EU signs civil aviation agreement with Mongolia

The European Union and Mongolia signed an aviation agreement which will restore legal certainty regarding bilateral air services agreements between Mongolia and EU Member States.

The so-called "horizontal" aviation agreement does not replace the bilateral agreements in place between Mongolia and 12 EU Member States, but brings these in line with EU law. Most importantly, it will remove nationality restrictions in bilateral air services agreements between EU Member States and Mongolia, thereby allowing any EU airline company to operate flights between Mongolia and any EU Member State in which it is established, in which a bilateral agreement with Mongolia already exists, and in which traffic rights are available.

Horizontal agreements have been negotiated with around 45 countries worldwide. Nearly 800 bilateral air services agreements have already been modified by the joint efforts of the European Commission and Member States to replace nationality rules with the principle of EU airline designation.

The agreement is an important step towards strengthening aviation relations and encouraging further traffic between the EU and Mongolia.

By Tatiana Rokou, TravelDailyNews