ASEAN, EU sign air transport agreement

• ASEAN and the European Union have struck the world’s first bloc-to-bloc air transport deal that will provide greater opportunities for their airlines to operate passenger and cargo services between and beyond both regions

• The ASEAN-EU Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement, signed on October 17, is also seen to boost the recovery of air connectivity between the two regions in the post-COVID pandemic era

• The ASEAN-EU CATA will now have to be ratified by parliaments of the ASEAN member states and the European Parliament

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) have signed the world’s first bloc-to-bloc air transport agreement that will provide greater opportunities for their airlines to operate passenger and cargo services between and beyond both regions.

The ASEAN-EU Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (ASEAN-EU CATA) was signed during the 28^th ASEAN Transport Ministers’ Meeting on October 17 in Bali, Indonesia. The agreement is expected to boost the recovery of air connectivity between the two regions in the post-COVID pandemic era.

Negotiations on the agreement began in 2016 and concluded on June 2, 2021. It was followed by legal scrubbing and translation of the text in preparation for signature.

“Passengers can look forward to a greater variety of destinations, more flight frequencies, and more travel options between Southeast Asia and Europe,” the EU and ASEAN said in a joint statement.

“As a key player in the transport affairs of the Southeast Asian region, the Republic of the Philippines is supportive and is one with the other partner nations in pushing for agreements and areas of partnership that will further develop the region’s transportation potentials,” Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said in a statement following the signing.

“This agreement will prove to be a game-changer as both Asean and EU countries slowly recover and rebuild from the effects of the pandemic. The agreement will have a profound impact in the areas of trade and tourism for Asean and the EU,” Bautista added.

Under the ASEAN-EU CATA, airlines of ASEAN and the EU will be able to fly any number of services between both regions. In addition, airlines of each country of one bloc will be able to fly up to 14 weekly passenger services and any number of cargo services to each country of the other bloc with 5^th freedom traffic rights, via any third country or beyond, to any third country.

The ASEAN-EU CATA also provides a foundation for closer cooperation between ASEAN and the EU in areas such as aviation safety, air traffic management, consumer protection, and environmental and social matters.

This deeper cooperation builds upon existing initiatives such as the Enhanced ASEAN Regional Integration Support from the EU (ARISE Plus) program on technical assistance and capacity building, the EU-Southeast Asia Cooperation on Mitigating Climate Change impact from Civil Aviation: Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, which supports CORSIA implementation, and the EU-Southeast Asia Aviation Partnership Project.

The two blocs have signed the “Record of Statements Made on the Occasion of the Signature of the ASEAN-EU Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement.”

“This year marks the 45^th anniversary of ASEAN-European Union Dialogue Relations, and to commemorate this historic occasion, it is heartening that ASEAN and EU signed the world’s first region-to-region air transport agreement in Bali on 17 October 2022, and set a significant milestone in world aviation history,” ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi said.

“I believe that the ASEAN-EU CATA will strengthen air transport services, connecting people, cultures, and businesses across continents, as well as supporting the sustainable growth of aviation. The ASEAN-EU CATA emerges at an opportune time as ASEAN and the EU celebrate our 45 years of partnership.”

European Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean, for her part, said: “The signature of this first-ever region-to-region air transport agreement between the EU and ASEAN brings our aviation partnership to a new level.”

Vălean said the agreement will help support the aviation sector’s post-COVID 19 recovery and restore much-needed connectivity between the two regions, to the benefit of some 1.1 billion people, by enabling greater business, trade, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

The agreement replaces more than 140 bilateral air services agreements, thereby providing a single set of rules and reducing red tape. It also provides a new platform for the two regions to work jointly towards a shared commitment to economically, socially and environmentally sustainable aviation.

The ASEAN-EU CATA will now have to be ratified by parliaments of the ASEAN member states and the European Parliament.