Preparatory Seminar, Fifth Worldwide Air Transport Conference

34th Extraordinary Session of the Essembly

MONTREAL ( 22 Maart – 1 April 2003 )

Delegatie:  J. Veira, V. Hanenberg, T. Chung,  R. Brown,

In totaal namen er 168 delegaties deel aan de conferentie, waarvan 141 lidstaten en 27 waarnemers. In totaal bedroeg het aantal participanten 767.

Preparatory Seminar (22-24 maart)

De bedoeling van dit tweedaags seminar was om een discussie op gang te brengen over strategische issues waarmee de luchtvaartindustrie wordt geconfronteerd. Gekozen is voor een informele- en interactieve setting om participanten de gelegenheid te geven hun zienswijze over de ontwikkelingen op het gebied van luchttransport liberalisatie naar voren te brengen.

Er werd een scala aan onderwerpen door verschillende deskundigen aan de orde gebracht. In totaal werden er 35 presentaties gehouden. Na elke presentatie waren aanwezigen in de gelegenheid vragen te stellen. De discussies die hierna volgden mogen worden getypeerd als zeer intensief en kwalitatief hoogstaand.

Dit seminar, met daaraan gekoppeld de discussies, had mede ten doel alvast de weg open te maken voor de discussies die zouden plaatsvinden tijdens de conferentie zelf. Naderhand bleek dit een zeer effectieve strategie te zijn geweest.

Fifth Worldwide Air Transport Conference

De eerste handeling die gepleegd moest worden was het kiezen van een voorzitter van de conferentie. Op voordracht van Zweden werd de Alternate Chief Delegate van Tonga, de heer Faletau, gekozen. Het was de eerste keer dat iemand uit een ontwikkelingsland de conferentie mocht voorzitten. Dit was cruciaal, aangezien hij voor een groot deel bepaalt wat in de notulen komt te staan en in het verleden hebben de ontwikkelde landen het voor het zeggen gehad. Gezichtspunten van ontwikkelingslanden werden vaak genoeg niet verwerkt in de notulen.

Er werden in totaal 116 Working Papers geproduceerd, waarvan 106 werden gepresenteerd en bediscussieerd. Mede dankzij de leiding van de voorzitter is het aan de conferentie gelukt 1 dag eerder de deliberaties af te ronden. De discussies werden in zeer goede banen geleid en over de meeste onderwerpen was er consensus. Het voorbereidend seminar heeft hierin een belangrijke rol gespeeld, aangezien dezelfde onderwerpen reeds bij deze gelegenheid waren besproken en bediscussieerd.

Het belangrijkste discussiepunt was "Liberalization of air carrier ownership and control". Het ging in deze erom dat in de meeste landen de regel geldt dat de meerderheidsaandelen van een ‘national carrier’ in handen moeten zijn van burgers van het land. Hierdoor zijn buitenlanders die willen investeren in zo’n maatschappij niet gauw geneigd dit te doen. De overheid en lokale ondernemers zijn vaak genoeg niet in staat deze investeringen te plegen. Zo’n carrier kan zich hierdoor niet ontwikkelen en zal in het ergste geval ophouden te bestaan. Bijvoorbeeld is door Barbados het voorstel gedaan om niet meer dan 25 % van de aandelen in handen te laten zijn van burgers van het land. Landen die in een soortgelijke situatie als Barbados verkeren (geen eigen luchtvaartmaatschappij en sterk afhankelijk van luchttransport) konden zich terug vinden hierin.

Over het algemeen was er niet al teveel discussie over het wel of niet liberaliseren, maar meer over de wijze waarop en de snelheid waarmee er geliberaliseerd moet worden.

Aan het einde van de conferentie werden door het ICAO Secretariaat concept-aanbevelingen en een algemene verklaring geproduceerd en voorgelegd aan de conferentie. Na enkele tekstuele verandering werden zowel de aanbevelingen als de algemene verklaring door de conferentie aangenomen.

(bijlage 1 recommendation, bijlage 2 decleration).

34th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly

Als eerste werd de voorzitter van de Assembly gekozen. De President van de Council, de heer Assad Kotaite, werd wederom gekozen als voorzitter.

In november 2002 werd bepaald dat het aantal Council Members zou toenemen van 33 naar 36, aangezien het aantal lidstaten was toegenomen van 146 naar 188.

De landen die zich kandidaat hadden gesteld waren Singapore, Zuid-Afrika (voor deel 2) en Chili en de Ukraïne (deel 3).

