Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the select sub-committee for facilitating this discussion at short notice. The Euro-Mediterranean aviation agreement between the European Union and its member states and the State of Israel has been negotiated by the European Commission for the past few years. The Council granted the Commission a negotiating mandate to do so in April 2008. The agreement was initialled on 30 July 2012 and will be signed at a ceremony on the margins of the Transport Council in Luxembourg on 10 June.

Article 29.5.2° of the Constitution states the State shall not be bound by any international agreement involving a charge on public funds unless the agreement has been approved by the Dáil. This agreement does not give rise to significant expenses for the State. However, the Office of the Attorney General has advised that article 23 of the agreement which outlines the dispute resolution and arbitration procedures could potentially create small expenses for the State. On that basis, the advice is that the approval of the Dáil is required prior to the signature of the agreement next week. That is what has given rise to the urgency of the matter. We had not anticipated this and I apologise for any inconvenience caused to members.

The European Commission has consulted stakeholders throughout the negotiating process, in particular through the consultative forum comprising representatives of member states, air carriers, airports and labour organisations.

Negotiations took more than three years, involving eight negotiation rounds and numerous EU preparatory meetings.

Air services between the European Union and the State of Israel currently operate on the basis of bilateral agreements between individual member states and Israel, including an agreement between Ireland and Israel made in 1993. It is part of the EU's external aviation policy to negotiate comprehensive air services agreements with neighbouring countries, in particular the Mediterranean region, where the added value and economic benefits of such agreements have been demonstrated.

The agreement's aims are: gradual market opening in terms of access to routes and capacity on a reciprocal basis; promoting regulatory co-operation and harmonisation of regulations and approaches based on EU legislation in the field of aviation; promoting air services based on competition among air carriers with minimum government interference and regulation; and non-discrimination and a level playing field for economic operators. This is a mixed competency agreement requiring ratification by each participating member state. Pending entry into force, the agreement will be provisionally applied from the date of signature.

Ireland is supportive of the European policy of negotiating such agreements with neighbouring countries. Historically commercial aviation relations between Ireland and Israel have been limited, although as mentioned a bilateral aviation agreement between Ireland and Israel was agreed in 1993. Various services have been approved over the years under this agreement. No Irish airline currently operates scheduled services to Israel and one Israeli airline operates a summer-only scheduled service. Many individual charter flights; between the two countries have been authorised mainly to cater for tourist traffic - mostly for pilgrimages to the Holy Land.

The agreement will gradually open up the entire EU-Israel aviation market to Irish airlines, which may well have an interest in servicing Israel from Ireland or indeed other EU member states. I ask for the committee's assent to its ratification.