Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Panama on certain aspects of air services
Date: 2007-10-01
Institutions: European Community, Panama
Subjects: Panama, agreement (EU), air transport

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between the European Community and the Republic of Panama on certain aspects of air services

AGREEMENT

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY,

of the one part, and

THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA,

of the other part,

(hereinafter referred to as the Parties),

NOTING that bilateral air service agreements have been signed between several Member States of
Community and the Republic of Panama containing provisions contrary to European Community law,

the European

NOTING that the European Community has exclusive competence with respect to several aspects that may be included in
bilateral air service agreements between Member States of the European Community and third countries,

NOTING that under European Community law Community air carriers established in a Member State have the right to
non-discriminatory access to air routes between the Member States of the European Community and third countries,

HAVING REGARD to the agreements between the European Community and certain third countries providing for the
possibility for the nationals of such third countries to acquire ownership in air carriers licensed in accordance with
European Community law,

RECOGNISING that certain provisions of the bilateral air service agreements between Member States of the European
Community and the Republic of Panama, which are contrary to European Community law, must be brought into
conformity with it in order to establish a sound legal basis for air services between the European Community and the
Republic of Panama and to preserve the continuity of such air services,

NOTING that it is not a purpose of the European Community, as part of these negotiations, to increase the total volume
of air traffic between the European Community and the Republic of Panama, to affect the balance between Community
air carriers and air carriers of the Republic of Panama, or to negotiate amendments to the provisions of existing bilateral
air service agreements concerning traffic rights,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

General Provisions

Article 2

Designation, Authorisation and Revocation

For the purposes of this Agreement, ‘Member States’ shall
‘LACAC
the Latin

1.
mean Member States of
Member States’
American Civil Aviation Commission.

shall mean Member States of

the European Community.

2.
References in each of the agreements listed in Annex I to
nationals of the Member State that is a party to that agreement
shall be understood as referring to nationals of the Member
States of the European Community.

The provisions in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall
1.
supersede the corresponding provisions in the Articles listed in
Annex II(a) and (b) respectively, in relation to the designation of
an air carrier by the Member State concerned, its authorisations
and permissions granted by the Republic of Panama, and the
refusal, revocation, suspension or limitation of the authorisa-
respectively. The
tions or permissions of
provisions
shall
this Article
supersede the corresponding provisions in the articles listed in
Annex II(a) and (b) respectively, in relation to the designation of
an air carrier by the Republic of Panama, its authorisations and
permissions granted by the Member State, and the refusal, revo-
cation,
the authorisations or
limitation of
permissions of the air carrier, respectively.

the air carrier,
in paragraphs 4 and 5 of

suspension or

3.
References in each of the agreements listed in Annex I to
air carriers or airlines of the Member State that is a party to that
agreement shall be understood as referring to air carriers or
airlines designated by that Member State.

2.
the
On receipt of a designation by a Member State,
Republic of Panama shall grant the appropriate authorisations
and permissions with minimum procedural delay, provided that:

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(i) the air carrier is established, under the Treaty establishing
the European Community,
in the territory of the desig-
nating Member State and has a valid operating licence in
accordance with European Community law;

On receipt of a designation by the Republic of Panama, a
4.
Member State shall grant the appropriate authorisations and
permissions with minimum procedural delay, provided that:

(ii) effective regulatory control of the air carrier is exercised
and maintained by the Member State responsible for
issuing its air operators certificate and the relevant aero-
nautical authority is clearly identified in the designation;
and

(i) the air carrier is established in the Republic of Panama; and

(ii) the Republic of Panama has and maintains effective regu-
the air carrier and is responsible for

latory control of
issuing its air operators certificate; and

(iii) the air carrier

is owned, directly or

through majority
ownership, and it
is effectively controlled by Member
States and/or nationals of Member States, or by other
states listed in Annex III and/or nationals of such other
states.

The Republic of Panama may refuse, revoke, suspend or
the authorisations or permissions of an air carrier

3.
limit
designated by a Member State where:

(i) the air carrier is not established, under the Treaty estab-
lishing the European Community,
in the territory of the
designating Member State or does not have a valid
operating
European
licence
Community law; or

accordance with

in

(iii) the air carrier is owned and effectively controlled directly or
through majority ownership by LACAC Member States
and/or nationals of LACAC Member States.