Aangezien nog twee landen zitting konden nemen in deel 2 werden zowel Singapore als Zuid-Afrika gekozen, hoewel eerst genoemde meer stemmen wist te vergaren.

In deel 3 was er plaats voor slechts 1 land en Chili kwam hier als overwinnaar uit de bus (bijlage 3).

De Surinaamse delegatie heeft niet aan de stemming kunnen deelnemen, omdat de te betalen contributie op de dagen van de stemming nog niet was voldaan. De heer Hanenberg, die eerder was teruggereisd, deelde ons mede dat de bank in Suriname zeker 2 dagen tot een week nodig had om de overmaking te plegen.

R. Brown, april 2003

Bijlage 1

RECOMMENDATION 4.1/1

THE CONFERENCE RECOMMENDS THAT:

1. ICAO's future role on economic regulation should focus on the development of policy guidance for economic liberalization which permits States to choose their own path and pace and ensures the safety and security of international air transport. This role should also include the facilitation, promotion and provision of assistance to States in harnessing liberalization for their broader benefit; and

2. in its relations with the WTO-OMC, ICAO should continue to draw attention to the Organization's policy on trade in services, as currently reflected in A33-19, while emphasizing the linkage and interrelationship between safety, security and economic regulation and the Organization's focus on facilitating, promoting and assisting States in the liberalization process.

Bijlage 2

DECLARATION OF GLOBAL PRINCIPLES FOR THELIBERALIZATION OF INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT

The Worldwide Air Transport Conference on Challenges and Opportunities of Liberalization, convened by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) at its Headquarters in Montreal from 24 to 29 March 2003 and attended by 145 States and 29 organizations:

Recalling the noble goals in the Preamble to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (the Chicago Convention);

Conscious of the important role of international air transport and its contribution to national development and the world economy;

Emphasizing the critical importance of safety and security in international air transport;

Noting the changes since the fourth Worldwide Air Transport Conference in 1994 in the regulatory and operating environment of international air transport brought about by economic development, globalization, liberalization and privatization; and the desirability for ongoing regulatory evolution to facilitate commercial change in the air transport industry while ensuring the continued safe, secure and orderly growth of civil aviation worldwide;

Reaffirming that the basic principles of sovereignty, fair and equal opportunity, non-discrimination, interdependence, harmonization and cooperation set out in the Chicago Convention have served international air transport well and continue to provide the basis for future development of international civil aviation;

DECLARES that:

1 Overall principles

1.1 ICAO and its Contracting States, together with the air transport industry and other stakeholders in civil aviation, will work to ensure that international air transport continues to develop in away that:

1. ensures high and improving levels of safety and security;

2. promotes the effective and sustainable participation in and benefit from international air transport by all States, respecting national sovereignty and equality of opportunity;

3. takes into consideration the differing levels of economic development amongst States through maintenance of the principle of "community of interest" and the fostering of preferential measures for developing countries;

4. provides adequate supporting infrastructure at reasonable cost;

5. facilitates the provision of resources, particularly for developing countries;

6. allows for growth on a basis that is economically sustainable, supported by adaptation of the regulatory and operating environment;

7. strives to limit its environmental impact;

8. meets reasonable expectations of customers and public service needs, particularly for low traffic or otherwise uneconomical routes;

9. promotes efficiency and minimizes market distortions;

10. safeguards fair competition adequately and effectively;

11. promotes cooperation and harmonization at the sub-regional, regional and global levels; and

12. has due regard for the interests of all stakeholders, including air carriers and other operators, users, airports, communities, labor, and tourism and travel services providers;

with the ultimate purpose of giving international air transport as much economic freedom as possible while respecting its specific characteristics and in particular the need to ensure high standards of safety, security and environmental protection.

2. Safety and security

1. Safety and security must remain of paramount importance in the operation and development of international air transport and States must accept their primary responsibility for ensuring regulatory oversight of safety and security, irrespective of any change in economic regulatory arrangements.

2. States should work in cooperation to ensure safety and security oversight worldwide consistent with their obligations under the Chicago Convention.

3. States should consider the safety and security implications of transborder operations involving aircraft leasing, airline code-sharing and similar arrangements.

4. Safety and security measures should be implemented in a cost-effective way in order to avoid imposing an undue burden on civil aviation.

