Commission takes step to update air service rules
The European Commission is inviting citizens, travellers and stakeholders to express their views via a public consultation on the revision of the Air Services Regulation – the framework governing access to the EU internal market for aviation, and operations within it. The Regulation determines, for example, when and where EU airlines can operate freely within the EU, and how ticket prices should be displayed to consumers.
Reviewing the Regulation will prepare the air services sector for the future, ensuring it remains competitive, maintains connectivity, and protects consumer interests. The review covers hand luggage allowances, and ways to reduce disruptions across the EU during air traffic controller strikes.
First introduced in 1992 and updated in 2008, the Air Services Regulation has played a pivotal role in the development of the EUs internal aviation market. It has driven sector growth and improved connectivity across the EU, benefiting citizens in all regions, including remote and outermost areas. An evaluation carried out in 2019, the experience of the COVID pandemic and more recent assessments have identified a need for more support – for the sectors green transition, and to improve its resilience to crises.
The consultation is open until 4 November 2025 (midnight Brussels time) and is available on the Have Your Say portal. Feedback will feed into the Impact Assessment on the revision of the Air Services Regulation, which the Commission is currently undertaking.
(For more information: Eva Hrnčířová – Tel.: +32 2 298 84 33; Anni Juusola - Tel.: +32 2 296 09 86)
Air quality monitoring advances with EUs Sentinel-5A successful launch
The Copernicus Sentinel-5 satellite successfully launched today aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from Europes Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. It marks a significant step forward in Europes ability to monitor air pollution and atmospheric health on a global scale.
Developed in close cooperation between the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA), EUMETSAT and Arianespace, Sentinel-5 will deliver daily, high-resolution data on air pollutants and atmospheric trace gases around the globe. The satellite will orbit the Earth approximately every 100 minutes.
Once operational, the mission will support key EU environmental and climate policies, including the EU Methane Strategy, the Ambient Air Quality Directive, and the Zero Pollution Action Plan. This data will be instrumental in advancing pollution reduction efforts and improving air quality management across Europe and beyond.
Together with the geostationary Sentinel-4 and the upcoming CO₂-monitoring mission (CO2M), Sentinel-5 further consolidates Copernicus as one of the most advanced Earth observation systems in the world, particularly in atmospheric monitoring.
Copernicus is the Earth Observation component of the EU Space Programme.
Read more about the Sentinel-5 mission online.
(For more information: Lea Zuber — Tel. +32 2 295 62 98; Patricia Poropat — Tel. +32 2 298 04 85)
Commission clears creation of joint venture by Bosch and Mitsubishi Corporation in EV-battery-related services
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the creation of a joint venture by Robert Bosch GmbH (‘Bosch) of Germany and Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan.
The transaction relates primarily to the provisions of battery-related services for electric vehicles.
The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given that the joint venture has negligible activities in the European Economic Area and the companies limited market positions resulting from the proposed transaction. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. This summary approval is an example of the Commission reducing the regulatory burden on companies and quickly approving a transaction that will clearly not hurt competition in Europe, and which rather aims to support the electric vehicle sector, a pivotal sector for decarbonisation efforts in Europe and beyond.
More information is available on the Commissions competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.12041.
(For more information : Lea Zuber – Tel.: +32 2 295 62 98; Sara Simonini - Tel.: +32 2 298 33 67)
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