EurECCA is also concerned about radically different approaches to social protection, workers` rights and workers` conditions between the EU and Qatar. While we recognise that the EU is negotiating a social clause as a fundamental element of the agreement, it should be used to ensure respect for workers` rights and not be used to penalise European airlines competing with lower social standards for Qatari airlines. “This agreement,” he said, “is the conclusion of the central role that the State of Qatar has played in the development of the global aviation industry, and it also strengthens Qatar`s position as one of the region`s leaders in air transport.” The agreement, he said, would allow Qatar to improve its mobility rights and strengthen cooperation with EU member states on all aspects of aviation. The draft agreement is now formalised before being approved by the various nations that make up the EU. News of the agreement was officially announced at the CAPA Qatar Aviation, Aeropolitical and Regulatory Summit in Doha from 5-6 February 2019. He said the agreement was a historic event, particularly under the unjustified Qatari-style blockade, and confirmed that the country was continuing to meet increasingly ambitious targets in the aviation sector, one of the country`s most active economic sectors. “The provisions of the Fair Competition Agreement are intended to prevent market abuse: they include compliance with cartel and abuse of dominance rules and prohibitions on discrimination, unfair practices and subsidies that undermine the fairness and equal opportunities of the airlines of the parties concerned. It also contains a clear definition of “subsidy” in accordance with the forth future EU Regulation on the Protection of Competition in the International Aviation Sector and WTO rules; Transparency provisions for monitoring and compliance; and enforcement mechanisms to take swift action in the event of non-compliance. This type of clause is not currently included in the bilateral air transport agreements concluded by member states with Qatar.
In 2017, Qatar signed an agreement with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EEAS) and the joint venture SESAR to deepen cooperation on aviation safety and air traffic management modernization. According to an independent economic study carried out on behalf of the Commission, the agreement, with its strong fair competition provisions, could generate almost 3 billion euros in economic benefits for the period 2019-2025 and create about 2000 new jobs by 2025.