A3-0306/93

Resolution on air transport relations with third countries

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the communication from the Commission to the Council on air transport relations with third countries (COM(92)0434),

-having been consulted by the Council (C3-0145/93),

-having regard to Council Regulations (EEC)

.No. 2407/92 on licensing of air carriers,

.No. 2408/92 on access for Community air carriers to intra-Community air routes, and

.No. 2409/92 on fares and rates for air services,

-having regard to the agreement between the European Economic Community, the Kingdom of Norway and the Kingdom of Sweden on civil aviation,

-having regard to the Treaty on the European Economic Area and the problems connected with its ratification,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the opinion of the Committee on External Economic Relations (A3-0306/93),

A.whereas the adoption by the Council of the third aviation package marks the completion with effect from 1 April 1997 of the internal market in the field of civil aviation, with the exception of the harmonization measures still to be adopted,

B.whereas the Community is therefore responsible, pursuant to Article 84 of the EC Treaty, for regulating relations with third countries in the areas covered by common aviation legislation,

C.whereas a joint approach in this area

(a)is necessary to avoid situations whereby, as a result of different bilateral agreements entered into between the Member States and third countries, air carriers can operate from the territory of a specific Member State only under less favourable conditions or are disadvantaged in any other way;

(b)will create the conditions whereby strong negotiating partners can be confronted with strong negotiating positions;

(c)will indirectly strengthen the position of the Community's civil aviation industry in competition worldwide;

(d)will live up to the expectations of individuals and the Community's partners in Europe that the European Union should be capable of joint action in major areas of foreign policy;

D.whereas, in the final analysis, Community policy in its relations with third countries must, in the interests of consumers, carriers and airports, be to liberalize international air transport by the removal of restrictions on capacity, frequency, traffic rights etc., without prejudice to safety and traffic regularity, and by eliminating discrimination and ensuring fair competition within a duly harmonized framework,

E.whereas the Community rejects American style deregulation of civil aviation, just as it rejects deregulation for external relations,

F.whereas a common approach towards third countries should therefore not be limited to the commercial aspects of aviation but must at the same time meet the Community's harmonization objectives,

G.whereas the Community must also take into account the fact that efficient, direct flights to the economic centres of third countries are of considerable strategic importance for the economic development of its Member States and regions,

H.whereas the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, the International Civil Aviation Organization and its sub-organizations must be updated and their legal structures amended in such a way as to take account of the changed economic and political conditions in Europe and to grant the Community institutions membership and full cooperation,

I.whereas it would therefore be appropriate to set out in a single coherent document the guidelines for Community external policy in respect of civil aviation,

J.whereas the joint approach in this area should respect a number of general principles, namely

(a)the need to demonstrate the added value of having negotiations conducted by the Commission,

(b)the requirement of reciprocity,

(c)the obligation of non-discrimination,

(d)the creation of conditions of fair competition,

(e)the desire to achieve maximum safety and security, protection of the environment and consumer protection together with good social conditions;

(f)equivalence of advantage in the allocation of traffic rights or, if that is not possible, equal opportunities;

(g)the economically and politically strategic interests of all Member States and regions of the Community;

(h)preventing third-country carriers from being price setters;

(i)accession by third countries to international treaties and acceptance of the obligations arising therefrom;

K.whereas in order to achieve in the long term the greatest possible degree of commercial freedom in international civil aviation subject to comparable conditions, the Community should in the short and medium term set differentiated priorities for its action to take account of differences in economic areas,

L.whereas, leaving aside the action required in respect of regular air services, a liberal air transport policy for charter traffic on a market economy basis can as of now be enshrined in agreements with third countries, especially where charter flights are providing benefits to specific regions,

M.whereas a Community agreement on traffic rights to and from third countries will fully satisfy the principles of the internal market only if carriers are entitled, on the basis of a licence issued pursuant to Community law, to provide services to and from third countries from every international airport in the Community,

