paragraph of Annex III (‘Procedures for operating authorisations and technical permissions: competent authorities’) to the Agreement, as amended by the Protocol.

After the section on Bulgaria:

‘Croatia:

Croatian Civil Aviation Agency (CCAA)’.

Article 3

The text of the Agreement in the Croatian language, which is attached to this Protocol, shall become authentic under the same conditions as the other language versions.

Article 4

1.    This Protocol shall be approved by the Parties in accordance with their own procedures. It shall enter into force on the same day the Agreement enters into force. However, should this Protocol be approved by the Contracting Parties after the date of entry into force of the Agreement, it would then enter into force, in accordance with Article 30(2) of the Agreement, 1 month after the date on which the Parties notify each other of the completion of their internal approval formalities.

2.    This Protocol shall be an integral part of the Agreement and shall be applied on a provisional basis as from the signing thereof by the Parties.

This Protocol is drawn up at ….., on …, in duplicate in the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Gaelic, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish and Arabic languages, each of these texts being equally authentic.

FOR THE MEMBER STATES            FOR THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO

FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION