European preparations ahead of ICAO economic panels
Videoconference, 22 May 2023 — Members of the European Coordination Group on Economic matters met for the 11th time online to discuss mutual interest in forthcoming ICAO working group level meetings: the Airport Economics Panel and Air Navigation Services Economics Panel (AEP-ANSEP) Working Group 2 (WG2) meeting to be held on 22-25 May 2023 in Paris, and the Air Transport Regulation Panel (ATRP) Working Group 4 (WG4) meeting on 6-8 June 2023 in Dakar.
Led by co-chairs Christine Mucina-Bauer (Austria) and Simon Brain (European Commission), participants agreed on the importance of adhering fully to the principles of Article 15 of the Chicago Convention regarding what level of charges can be permitted to be charged, recognising this was not shared by all ICAO States. This followed on in part from discussions at the 41st ICAO Assembly and participants welcomed the chance to raise this and related key issues again.
The meeting gave ECAC the opportunity to hear from the European Commission on the ICAO Doc 9082 review, and agreement was reached on how Working Paper A41-WP/171 (Ensuring that, during crises impacting international aviation, air services agreements continue to provide a predictable framework) would be presented for the meeting on 6-8 June to maximise the potential for its recommendations to be taken forward.