Aviation Social Partners call for the immediate suspension of the EU–Qatar Agreement

ETF, together with the European Network Airlines’ Association (ENAA) and the European Cockpit Association (ECA), has issued a joint statement calling for the immediate suspension and reassessment of the EU–Qatar Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement.

The recent dismissal of Mr Henrik Hololei, concluding an internal disciplinary procedure and an inquiry by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), has further weakened the industry’s trust in the negotiation process that has lead to the current agreement.

These concerns are all the more justified by the agreement’s failure to deliver an overall economic balance and fair competition since it has been provisionally applied (2021). Such imbalance hinders the competitiveness of European airlines, thereby threatening good jobs across the entire aviation chain.

As recognised EU social partners representing both workers and major employers in civil aviation, ETF, ENAA and ECA urge :

• the European Commission to suspend the provisional application of the EU–Qatar Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement until all outstanding concerns related to the negotiation process and governance issues have been conclusively addressed;
• EU Member States to acknowledge these concerns and withdraw political support for the agreement at this stage, thereby encouraging a reassessment of its continuation under the current conditions;
• the European Parliament and EU national parliaments to clearly state that ratification of the agreement should not proceed until a renewed, credible, and transparent process has been ensured.

The last of these points is particularly addressed to Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, France, Croatia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal, which are the countries that have still not ratified the EU-Qatar agreement.

ETF will keep working with the cooperative part of the industry to ensure that unrestricted market access to the European Union is based on trust, transparency and fair competition. The priority of EU air transport agreements must be the long-term economic and social sustainability of European aviation.