European Common Aviation Area Explained

The European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) is a single market in aviation services.

ECAA agreements were signed on 5 May 2006 in Salzburg, Austria between the EU and some external countries. It built upon the EU's acquis communautaire and the European Economic Area. The ECAA liberalises the air transport industry by allowing any company from any ECAA member state to fly between any ECAA member states airports, thereby allowing a "foreign" airline to provide domestic flights.

Membership

Founding members

On 9 June 2006, the ECAA agreement was signed[1] by almost all of the 27 EU members, the European Union itself, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Iceland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia as well as Kosovo (UNMIK as Kosovo representative under Security Council resolution 1244). The last two EU member states to sign it were Slovakia and Latvia respectively on 13 June 2006 and 22 June 2006.

Enlargements

Further agreements to join the Common Aviation Area have been offered to the EU's Eastern Partnership members. Agreements currently in force, include:

Euro-Mediterranean aviation agreements (EMAAs)

Moreover, a system of association agreements with the ECAA has been enacted for the Mediterranean partnership countries.

In force

Under negotiation

on 9 October 2008, the Council of the European Union adopted a decision authorising the European Commission to open negotiations.

also on 9 December 2008, the Council of the European Union adopted a decision authorising the European Commission to open negotiations, though the negotiations with Algeria have not started yet.

Brexit

Because the UK has left the European Union (Brexit), the UK is no longer part of the Common Aviation Area. Unless permission or new treaties with the UK are made, aviation to and from the UK may stop.[11] There was a delay in this hard Brexit until the end of 2020, because the Brexit withdrawal agreement states that most EU rules continue to be valid for the UK during 2020. However, EU has approved regulations 2019/494 and 2019/505 in order to secure air traffic between UK and EU plus EEA.[12] Also, the British government has taken various steps to ensure the continuation of air travel, such as an open skies agreement with the United States.[13] The British airline EasyJet which has many flights outside the UK has set up a subsidiary in Austria (easyJet Europe) whilst keeping its headquarters in Luton, England.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Multilateral Agreement on the Establishment of a European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) .
  2. Web site: Common Aviation Area Agreement between the European Union and its Member States and Georgia.
  3. Web site: Common Aviation Area Agreement between the European Union and its Member States and the Republic of Moldova.
  4. Web site: Mobility and transport. 30 April 2024 .
  5. Web site: New EU-Armenia Deal Reached in Brussels. 28 February 2017.
  6. Web site: Aviation: EU and Armenia sign aviation agreement.
  7. Web site: Euro-Mediterranean Aviation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco.
  8. Web site: Euro-Mediterranean Aviation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States of the one part and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
  9. Web site: Euro-Mediterranean Aviation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Government of the State of Israel.
  10. Web site: International aviation: Tunisia. 30 April 2024 .
  11. News: Gerrard . Bradley . With no plan B, Brexit stakes for aviation sector are sky high . The Daily Telegraph . 18 August 2017 . 21 September 2017.
  12. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019R0502 Regulation (EU) 2019/502 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 March 2019 on common rules ensuring basic air connectivity with regard to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the Union (Text with EEA relevance.)
  13. Web site: UK and US agree post-Brexit flights deal. 29 November 2018. 11 April 2019.