N.whereas traffic rights to and from third countries which are negotiated by the Community should be allocated to carriers in such a way as to retain the shares of the markets of those carriers already operating on the market; whereas additional traffic rights and those which are not used by their owners or which become available as carriers leave the market should be allocated to Community carriers on a non-discriminatory basis, but with due regard to new entrants on the market,

1.Calls for Community agreements for relations with third countries in the field of civil aviation to be phased in, failing which the internal market could not be considered completed;

2.Calls on the Council to adopt, on the basis of the points set out below, a decision setting out the political guidelines for Community external policy in respect of civil aviation; calls on the Commission to submit to the Council an appropriate proposal, pursuant to Article 84 of the Treaty;

3.Calls for political guidelines to be based on the long-term objective of creating commercial freedom for international civil aviation within a stable framework to guarantee fair competition with equal opportunities for all participants;

4.Believes that the international framework must include sufficiently harmonized rules to guarantee:

(a)access to the market,

(b)a ban on behaviour that distorts competition,

(c)taxation with a neutral effect on competition,

(d)basic regulations for the issuing of traffic rights,

(e)more transparentt fare structures,

(f)highest possible safety standards for aircraft and air connections,

(g)protection of the environment to the highest possible level,

(h)minimum social standards harmonized at a high level of protection,

(i)technical standards which make it possible to ensure effective air traffic control under the most adverse conditions,

(j)appropriate consumer protection;

5.Calls on the leading civil aviation countries to initiate a process of revision of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, one of the aims being to ensure that the European Community - and, where appropriate, other associations of states in other parts of the world - become contracting parties and full members of international civil aviation organizations;

6.Calls on the Community, as a first step towards achieving the above-mentioned long-term objectives, to enter into negotiations with third countries on those areas of civil aviation policy which are covered by Community legislation, in particular the granting of traffic rights and rules on fares and competition, so that bilateral aviation agreements entered into by the Member States can gradually be replaced - taking account of rights derived from bilateral agreements which expire - by Community agreements; in this connection draws attention to the following:

(i)there may be differences in the priorities for the Community approach and the short-term negotiating objectives, depending on the geographical areas;

(ii)however, the principles of reciprocity and non-discrimination must be respected at all times;

(iii)in conducting its negotiations the Community must pay due regard to the economic and politically strategic interests of all Member States and regions and to the particular affinities between certain Member States and certain third countries and must define its negotiating objectives in such a way as to guarantee balanced development opportunities for all regions;

(iv)in its negotiations the Community must seek further liberalization of international air transport by the elimination of restrictions on capacity, frequency and traffic rights, by eliminating discrimination and by ensuring fair competition;

(v)third countries granted the right to fly a specific route in the Community under the fifth and sixth freedoms may not charge fares on that route below the lowest fares currently charged by Community carriers;

(vi)the Community should insist that third countries with which it concludes aviation agreements are parties to existing international legal instruments with regard to civil aviation, for example in the area of airworthiness, safety and security or the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking;

(vii)the Community should, in line with developments towards monetary union, press for the ECU to have equal rights with other currencies in international aviation relations;

(viii)where a Community approach does not appear to be a priority, individual Member States or groups of Member States should always include a measure of flexibility in future bilateral civil aviation negotiations with third countries to facilitate a transition to Community agreements at a later date;

7.Calls for the Community, in its relations with the US, to make it a priority to work towards the abolition of historical privileges which can no longer be justified and to create an aviation agreement which offers US carriers and Community carriers equal opportunities and equal rights; such an agreement should include the following points:

(a)a revision of the US Chapter 11 provisions on bankruptcy;

(b)equal traffic rights (access to the market and capacities) for EC and US carriers for transport between the US and the EC;

(c)EC carriers must have the same traffic rights between points in the US as US carriers have between points within the EC;

(d)standardized rules on fare structures, with reasonable protective clauses, for transport between the US and EC;

(e)a compromise on the extraterritorial application of rules of competition to transport between the US and the EC;

