PH Signs EU Horizontal Aviation Agreement

4 January 2019


The Philippines and the European Union (EU) have signed the PH-EU Horizontal Aviation Agreement during a ceremony held at the Justus Lipsius Building in Brussels on 29 November 2018.

Ambassador to Brussels and the European Union Eduardo José A. de Vega, and Ambassador of the Permanent Representative of Austria to the EU and Permanent Representatives Committee Chairman Nikolaus Marschik and European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) Deputy Head of Unit Klaus Geil signed the agreement on behalf of the Philippines and European Union, respectively.

A horizontal agreement is an international agreement negotiated by the Commission on behalf of EU Member States, in order to bring all existing bilateral air services agreements between EU Member States and a given third country in line with EU law.

The signing of the Agreement is an important milestone for Philippine-EU bilateral relations. It will not only remove nationality restrictions in bilateral air services agreements between the Philippines and EU Member States but will also harmonize standards and provisions between the Philippines and EU Member States in the fields of safety, taxation of aviation fuel, and compatibility with competition rules.

The Philippines has existing air services agreements with the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands.

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