A Member State may refuse, revoke, suspend or limit the
5.
authorisation or permissions of an air carrier designated by the
Republic of Panama where:

(i) the air carrier is not established in the Republic of Panama;

or

(ii) effective regulatory control of the air carrier is not exercised
or not maintained by the Republic of Panama or the
Republic of Panama is not responsible for issuing its air
operators certificate; or

(ii) effective regulatory control of the air carrier is not exercised
or not maintained by the Member State responsible for
issuing its air operators certificate, or the relevant aero-
nautical authority is not clearly identified in the designation;
or

(iii) the air carrier is not owned and effectively controlled
through majority ownership by LACAC
and/or nationals of LACAC Member

directly or
Member States
States; or

(iii) the air carrier is not owned and effectively controlled
directly or through majority ownership by Member States
and/or nationals of Member States, or by other states listed
in Annex III and/or nationals of such other states; or

(iv) the air carrier is already authorised to operate under a
bilateral agreement between the Republic of Panama and
another Member State and the Republic of Panama demon-
strates
this
Agreement on a route that includes a point in that other
it would be circumventing restrictions on
Member State,
traffic rights imposed by that other agreement; or

rights under

exercising

that, by

traffic

agreement between the Member State

(iv) the air carrier is already authorised to operate under a
bilateral
and
another LACAC Member State and the Member State
demonstrates that, by exercising traffic rights under this
Agreement on a route that includes a point in that other
LACAC Member
circumventing
restrictions on the traffic rights imposed by that other
agreement.

it would be

State,

Article 3

Safety

The provisions

1.
complement the Articles listed in Annex II(c).

in paragraph 2 of

this Article shall

(v) the air carrier holds an air operators certificate issued by a
services
Member State and there
agreement between the Republic of Panama and that
Member State, and traffic rights to that Member State
have been denied to the air carrier designated by the
Republic of Panama.

is no bilateral air

In exercising its right under this paragraph, the Republic of
Panama
air
carriers on the grounds of nationality.

shall not discriminate between Community

2. Where a Member State has designated an air carrier whose
regulatory control
is exercised and maintained by another
Member State, the rights of the Republic of Panama under
the safety provisions of the agreement between the Member
State that has designated the air carrier and the Republic of
Panama shall apply equally in respect of
the adoption,
exercise or maintenance of safety standards by that other
Member State and in respect of the operating authorisation of
that air carrier.

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Article 4

Taxation of aviation fuel

1.
The provisions in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall
complement the corresponding provisions in the Articles listed
in Annex II(d).

Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary,
2.
nothing in each of the agreements listed in Annex II(d) shall
prevent Member States from imposing, on a non-discriminatory
basis, taxes, levies, duties, fees or charges on fuel supplied in its
territory for use in an aircraft of a designated air carrier of the
in the
Republic of Panama that operates between a point
territory of
in the
that Member State and another point
territory of that Member State or in the territory of another
Member State.

3.
Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary,
nothing in each of the agreements listed in Annex II(d) shall
prevent the Republic of Panama from imposing on a non-discri-
minatory basis taxes,
fees or charges on fuel
supplied in its territory for use in an aircraft of a designated
air carrier of a Member State that operates between a point in
the territory of the Republic of Panama and another point in
the territory of the Republic of Panama or in the territory of
another LACAC Member State.

levies, duties,

Article 5

Tariffs for carriage

The provisions in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall

1.
complement the Articles listed in Annex II(e).

2.
The tariffs to be charged by the air carrier(s) designated by
the Republic of Panama under an agreement listed in Annex I
containing a provision listed in Annex II(e) for carriage wholly
within the European Community shall be subject to European
Community law. European Community law is applied on a
non-discriminatory basis.

The tariffs to be charged by the air carrier(s) designated by
3.
listed in Annex I
a Member State under an agreement
for carriage
containing a provision listed in Annex II(e)
between the Republic of Panama
and another LACAC
Member State shall be subject to Panamanian law concerning
price leadership and applied on a non-discriminatory basis.

that prevent, distort or

(ii)
practices
reinforce the effects of any such agreement, decision or
concerted practice; or
economic
(iii) delegate
operators the responsibility for taking measures that prevent,
distort or restrict competition.

restrict competition;

to private

The provisions contained in the agreements listed in
this
that are incompatible with paragraph 1 of

2.
Annex I
Article shall not be applied.

Article 7

Annexes to the Agreement

The Annexes to this Agreement shall form an integral part
thereof.

Article 8

Revision or amendment

The Parties may, at any time, revise or amend this Agreement
by mutual consent.

Article 9

Entry into force

This Agreement shall enter in force when the Parties have
notified each other in writing that
their respective internal
procedures necessary for
its entry into force have been
completed.

Article 10

Termination

In the event

that an agreement

1.
is
terminated, all provisions of this Agreement that relate to the
agreement listed in Annex I concerned shall terminate at the
same time.

listed in Annex I

2.
In the event that all agreements listed in Annex I are
terminated, this Agreement shall terminate at the same time.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorised,
have signed this Agreement.

Article 6

Compatibility with competition rules

1.
Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary,
nothing in each of the agreements listed in Annex I shall (i)
the adoption of agreements between undertakings,
favour
concerted
decisions by

associations of undertakings or

Done at Panama City in duplicate, on this first day of October
in the year two thousand and seven in the Bulgarian, Czech,
Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German,
Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish,
Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish and Swedish
languages. In case of divergence the Spanish text shall prevail
over the other language texts.

