CELEX: 22011A1029(01)
Language: en
Date: 2011-06-21 00:00:00
Title: Air Transport Agreement

29.10.2011          EN                   Official Journal of the European Union L 283/3
                                          AIR TRANSPORT AGREEMENT
           THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (hereinafter, ‘the United States’),
           of the first part;
           THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM,
           THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA,
           THE CZECH REPUBLIC,
           THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK,
           THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY,
           THE REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA,
           IRELAND,
           THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC,
           THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN,
           THE FRENCH REPUBLIC,
           THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC,
           THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS,
           THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA,
           THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA,
           THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG,
           THE REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY,
           MALTA,
           THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS,
           THE REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA,
           THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND,
           THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC,
           ROMANIA,
           THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA,
           THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC,
 ---pagebreak--- L 283/4          EN                             Official Journal of the European Union                                                29.10.2011
        THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND,
        THE KINGDOM OF SWEDEN,
        THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND,
        being parties to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and being
        Member States of the European Union (hereinafter, ‘the Member States’),
        and
        THE EUROPEAN UNION,
        of the second part;
        ICELAND,
        of the third part; and
        THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY (hereinafter, ‘Norway’),
        of the fourth part;
        DESIRING to promote an international aviation system based on competition among airlines in the marketplace with
        minimum government interference and regulation;
        DESIRING to facilitate the expansion of international air transport opportunities, including through the development of
        air transportation networks to meet the needs of passengers and shippers for convenient air transportation services;
        DESIRING to make it possible for airlines to offer the travelling and shipping public competitive prices and services in
        open markets;
        DESIRING to have all sectors of the air transport industry, including airline workers, benefit in a liberalised agreement;
        DESIRING to ensure the highest degree of safety and security in international air transport and reaffirming their grave
        concern about acts or threats against the security of aircraft, which jeopardise the safety of persons or property, adversely
        affect the operation of air transportation, and undermine public confidence in the safety of civil aviation;
        NOTING the Convention on International Civil Aviation, opened for signature at Chicago on December 7, 1944;
        RECOGNISING that government subsidies may adversely affect airline competition and may jeopardise the basic
        objectives of this Agreement;
        AFFIRMING the importance of protecting the environment in developing and implementing international aviation policy;
        NOTING the importance of protecting consumers, including the protections afforded by the Convention for the Unifi­
        cation of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, done at Montreal May 28, 1999;
        INTENDING to build upon the framework of existing agreements with the goal of opening access to markets and
        maximising benefits for consumers, airlines, labour, and communities on both sides of the Atlantic;
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               RECOGNISING the importance of enhancing the access of their airlines to global capital markets in order to strengthen
               competition and promote the objectives of this Agreement;
               INTENDING to establish a precedent of global significance to promote the benefits of liberalisation in this crucial
               economic sector;
               RECOGNISING that the European Union replaced and succeeded the European Community as a consequence of the entry
               into force on December 1, 2009 of the Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty
               establishing the European Community, and that as of that date, all the rights and obligations of, and all the references to
               the European Community in the Air Transport Agreement signed by the United States of America and the European
               Community and its Member States on April 25 and 30, 2007, apply to the European Union;
               HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
                                Article 1                                     2.     Either Iceland or Norway may, at any time, give notice in
                                                                              writing through diplomatic channels to the other Parties of its
                              Definition                                      decision to withdraw from this Agreement or to end its provi­
‘Party’ means the United States, the European Union and its                   sional application of this Agreement under Article 5. A copy of
Member States, Iceland, or Norway.                                            the notice shall be sent simultaneously to ICAO. Such with­
                                                                              drawal or cessation of provisional application shall be
                                                                              effective at midnight GMT at the end of the IATA traffic
                                                                              season in effect one year following the date of written notifi­
                                                                              cation, unless the notice is withdrawn by agreement of the Party
                                Article 2
                                                                              giving written notice, the United States, and the European
Application of the Air Transport Agreement as amended                         Union and its Member States before the end of this period.
     by the Protocol and the Annex to this Agreement
The provisions of the Air Transport Agreement signed by the
United States of America and the European Community and its
Member States on April 25 and 30, 2007 (hereinafter, ‘the Air                 3.     Either the United States or the European Union and its
Transport Agreement’), as amended by the Protocol to Amend                    Member States may, at any time, give notice in writing through
the Air Transport Agreement signed by the United States of                    diplomatic channels to Iceland or Norway of its decision to
America and the European Union and its Member States on                       terminate this Agreement or to end this Agreement’s provi­
June 24, 2010 (hereinafter, ‘the Protocol’), which are hereby                 sional application, with respect to Iceland or Norway. Copies
incorporated by reference, shall apply to all Parties to this                 of the notice shall be sent simultaneously to the other two
Agreement, subject to the Annex to this Agreement. The                        Parties to this Agreement and to ICAO. Termination or
provisions of the Air Transport Agreement, as amended by                      cessation of provisional application with respect to Iceland or
the Protocol, shall apply to Iceland and Norway as though                     Norway shall be effective at midnight GMT at the end of the
they were Member States of the European Union, so that                        IATA traffic season in effect one year following the date of
Iceland and Norway shall have all of the rights and obligations               written notification, unless the notice is withdrawn by
of Member States under that agreement. The provisions of the                  agreement of the United States, the European Union and its
Annex to this Agreement form an integral part of this                         Member States, and the Party receiving the notice, before the
Agreement.                                                                    end of this period.
