52001XC0407(01)

Notice pursuant to Article 5 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3976/87 of 14 December 1987 on the application of Article 81(3) of the EC Treaty to certain categories of agreements, decisions and concerted practices in the air transport sector

(2001/C 107/04)

(Text with EEA relevance)

In accordance with Article 5 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3976/87, the Commission invites interested parties to send their comments concerning the draft Commission Regulation published below on the application of Article 81(3) of the EC Treaty to categories of agreements in the field of air transport, within one month of the date of publication of this notice, to: European Commission Directorate-General for Competition

Unit D2,

Office J70 2/86

Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200

B - 1049 Brussels Fax (32-2) 296 98 12 e-mail: kirstin.baker@cec.eu.int.

Preliminary draft Commission Regulation (EC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 1617/93 as regards consultations on passenger tariffs and slot allocation at airports

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3976/87 of 14 December 1987 on the application of Article 81(3) of the Treaty to certain categories of agreements and concerted practices in the air transport sector(1), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, and in particular Article 2 thereof,

Having published a draft of this Regulation(2),

Having consulted the Advisory Committee on agreements and dominant positions in air transport,

Whereas:

(1) By Regulation (EEC) No 1617/93(3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1083/1999(4), the Commission granted a block exemption for, among other things, consultation on tariffs for the carriage of passengers and baggage on scheduled air services and slot allocation at airports and airport scheduling. That Regulation is applicable until 30 June 2001.

(2) The Commission has initiated a consultation on whether the block exemption for consultations on passenger tariffs should be maintained in its current form. Following that consultation the Commission may make proposals for a new block exemption or initiate an individual procedure. That consultation will be completed in 2001. The block exemption for consultations on passenger tariffs should therefore be extended for one year.

(3) The reasons obtaining in 1993 for granting a block exemption for agreements and concerted practices on slot allocation and airport scheduling of air services between airports within the Community remain fully valid today. It is therefore appropriate to extend that block exemption. In order to allow for the possibility of adapting this block exemption once the envisaged amendments to Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports(5) are adopted, this extension should be granted for three years. Regulation (EEC) 1617/93 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

In Article 7 of Regulation (EEC) 1617/93, the second paragraph is replaced by the following: "It shall apply until 30 June 2002 so far as the exemption for consultations on passenger tariffs is concerned and until 30 June 2004 so far as the exemption for slot allocation and airport scheduling is concerned".

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

(1) OJ L 374, 31.12.1987, p. 9.

(2) ...

(3) OJ L 155, 26.6.1993, p. 18.

(4) OJ L 131, 27.5.1999, p. 27.

(5) OJ L 14, 22.1.1993, p. 1.