2 International Agreements and Organizations

Organizations and Agreements International 2

IATA

2.77 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the air transport industry global trade organization. Over 60 years, IATA has developed the commercial standards that have built a global industry. Today, IATA’s mission is to represent, lead and serve the airline industry. Its members comprise some 260 airlines - the world’s leading passenger and cargo airlines among them - representing 94 percent of international scheduled air traffic. IATA seeks to improve understanding of the industry among decision makers and increase awareness of the benefits that

aviation brings to national and global economies. It fights for the interests of airlines across the globe, challenging unreasonable rules and charges, holding regulators and governments to account, and striving for sensible regulation.

ECAC

2.78 European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) is the driving force for a common civil aviation policy in Europe. It was set up under the auspices of the Council for Europe and ICAO. Membership now extends from Iceland to Turkey (all the European Commission countries are members of ECAC). ECAC is an inter-governmental organization founded in 1955 from the Conference on the Coordination of Air Transport in Europe (CATE),

with the aim of promoting the continued development of a safe, efficient and sustainable European air transport system. ECAC seeks to:

•Harmonize civil aviation policies and practices amongst its member states

•Promote understanding on policy matters between member states and other parts of the world

2.79 Aims. Within Europe, because of its established position, ECAC is the only forum for consideration of major civil aviation topics relevant to all European states. The strength of ECAC is derived from:

•Membership across Europe

•Active co-operation with institutions of the EU, including the EC and the European Parliament

•Close liaison with ICAO

•Established relationships with organizations representing all parts of the air transport industry including consumer and airline interests

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EASA

2.80 European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The European Aviation Safety Agency is the centrepiece of the European Union’s strategy for aviation safety. Its mission is to promote the highest common standards of safety and environmental protection in civil aviation. While national authorities continue to carry out the majority of operational tasks - such as certification of individual aircraft or licensing of pilots - the Agency ensures common safety and environmental standards at the European level. The agency’s current responsibilities include:

•Rulemaking: drafting safety legislation and providing technical advice to the European institutions and the member states

•Inspections, training and standardization programmes to ensure uniform implementation of European aviation safety legislation in all member states

•Safety and environmental type-certification of aircraft, engines and parts

•Approval and oversight of aircraft design organizations world-wide and of production and maintenance organizations outside the EU

•Data collection, analysis and research to improve aviation safety

International Agreements and Organizations 2

JAA

2.81 The Joint Aviation Authorities. The Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) are an associated body of ECAC representing the civil aviation regulatory authorities of a number of European States who have agreed to co-operate in developing and implementing common safety regulatory standards and procedures. This co-operation is intended to provide high and consistent standards of safety and a ‘level playing field’ for competition in Europe. The JAA Membership is based on signing the “JAA Arrangements” document originally signed by the then current member states in Cyprus in 1990. At the time of publishing EASA has taken over the role of JAA; however, JAA remains as an integral organization to administer those

countries outside the EU Member States which have adopted JAA rules and regulations.

2.82Objectives. The JAA objectives and functions may be summarized as follows:

•To ensure, through co-operation, common high levels of aviation safety within Member States

•Through the application of uniform safety standards, to contribute to fair and equal competition within Member States

•To aim for cost-effective safety and minimum regulatory burden so as to contribute to European industry’s international competitiveness

2.83 JAA Organization. The JAA is controlled by a Committee, which works under the authority of the Plenary Conference of ECAC and reports to the JAA Board of Directors General. The Board is responsible for review of general policy and long term objectives of the JAA. The JAA Committee is composed of one member from each Authority and is responsible for the administrative and technical implementation of the Arrangement. The Committee and the Board are supported by a Secretariat.

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2 International Agreements and Organizations

Organizations and Agreements International 2

2.84 JAA Documentation. The Authorities agreed to co-operate to produce common comprehensive and detailed requirements and where necessary acceptable means of compliance with and interpretations of them (the Joint Aviation Requirements - JARs). JARs encompass both technical and administrative functions. In developing JARs, the JAA takes into account the duties and obligations under the Chicago Convention; consults the parties to whom the requirements apply and takes into account other aviation codes so as to facilitate exchange of products, services or persons or reliance on organizations, between the JAA countries and other countries in the world.

Eurocontrol

2.85 History and Role. Eurocontrol was founded in 1960 with the objective of providing common ATC services in the upper airspace of Member States and strengthening cooperation between Member States in matters of air navigation. Eurocontrol was established under the International Convention Relating to Co-operation for the Safety of Air Navigation signed at Brussels on 13 December 1960. Initially, six countries signed the agreement: Germany (FDR); Belgium; France; United Kingdom; Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The Eurocontrol ATCC is at Maastricht, Holland. The role of Eurocontrol is now much wider than originally envisaged. The limit of operations, to just the upper airspace, was abandoned in 1986 and Eurocontrol now has a much wider remit, placed on the Organization by ECAC, most notably in the area of Air Traffic

Flow Management (ATFM) which led to the establishment of the Eurocontrol Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU) in 1988. Eurocontrol has a training centre in Luxembourg and an experimental research centre at Brétigny, France, with a new ATCC in Vienna (CEATS).

World Trade Organization

2.86 World Trade Organization and the General Agreement on Trade in Services for Aviation (WTO/GATS). In recognition of the need to establish a world order to promote international trade on a fair basis by the removal of unfair barriers to international trade, the World Trade Organization was set up and through the negotiated General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) leading to General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), international arrangements have been established to abolish unfair practices and to encourage growth, and thus prosperity, in the global economy. See Figure 2.2 for the WTO organization structure.

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International Agreements and Organizations		2

International Agreements and Organizations 2

Figure 2.2 WTO structure

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