5. Security measures should to the extent possible not disrupt or impede the flow of passengers, freight, mail or aircraft,

6. Further economic liberalization must be implemented in a way so as to ensure that there is a clear point of responsibility for each of safety and security in a clearly identified State or other regulatory authority designated by that State for any given aircraft operation.

3 Participation and sustainability

1. All States share a fundamental objective of effective and sustained participation in and benefit from international air transportation, respecting national sovereignty and equality of opportunity.

2. States should develop and maintain safeguards to ensure safety, security, economic stability and fair competition.

3. States should ensure that the necessary infrastructure of airports and air navigation services is provided worldwide at reasonable cost and on a non-discriminatory basis.

4. Airport and air navigation services charges should only be applied towards defraying the costs of providing facilities and services for civil aviation.

5. The interests and needs of developing countries should receive special consideration, and preferential measures and financial support may be granted.

6. The global aviation community should continue to work to promote the development of air transport in an environmentally responsible way, limiting the impact of air transport so as to achieve maximum compatibility between safe and orderly development of civil aviation and the quality of the environment.

4. Liberalization

1. The objective of ongoing regulatory evolution is to create an environment in which international air transport may develop and flourish in a stable, efficient and economical manner without compromising safety and security and while respecting social and labor standards.

2. States, which have not yet become parties to the International Air Services Transit Agreement (IASTA) should give urgent consideration to so doing.

3. Liberalization should be underpinned by the worldwide application of a modem uniform air carrier liability regime, namely the Montreal Convention of 1999.

4. Each State will determine its own path and own pace of change in international air transport regulation, in a flexible way and using bilateral, sub-regional, regional, plurilateral or global avenues according to circumstances.

5. States should to the extent feasible liberalize international air transport market access, air carrier access to international capital and air carrier freedom to conduct commercial activities.

6. States should give consideration to accommodating other States in their efforts to move towards expanded transborder ownership and control of air carriers, and/or towards designation of air carriers based on principal place of business, provided that clear responsibility and control of regulatory safety and security oversight is maintained.

7. States should give consideration to liberalizing the regulatory treatment of international air cargo services on an accelerated basis, provided that clear responsibility and control of regulatory safety and security oversight is maintained.

8. Transparency is an important element in promoting economic growth, competitiveness and financial stability at the domestic, regional and international levels, and enhances the benefits of liberalization.

9. The air transport industry should continue to be encouraged to improve services to passenger and freight customers, and to develop and implement appropriate measures to protect consumer interests.

5. Competition and cooperation

1. The establishment and application of competition law represents an important safeguard of fair competition as States progress towards a liberalized marketplace.

2. Cooperation between and among States facilitates liberalization and avoids conflicts, especially in dealing with competition law/policy issues and labor conditions involving international air transport.

3. States should avoid adopting unilateral measures which may affect the orderly and harmonious development of international air transport and should ensure that domestic policies and legislation are not applied to international air transport without taking due account of its special characteristics.

4. Where State aids provided for the air transport sector are justified, States should take transparent and effective measures to ensure that such aids do not adversely impact on competition in the marketplace or lead to unsustainable outcomes, and that they are to the extent possible temporary.

5. Subject to compliance with applicable competition law, States should continue to accept the availability of multilateral interlining systems that enable States, air carriers, passengers and shippers to access the global air transport network on a non-discriminatory basis.

6. Role of ICAO

1. ICAO should continue to exert the global leadership role in facilitating and coordinating the process of economic liberalization and ensuring the safety, security and environmental protection of international air transport.

2. ICAO should continue to promote effective communication and cooperation with other intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations with an interest in international air transport, to harmonize and avoid duplication of effort at the global level.

3. States should consider using the regulatory options provided through ICAO for the liberalization of international air transport.

4. States should continue to keep ICAO informed of developments in international air transport, including liberalized arrangements introduced at various levels; and to promote, in other fora, a full understanding of the mandate and role of ICAO.

Bijlage 3

ICAO ASSEMBLY ELECTS THREE NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS

Montreal, 1 April 2003 - At its 34th Session (Extraordinary) held in Montreal on 31 March and I April 2003, the Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) elected Chile, Singapore and South Africa to the Council of the Organization. The Assembly was presided by Dr. Assad Kotaitc, President of the ICAO Council.

The number of seats on the Council was increased from 33 to 36 in November 2002, to reflect the growth in the number of Member States of the Organization, which has increased from 146 in 1980 to the current 188.

The current representation on the Council is as follows:

*newly elected State