EU Law Blog

Mobile phones to be allowed on planes

The Commission has adopted a decision - not yet published in the Official Journal but available here - allowing the use of mobile phones on board aircraft during flights.

So, the relative peace and quiet of air travel comes to an end. Europeans tend to eat, drink, walk and drive with mobile phones grafted on their ears. Now the can fly with their beloved phones too.

The new decision sets out harmonized technical parameters of onboard equipment for in-flight mobile phone use throughout the EU that will allow member States to recognize each other's licenses for mobile communications on board aircraft without risk to mobile networks on the ground.

Here's a press release and a series of frequently asked questions on the matter.

The Commission also issued a Recommendation for a harmonized approach on licensing which will promote mutual recognition between national authorizations for mobile communications services on aircraft.

Here's an article by the BBC explaining how the system will work.

The case for noise canceling earphones has never been stronger!

The Air Transport Agreement between the US and the EU

The air transport agreement concluded between the US and the EU has been published. You can access it here. That new agreement will be applied from March 30th 2008 pending proper entry into force after an exchange of diplomatic notes at some future date.

That agreement aims to replace existing bilateral agreements concluded by the US and individual member States after the Court of Justice handed down its judgments in Cases C-466/98 Commission v. United Kingdom, Case C-467/98 Commission v. Denmark, Case C-468/98 Commission v. Sweden, C-469/98 Commission v. Finland, C-472/98 Commission v. Luxembourg, C-475/98 Commission v. Austria and C-476/98 Commission v. Germany. The Court held that the bilateral agreements in question were contrary to EC law because their subject matter fell within the competence of the EC.

Rather disappointingly, the new agreement does not really aim to liberalize the provision of air transport services across the Atlantic and so will disappoint many travelers. It does not provide for the right to provide cabotage (a transport service between two points in the same country). The aim is more to provide for regulatory convergence on both sides of the Atlantic. There is a glimmer of hope that things will improve because the present agreement is a first stage and there is a commitment to a second round of negotiations.

The Commission has issued an "information note" giving some background to the agreement and summarizing its salient points. Real air transport boffins will enjoy reading this study of the economic impact of the agreement.

And while we are at it, here's the Council Decision on the signature and provisional application on the Agreement.