Exemption of certain air transport agreements from the application of the competition rules

This Regulation is designed to empower the Commission to adopt regulations declaring block exemptions for certain agreements, decisions and concerted practices in the air transport sector.

ACT

Council Regulation (EEC) No 3976/87 of 14 December 1987 on the application of Article 85(3) of the Treaty to certain categories of agreements and concerted practices in the air transport sector [Official Journal L 374, 31.12.1987] [See amending acts].

SUMMARY

Scope

The Regulations apply to all international air transport between Community airports, including transport within a Member State.

The Commission may by regulation declare that Article 85(1) does not apply to certain categories of agreements between undertakings, decisions of associations of undertakings and concerted practices concerning:

• the allocation of seat capacity and the coordination of timetables;
• consultations on tariffs;
• certain agreements on joint operation of new services;
• slot allocation in airports;
• computer reservation systems.

The Commission has since declared such a block exemption, in Regulation (EEC) No 1617/93.

Requirements for exemption regulations

Any exemption regulation is adopted for a given period. It may be repealed or amended where circumstances have changed with respect to any of the factors which prompted its adoption.

Regulations also have to be adopted by the following procedure:

• the draft of the regulation must be published, so as to allow interested persons or organisations to submit their observations to the Commission;
• before publishing a draft or finally adopting a regulation the Commission must consult the Advisory Committee on Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions in accordance with Regulation No 1/2003.

Regulation No 1/2003 provided for a changeover from a centralised system of prior notification to a directly applicable exception scheme, under which competition law is to be enforced by any competition authority, including the Commission, and by the courts of the Member States.

Background

In accordance with the legislation governing the application of the competition rules ((I) and (II)), Regulation No 3976/87 empowers the Commission to adopt regulations exempting certain categories of agreement in air transport. It was repealed by Regulation (EC) No 487/2009.

RELATED ACTS

Regulation (EC) No 80/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 January 2009 on a Code of Conduct for computerised reservation systems (Text with EEA relevance) [Official Journal L 35 of 4.2.2009].

The introduction of this Code of Conduct aims at guaranteeing fair and neutral competition between air carriers concerning the use of computerised reservation systems (CRS) and to protect the interests of consumers. It provides rules of conduct for system vendors and transport operators. Furthermore, it provides the European Commission with enforcement powers in order to stop all infringements of the application of this Regulation.

Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports [Official Journal L 14 of 22.1.1993].

Last updated: 21.09.2009