Master's Thesis from the year 2006 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: A, University of Hamburg, language: English, abstract: Even though aviation is one of the driving forces of globalization, the airline industry itself remains far from being globalized: A framework of bilateral aviation agreements with rather restrictive national control on cross-border investment and competition mainly governs the civil airline industry. The Open Skies agreements between 11 EU Member States and the US can be seen as an attempt to introduce various liberal elements to the bilateral aviation agreements, while preserving the strict provisions on cross-border investment. However, the existence of the Open Skies agreements was put into question when on 5thNovember 2002 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) judged these agreements between the EU Member States and the US illegal under EU law, as they infringed both primary and secondary EU legislation. Moreover by declaring a mixed competence between the European Commission and the Member States in the field of external air transport, the ECJ judgment marked a decisive turn in the EU ́s history of air transport policy. The ECJ judgement thus entailed significant legal and economic consequences for the international civil aviation between the EU and the US. As to the precise future of the Open Skies agreements however, the ECJ remained evasive, imposing on the involved parties the burden of legal incertainty. Economically a sort of free trade area for air transport between the EU and the US, the two biggest aviation markets, seems the most reasonable solution, being of utmost importance in order to restructure the airlines operating in a context of market globalization and growing international competition. Politically though, the aviation sector has ever since been a sensitive issue, regarded as an instrument of foreign policy, national defense and national prestige. The future of the Open Skies has thus has been a topic of heated debate, not only in the scientific arena but as well in political and business circles. Particularly in view of the economic leverage of the EU and US aviation market, the decision about the future of the Open Skies agreements is likely to have a major impact on the way the international aviation industry will develop in the next decades. [...]

This book revisits, in a new light, some of the classic cases which constitute the foundations of the EU legal order and is timed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Rome Treaty establishing a European Economic Community. Its broader purpose, however, is to discuss the future of the EU legal order by examining, from a variety of different perspectives, the most important judgments of the ECJ which established the foundations of the EU legal order. The tone is neither necessarily celebratory nor critical, but relies on the viewpoint of the distinguished line-up of contributors - drawn from among former and current members of the Court (the view from within), scholars from other disciplines or lawyers from other legal orders (the view from outside), and two different generations of EU legal scholars (the classics revisit the classics and a view from the future). Each of these groups will provide a different perspective on the same set of selected judgments. In each short essay, questions such as 'what would have EU law been without this judgment of the Court? what factors might have influenced it?; did the judgment create expectations which were not fully fulfilled?' and so on, are posed and answered. The result is a profound, wide-ranging and fresh examination of the 'founding cases' of EU law.

In Africa, where poor roads, ports, and railways often constrain efficient transportation, air transport holds great potential as a lever for economic growth and development. Yet Africa has suffered several decades of inefficient air services. Uncompetitive flag carriers, set up by newly independent African states, offered primarily intercontinental flights, while the domestic air service market remained underdeveloped and underserved. The 1999 pan-African treaty on liberalization of access to air transport markets, the Yamoussoukro Decision, attempted to address these shortcomings. Yet a decade later, only partial liberalization has been achieved. 'Open Skies for Africa: Implementing the Yamoussoukro Decision' reviews progress made in carrying out the treaty and suggests ways in which the liberalization process can be encouraged. The book analyzes the completed and still-pending steps toward implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision, both on a pan-African level and within various regions. Special focus is given to the challenges posed by the poor aviation safety and security standards that exist in most African countries. Finally, the book measures the impact that certain policy steps of the Yamoussoukro Decision have had and evaluates the economic significance of air transportation and its full liberalization in Africa. The book concludes that the process of liberalizing African air services must continue, and provides policy recommendations for the way forward.

On 5 November 2002, the European Court of Justice delivered its 'open-skies' judgment, a landmark decision which may be the beginning of a new era in the regulation of international air law. The consequences of this judgment may not only affect the European Union and its Member States; this book shows how it could change the future regulation of international aviation worldwide. The first part of this book describes the difficulties arising from the fact that the competence for the regulation of air transportation in Europe is divided between the EU and the Member States. This division of power will also affect the conclusion of air-service agreements made with countries outside of Europe. In the second part of the book, the author examines a subject that was not part of the 'open-skies' judgment, but which he believes will become a problematic consequence: the distribution of air-traffic rights within the European Union.

This new study takes a keen look at the problems facing the international community due to conflicts arising from applications of varying competition laws by different competition authorities to international airline alliances. As a result of privatisation, deregulation, liberalisation and globalisation, international air carriers form alliances with one another in order to cope with growing competition in the international air transport market. This book clearly provides an introduction to the background to and origin of airline alliances, different models of alliances and the related anti-competitive practices resulting from existing international airline alliances. The potential anti-competitive practices resulting from these cross-border alliances trigger a great deal of concern from various competition authorities. Thus, this study goes on to provide a detailed analysis regarding the relevant EC competition law and US antitrust law and their applications to alliance activities. The comparison of different applications of EC competition law and US antitrust law to international airline alliances provides leading research results first-hand. In the conclusion, the essential elements regarding establishing a level playing field in the international air transport market are identified and the author provides possible solutions for the harmonisation of different applications of competition law to international airline alliances.

A collection of essays that surveys the development and structure of the European Union's constitutional regime for foreign affairs.

This groundbreaking book offers a critical and wide-ranging assessment of the global air transport liberalization process over the past 40 years. This compilation of world experts on air transport economics, policy, and regulation is timely and significant, considering that air transport is currently facing a series of new challenges due to technological changes, the emergence of new markets, and increased security concerns.