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За Европейската общнoст
Por la Comunidad Europea
Za Evropské společenství
For Det Europæiske Fællesskab
Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft
Euroopa Ühenduse nimel
Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα

For the European Community
Pour la Communauté européenne
Per la Comunità europea
Eiropas Kopienas vārdā
Europos bendrijos vardu
Az Európai Közösség részéről
Għall-Komunità Ewropea
Voor de Europese Gemeenschap
W imieniu Wspólnoty Europejskiej
Pela Comunidade Europeia
Pentru Comunitatea Europeană
Za Európske spoločenstvo
Za Evropsko skupnost
Euroopan yhteisön puolesta
För Europeiska gemenskapen

За Република Панама

Por la República de Panamá
Za Panamskou republiku
For Republikken Panama
Für die Republik Panama
Panama Vabariigi nimel
Για τη Δημοκρατία του Παναμά

For the Republic of Panama
Pour la République du Panama
Per la Repubblica di Panama
Panamas Republikas vārdā
Panamos Respublikos vardu
A Panamai Köztársaság részéről
Għar-Repubblika tal-Panama
Voor de Republiek Panama
W imieniu Republiki Panamy
Pela República do Panamá
Pentru Republica Panama
Za Panamskú republiku
Za Republiko Panamo
Panaman tasavallan puolesta
För Republiken Panama

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ANNEX I

List of agreements referred to in Article 1 of this Agreement

(a) Air service agreements between the Republic of Panama and Member States of the European Community which, at
the date of signature of this Agreement, have been concluded, signed and/or are being applied provisionally:

— Air Transport Agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Panama, done at Panama

on 13 December 1999, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Panama-Germany Agreement’ in Annex II,

— Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of Panama and the Kingdom of Belgium on air services,
done at Panama City on 12 January 1966, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Panama-Belgium Agreement’
in
Annex II,

— Agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Panama, done at Panama City on 7 August 2001,

hereinafter referred to as the ‘Panama-Spain Agreement’ in Annex II,

— Protocol of the Meeting between the aeronautical delegations of the Government of the Italian Republic and the
Government of the Republic of Panama, done at Rome on 11 November 1970, hereinafter referred to as the
‘Panama-Italy Protocol’ in Annex II,

— Agreement between the Republic of Panama and the Kingdom of the Netherlands concerning air services between
and beyond their respective territories, initialled as Annex II to the Memorandum of Understanding done in The
Hague on 7 June 1995, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Panama-Netherlands Agreement’ in Annex II,

— Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government
of the Republic of Panama, initialled as Annex B to the Memorandum of Understanding signed in London on
26 August 1997, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Panama-United Kingdom Agreement’ in Annex II.

(b) Air service agreements and other arrangements initialled or signed between the Republic of Panama and Member
States of the European Community which, at the date of signature of this Agreement, have not yet entered into force
and are not being applied provisionally.

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ANNEX II

List of Articles in the Agreements listed in Annex I and referred to in Articles 2 to 5 of this Agreement

(a) Designation:

— Article 3 of the Panama-Germany Agreement,

— Article 3 of the Panama-Spain Agreement,

— Article 4 of the Panama-Netherlands Agreement,

— Article 4 of the Panama-United Kingdom Agreement;

(b) Refusal, Revocation, Suspension or Limitation of Authorisations or Permissions:

— Article 3 of the Panama-Germany Agreement,

— Article 9 of the Panama-Belgium Agreement,

— Article 4 of the Panama-Spain Agreement,

— Article 5 of the Panama-Netherlands Agreement,

— Article 5 of the Panama-United Kingdom Agreement;

(c) Regulatory control:

— Article 12 of the Panama-Germany Agreement,

— Article 11 of the Panama-Spain Agreement;

(d) Taxation of Aviation Fuel:

— Article 6 of the Panama-Germany Agreement,

— Article 7 of the Panama-Belgium Agreement,

— Article 5 of the Panama-Spain Agreement,

— Article 10 of the Panama-Netherlands Agreement,

— Article 8 of the Panama-United Kingdom Agreement;

(e) Tariffs for Carriage:

— Article 10 of the Panama-Germany Agreement,

— Article 5 of the Panama-Belgium Agreement,

— Article 7 of the Panama-Spain Agreement,

— Article 6 of the Panama-Netherlands Agreement,

— Article 7 of the Panama-United Kingdom Agreement.

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ANNEX III

List of other States referred to in Article 2 of this Agreement

(a) The Republic of Iceland (under the Agreement on the European Economic Area);

(b) The Principality of Liechtenstein (under the Agreement on the European Economic Area);

(c) The Kingdom of Norway (under the Agreement on the European Economic Area);

(d) The Swiss Confederation (under the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on

Air Transport).