A draft compromise by the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union dated Wednesday 12 September on the review of Regulation 1008/2008, concerning the hiring by European airlines of aircraft with crew from non-EU airlines, suggests that the member states should move in the direction of limiting the review of said regulation to bringing the EU rules into line with international obligations.
The draft text, examined by this newsletter, follows a European Commission proposal of December 2016 aiming to allow airlines to derogate from the duration of hire (set at seven months, renewable once) of planes with crew from non-EU airlines to deal with exceptional circumstances, where there is an air agreement with the third country from which the craft and crew are hired.
The proposal’s raison d’être is to adapt the text of the EU-United States air agreement and introduce a derogation for air agreements.
In May, the MEPs voted for a limited review of bringing EU rules into line with its international obligations (see EUROPE 12026, 12009) since the Commission might later propose a general review of the entire text (see EUROPE 11983).
It is this approach that is retained by the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU, following consultation with national delegations, in its text, which will be presented to the Council’s working group on aviation on Friday 14 September. In principle, there are not expected to be any problems with obtaining an agreement. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)