PURPOSE: to conclude a Protocol amending the Common Aviation Area Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Georgia, of the other part, to take account of the accession to the European Union of Croatia.
PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.
BACKGROUND: the Common Aviation Area Agreement between the European Union, its Member States and Georgia was negotiated on the basis of the Council Decision and was signed on 2 December 2010. Croatia acceded to the European Union on 1 July 2013. In doing so, it undertook to accede to the agreements concluded or signed by the Member States and the Union with one or more third counties or an international organisation. The Protocol should now be approved in accordance with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
CONTENT: the proposal calls upon the Council to conclude on behalf of the EU, the Protocol amending the Common Aviation Area Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Georgia, of the other part, to take account of the accession to the European Union of Croatia.
Main provisions: the Protocol ensures the amendment necessary is made to the Common Aviation Area Agreement between the European Union, its Member States and Georgia following the accession of Croatia to the EU on 1 July 2013. The Agreement with Georgia was the first comprehensive air transport agreement signed with an important aviation partner in the Caucasus region and forms part of the Union's external aviation policy framework.