(f)particularly with regard to slot allocation and inclusion in computer reservation systems, EC carriers in the US must enjoy the same effective rights of access as US carriers in the EC, with provision being made for measures in proportion to the damage caused;

8.Calls for agreements between the Community and third countries in the field of competition to allow new forms of cooperation between air carriers in the Community and third-country carriers where they improve services, make better use of capacity, strengthen the profitability of carriers, take user interests duly into account and do not unduly restrict competition;

9.Calls on the two sides in the negotiations to reach agreements reducing as far as possible restrictions in respect of the obligations and property of Community carriers and companies from the third country involved, with particular reference to restrictions on financial holdings, mergers, the right to appoint board members, voting rights, code-sharing etc., without impairing the interests of workers;

10.With regard to the member states of EFTA - should there be further delays in the ratification of the Treaty on the European Economic Area - calls on the Council to grant the Commission a mandate to negotiate with Finland, Iceland, Austria and Switzerland agreements similar to the civil aviation agreements with Norway and Sweden;

11.Calls for Community action towards the countries of Central and Eastern Europe to be guided by the objective of helping to achieve the transition to a market economy and an economic revival and calls for aviation agreements to be concluded pursuant to the new European agreement which

(a)are based on a fair allocation of traffic rights;

(b)guarantee the necessary degree of protection for the duration of the initial phase of developing air carriers from these countries;

(c)phase in elements of competition after a certain period of time (graduated flexibility with regard to fares and capacities);

(d)provide for inclusion of the results of EC harmonization;

(e)by including technical specifications which still have to be set by the Community and by granting financial aid toward investment costs, guarantee the creation of an efficient and uniform European air traffic control system;

12.Calls on the Community to enter into talks with the independent countries resulting from the disintegration of the Soviet Union with a view to

(a)achieving multilateral agreements on traffic and overflying rights on the basis of reciprocity and equal treatment;

(b)phasing in a certain measure of commercial flexibility in parallel with the introduction of the market economy;

(c)developing appropriate forms of cooperation with regard to air traffic control;

13.With regard to the countries of the Middle East, calls on the Community, once the peace process has been concluded, to take initiatives with a view to increasing economic cooperation to improve flights between those countries and the Community and to seek new forms of cooperation, either directly or indirectly through organizations such as the ECAC, for example in respect of harmonization and air traffic control;

14.With regard to the countries of the Far East, calls on the Community to seek equal rights for Community carriers or, if such rights appear illusory in the light of particular circumstances, for the framework for potential agreements to be widened to regional level, so as to ensure minimum guarantees of equal opportunities; at all events, the negotiating objectives could be defined in a similar way to those vis-à-vis the US, insisting in particular on respect for comparable social conditions;

15.Concedes, with regard to the underdeveloped and developing countries, that in most cases aviation relations can continue for the time being on the basis of bilateral agreements - or multilateral agreements negotiated by a group of Member States with economic interests - although a Commission representative should take part in the negotiations as an observer in order to ensure, where appropriate, that such agreements do not lead to discrimination between Community carriers; the terms of such agreements may take account of the particular economic status and financial problems of the countries in question, but they should not abandon elementary requirements in respect of safety and security and protection of the environment;

16.Calls on the Commission to submit to the Council no later than 31 December 1993 proposals for the following, complementary intra-Community legal instruments:

(a)a regulation granting any carrier in possession of a valid licence issued by a Member State the right, pursuant to the traffic rights granted by the Community or a Member State, and, of course, pursuant to an aviation agreement concluded by the Community and a third country, to commence services between any Community airport licensed for international aviation and airports in third countries;

(b)a regulation laying down binding criteria for granting to Community carriers traffic rights to which the Community is entitled, whereby

(aa)existing rights acquired by air carriers are not impaired;

(bb)the allocation of additional rights, if not sufficient, shall in the first instance be the responsibility of the appropriate Community carriers; in the event of a failure of such carriers to agree, the rights shall be shared out equally among the carriers expressing an interest;

(cc)due account is taken of the economic interests of the various regions of the Community;

17.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.