Summary of Treaty
| GENERAL DATA | |
| Official Title | Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on Air Transport |
| Type of Agreement | Bilateral |
| Place of Signature | Luxembourg |
| Date of Signature | 21/06/1999 |
| Date of Entry Into Force | 01/06/2002 |
| Duration | Definite |
| Objective of Agreement |
To set out rules for the Contracting Parties in the field of civil aviation:
(i) reciprocal freedom of establishment (Article 4); (ii) granting of safeguard measures following consultations in relation to agreements with third countries and international organisations (Article 24); (iii) reciprocal liberalisation of air traffic rights between any point in Switzerland and any point in the Community for carriers registered in either party. |
| Remarks | The provisions of the Agreement are without prejudice to those contained in the EC Treaty and in particular to existing Community competences under the competition rules and the regulations of application of such rules, as well as under all relevant Community legislation listed in the Annex to this Agreement. For this purpose, the provisions laid down in this Agreement as well as in the regulations and directives specified in the Annex shall apply under the condition set out hereafter. Insofar as they are identical in substance to corresponding rules of the EC Treaty and to acts adopted in application of that Treaty, those provisions shall, in their implementation and application, be interpreted in conformity with the relevant rulings and decisions of the Court of Justice and the Commission of the European Communities given prior to the date of signature of this Agreement. The rulings and decisions given after the date of signature of this Agreement shall be communicated to Switzerland. At the request of one of the Contracting Parties, the implications of such latter rulings and decisions shall be determined by the Joint Committee in view of ensuring the proper functioning of this Agreement.
In addition to granting rights to Swiss carriers on Switzerland-EC routes, the Agreement grants Swiss air carriers traffic rights between points in different EC Member States as from two years after its entry into force. A sunset clause provides for negotiations to be opened on the possible extension of the scope of Article 15. There is also a clause for adjustment to the evolution of the acquis communautaire: acceptance by Switzerland of the competence of the Community institutions as regards the application of Community rules by Switzerland (Articles 11, 18, 19 and 20). The arrangement laid down in Article 18(2) however allows the Joint Committee to decide whether measures taken by Switzerland on environmental grounds under either Article 8(2) or 9 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 are in conformity with this Agreement. Following rejection by Switzerland of the EEA Agreement in a referendum, the only way of mitigating the impact of the no vote was the conclusion of bilateral agreements. Seven sectoral agreements were adopted simultaneously guaranteeing a package of mutual interest based on a sound balance of advantages for both sides. To protect against the elimination of any of the seven agreements by referendum, they were adopted by the “Package approach”. Each one of them contain a common clause stipulating simultaneous entry into force and application in their entirety. All seven agreements cease to apply in the event of non-renewal following the initial 7-year period or termination. |
| OJ Reference | L114, 30/04/2002, p. 73 |
| Nature of Agreement | Transport agreement |
| Depositary | Council of the European Union |
| Contracting Parties | European Atomic Energy Community, European Community, Switzerland |
| Authentic Texts | Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Subject Matters |
EC agreement EC joint committee Switzerland Transport air transport transport authorisation transport regulations |
| Management |
Community/Switzerland Air Transport Committee |
| EU PARTICIPATION | |
| Ratification Status | NOT |
| Conclusion Decision | Decision of the Council and of the Commission concerning the scientific and technological cooperation Agreement of 4 April 2002 relating to the conclusion of seven agreements with the Swiss Confederation; OJ L 114 of 30/04/2002, p.1 |
| Competence | Exclusive |
| Legal Basis |
Treaty EC: Article 310
|
| Last Update : 23/08/2007 |