Macao SAR and EU signed Horizontal Agreement on air services, which increases the number of airlines eligible for designation to Macao

　Source : Civil Aviation Authority The Macao Special Administration Region (SAR) and the European Union (EU) signed the "Agreement between the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and the European Union on certain aspects of air services" (commonly known as the Horizontal Agreement) today (23 November 2013).迷你倉 With this Agreement, the number of airlines that an EU Member State may consider eligible for designation to Macao increases.The signing ceremony, which was convened at the conference facilities of the Macau Tower at 12:00noon, was presided by the Chief Executive of the Macao SAR and the President of the European Commission, Mr. Jos� Manuel Durao Barroso. The signatories were the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr. Lau Si Io and the Head of the EU Office to Hong Kong and Macao, Mr. Vincent Piket.In November 2002, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that every Member State is required to grant equal market access for routes to destinations outside the EU to 自存倉ny EU carrier with an establishment in its territory, in order to truly reflect the virtues of non-discrimination and fairness. Consequently, the Air Services Agreements (ASAs) between EU Member States and third parties must either be amended separately, or through the negotiation of single "horizontal" agreements with the EU acting on a mandate from Member States, to reflect this legal requirement.The negotiation of the Horizontal Agreement between Macao SAR and the EU was carried out by the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR and the EU Council Secretariat since 2004. Today, the Macao SAR Government and the EU took the opportunity of the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Macao – EU trade cooperation to sign the Agreement in Macao. From now on, by virtue of the principles of non-discrimination and the freedom of establishment, the same rights to all EU airlines are guaranteed, meaning that the number of airlines which an EU Member State may consider eligible for designation to Macao will increase.-- The End --迷你倉