                                Article 3                                     4.     For purposes of the diplomatic notes contemplated by this
                                                                              Article, diplomatic notes to or from the European Union and its
    Termination or cessation of provisional application                       Member States shall be delivered to or from, as the case may be,
                                                                              the European Union.
1.     Either the United States or the European Union and its
Member States may, at any time, give notice in writing through
diplomatic channels to the other three Parties of its decision to
terminate this Agreement or to end this Agreement’s provi­
sional application under Article 5.                                           5.     Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, if the
                                                                              Air Transport Agreement, as amended by the Protocol, is
                                                                              terminated, this Agreement shall terminate simultaneously.
A copy of the notice shall be sent simultaneously to the Inter­
national Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). This Agreement
shall terminate, or provisional application of this Agreement                                                  Article 4
shall end, at midnight GMT at the end of the International                                           Registration with ICAO
Air Transport Association (IATA) traffic season in effect one
year following the date of the written notification, unless the               This Agreement and all amendments thereto shall be registered
notice is withdrawn by agreement of all of the Parties before the             with ICAO by the General Secretariat of the Council of the
end of this period.                                                           European Union.
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                            Article 5                                    3. one month   after the date of the last note of the exchanges of
                                                                             diplomatic notes among the Parties confirming that all
                   Provisional Application                                   necessary  procedures for entry into force of this
Pending its entry into force, the Parties agree to provisionally             Agreement  have been completed.
apply this Agreement, to the extent permitted under applicable
domestic law, from the date of signature. If the Air Transport
Agreement, as amended by the Protocol, is terminated in                  For the purposes of this exchange of diplomatic notes,
accordance with Article 23 thereof, or its provisional appli­            diplomatic notes to or from the European Union and its
cation ceases in accordance with Article 25 of that agreement,           Member States shall be delivered to or from, as the case may
or provisional application of the Protocol ceases in accordance          be, the European Union. The diplomatic note or notes from the
with Article 9 of the Protocol, provisional application of this          European Union and its Member States shall contain communi­
Agreement shall cease simultaneously.                                    cations from each Member State confirming that its necessary
                                                                         procedures for entry into force of this Agreement have been
                                                                         completed.
                            Article 6
                        Entry into force
This Agreement shall enter into force on the later of:                   IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorised,
                                                                         have signed this Agreement.
1. the date of entry into force of the Air Transport Agreement;
                                                                         Done at Luxembourg and Oslo, in quadruplicate, on the
2. the date of entry into force of the Protocol; and                     sixteenth and twenty-first of June 2011 respectively.
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           For the United States of America
           За Европейския съюз
           Por la Unión Europea
           Za Evropskou unii
           For Den Europæiske Union
           Für die Europäische Union
           Euroopa Liidu nimel
           Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση
           For the European Union
           Pour l’Union européenne
           Per l’Unione europea
           Eiropas Savienības vārdā –
           Europos Sąjungos vardu
           Az Európai Unió részéről
           Għall-Unjoni Ewropea
           Voor de Europese Unie
           W imieniu Unii Europejskiej
           Pela União Europeia
           Pentru Uniunea Europeană
           Za Európsku úniu
           Za Evropsko unijo
           Euroopan unionin puolesta
           För Europeiska unionen
           Fyrir Ísland
           For Kongeriket Norge
           Voor het Koninkrijk België
           Pour le Royaume de Belgique
           Für das Königreich Belgien
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        Deze handtekening verbindt eveneens het Vlaamse Gewest, het Waalse Gewest en het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest.
        Cette signature engage également la Région wallonne, la Région flamande et la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale.
        Diese Unterschrift bindet zugleich die Wallonische Region, die Flämische Region und die Region Brüssel-Hauptstadt.
        За Репyблика Бългaрия
        Za Českou republiku
        For Kongeriget Danmark
        Für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland
        Eesti Vabariigi nimel
        Thar cheann Na hÉireann
        For Ireland
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           Για την Ελληνική Δημοκρατία
           Por el Reino de España
           Pour la République française
           Per la Repubblica italiana
           Για την Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία
           Latvijas Republikas vārdā –
 ---pagebreak--- L 283/10        EN                        Official Journal of the European Union 29.10.2011
         Lietuvos Respublikos vardu
         Pour le Grand-Duché de Luxembourg
         A Magyar Köztársaság részéről
         Għal Malta
         Voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden
         Für die Republik Österreich
         W imieniu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
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           Pela República Portuguesa
           Pentru România
           Za Republiko Slovenijo
           Za Slovenskú republiku
           Suomen tasavallan puolesta
           För Republiken Finland
           För Konungariket Sverige
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         For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
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                                                        JOINT DECLARATION
           Representatives of the United States of America, the European Union and its Member States, Iceland, and
           the Kingdom of Norway confirmed that the text of the Air Transport Agreement between the United States
           of America, of the first part, the European Union and its Member States, of the second part, Iceland, of the
           third part, and the Kingdom of Norway, of the fourth part ("the Agreement ″), is to be authenticated in other
           languages, as provided either, before signature of the Agreement, by Exchanges of Letters or, after signature
           of the Agreement, by decision of the Joint Committee.
