Horizontal air services agreement

Air service agreements between EU and non-EU countries

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THIS REGULATION?

• It establishes a procedure for notifying and authorising negotiations conducted by European Union (EU) countries with non-EU countries on bilateral air service agreements (ASAs).
• It aims to ensure that existing agreements comply with EU law.

• In November 2002, the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed the EU’s exclusive right to negotiate, sign and conclude international ASAs with non-EU countries when they deal with matters within the EU’s exclusive competence.
• At the time of the Court’s ruling, a large number of ASAs existed which did not comply with EU law. Since then, a large number of these have been brought into conformity with EU law.

Those ASAs not complying with EU law need to be amended in order to:

• ensure legal certainty in such agreements for both parties;
• guarantee all EU airlines the right of establishment within the EU, including non-discriminatory market access to routes between all EU countries and non-EU countries where ASAs existed.

Amending an ASA

There are 2 ways to amend an ASA:

• Horizontal agreements — acting on behalf of the EU countries concerned which have bilateral ASAs with a non-EU country, the European Commission negotiates a single agreement with that non-EU country.
• Bilateral negotiations — amending or replacing each ASA individually.

Rules and procedure for bilateral negotiations

• An EU country can enter into bilateral negotiations to amend or replace an ASA which falls partly within the competence of the EU if it follows the rules and procedure set out in the regulation:
  • any relevant standard clauses , developed jointly between EU countries and the Commission, are included in such negotiations and the notification procedure is complied with;
  • it notifies the Commission of its intentions in writing .

  FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

  It entered into force on 30 May 2004.

  Regulation (EC) No 847/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the negotiation and implementation of air service agreements between Member States and third countries (OJ L 157, 30.4.2004, pp. 7–17)

  Corrigendum to Regulation (EC) No 847/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the negotiation and implementation of air service agreements between Member States and third countries (OJ L 157, 30.4.2004) (OJ L 195, 2.6.2004, pp. 3–6)

  Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 of 23 July 1992 on access for Community air carriers to intra-Community air routes (OJ L 240, 24.8.1992, pp. 8–14)

  Successive amendments to Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 have been incorporated into the basic text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.