           This Joint Declaration is an integral part of the Agreement.
           For the United States of America                                         For the European Union
                                                                                      and its Member States
                        For Iceland                                               For the Kingdom of Norway
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                                                                     ANNEX
                                         Specific provisions with respect to Iceland and Norway
         The provisions of the Air Transport Agreement, as amended by the Protocol, modified as follows, shall apply to all Parties
         to this Agreement. The provisions of the Air Transport Agreement, as amended by the Protocol, shall apply to Iceland
         and Norway as though they were Member States of the European Union, so that Iceland and Norway shall have all of the
         rights and obligations of Member States under that agreement, subject to the following:
         1. Paragraph 9 of Article 1 of the Air Transport Agreement, as amended by the Protocol, shall read as follows:
            ‘ “Territory” means, for the United States, the land areas (mainland and islands), internal waters and territorial sea under
            its sovereignty or jurisdiction, and, for the European Union and its Member States, the land areas (mainland and
            islands), internal waters and territorial sea in which the Agreement on the European Economic Area is applied and
            under the conditions laid down in that agreement and any successor instrument, with the exception of the land areas
            and internal waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the Principality of Liechtenstein; application of this
            Agreement to Gibraltar airport is understood to be without prejudice to the respective legal positions of the
            Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom with regard to the dispute over sovereignty over the territory in
            which the airport is situated, and to the continuing suspension of Gibraltar Airport from European Union aviation
            measures existing as at 18 September 2006 as between Member States, in accordance with the Ministerial statement
            on Gibraltar Airport agreed in Córdoba on 18 September 2006; and’.
         2. Articles 23 to 26 of the Air Transport Agreement, as amended by the Protocol, shall not apply to Iceland and Norway.
         3. Articles 9 and 10 of the Protocol shall not apply to Iceland and Norway.
         4. The following shall be added to Section 1 of Annex 1 of the Air Transport Agreement, as amended by the Protocol:
            ‘w. Iceland: Air Transport Agreement, signed at Washington June 14, 1995; amended March 1, 2002 by exchange of
                 notes; amended August 14, 2006 and March 9, 2007 by exchange of notes.
            x. The Kingdom of Norway: Agreement relating to Air Transport Services effected by exchange of notes at
                 Washington, October 6, 1945; amended August 6, 1954 by exchange of notes; amended June 16, 1995 by
                 exchange of notes.’.
         5. The text of Section 2 of Annex 1 of the Air Transport Agreement, as amended by the Protocol, shall read as follows:
            ‘Notwithstanding Section 1 of this Annex, for areas that are not encompassed within the definition of ‘territory’ in
            Article 1 of this Agreement, the agreements in paragraphs (e) (Denmark-United States), (g) (France-United States), (v)
            (United Kingdom-United States), and (x) (Norway-United States) of that section shall continue to apply, according to
            their terms.’.
         6. The text of Section 3 of Annex 1 of the Air Transport Agreement, as amended by the Protocol, shall read as follows:
            ‘Notwithstanding Article 3 of this Agreement, U.S. airlines shall not have the right to provide all-cargo services, that
            are not part of a service that serves the United States, to or from points in the Member States, except to or from
            points in the Czech Republic, the French Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Grand Duchy of
            Luxembourg, Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, the Slovak Republic, Iceland, and the
            Kingdom of Norway.’.
         7. The following sentence shall be added at the end of Article 3 of Annex 2 of the Air Transport Agreement, as amended
            by the Protocol:
            ‘For Iceland and Norway, this includes, but is not limited to, Articles 53, 54, and 55 of the Agreement on the
            European Economic Area and the European Union Regulations implementing Articles 101, 102 and 105 of the Treaty
            on the Functioning of the European Union as incorporated into the Agreement on the European Economic Area, as
            well as any amendments thereto.’.
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           8. Paragraph 4 of Article 21 of the Air Transport Agreement, as amended by the Protocol, shall apply to Iceland and
              Norway to the extent that the relevant laws and regulations of the European Union are incorporated into the
              Agreement on the European Economic Area, in accordance with any adaptations thereby stipulated. The rights
              provided for in subparagraphs 4(a) and 4(b) of Article 21 of the Air Transport Agreement, as amended by the
              Protocol, shall only be available to Iceland or Norway if, with respect to the imposition of noise-based operating
              restrictions, Iceland or Norway, respectively, is subject, under the relevant laws and regulations of the European Union
              as incorporated into the Agreement on the European Economic Area, to oversight that is comparable to that provided
              for in paragraph 4 of Article 21 of the Air Transport Agreement, as amended by the Protocol.