Aviation: A new era for EU-ASEAN relations

The EU-ASEAN Aviation Summit, jointly organised by the European Commission and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN¹), will take place in Singapore on 11-12 February 2014. The summit's objective is to enhance political, technical and industrial co-operation between ASEAN and the EU in the aviation sector.

Commission Vice President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, said: "Asia is a fast growing aviation market that the EU must engage actively with. With a combined population of more than 1.1 billion, ASEAN and the EU have a huge potential to strengthen co-operation in the aviation sector and to generate substantial benefits for people on both sides. So, there's much to gain from closer co-operation. I am confident that the summit will mark the beginning of a new era in EU-ASEAN aviation relations.”

The aviation markets in the EU and ASEAN are both regionally integrated, which generates market efficiencies and significant economic benefits for consumers. The summit will offer an excellent opportunity to explore the potential for a closer co-operation between the two regions, including the prospect of an 'open skies' agreement.

The Summit will be opened by Vice-President Siim Kallas; Sommad Pholsena, Minister of Public Works and Transport of Lao PDR (the Chair of ASEAN Transport Ministers); Michalis Papadopoulos, Deputy Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Networks, Greece, representing the Presidency of the Council of the EU; and Lui Tuck Yew, Minister for Transport of Singapore.

The European delegation will include nearly 150 representatives from airlines, airports, aerospace industries, service providers, national governments, the European Commission and all key European agencies in the field of aviation.

The main topics to be addressed during the summit include:

• Single Aviation Markets – EU and ASEAN Experiences in Integrating Markets, Removing Barriers and Regulating Air Transport;
• market Outlook and Business Opportunities in the ASEAN, EU and ASEAN-EU Aviation Markets;
• aviation Safety – Regulation and Potential for Co-operation;
• air Traffic Management and Airports – Challenges and Opportunities, and;
• Prospects for Further EU-ASEAN Co-operation.

During his visit to Singapore, Vice President Kallas will also have bilateral meetings with ASEAN and European Transport Ministers and executives in the air transport sector. Vice President Kallas will also address the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit and visit the Singapore Airshow which is being held during the same week as the EU-ASEAN Aviation Summit.

Facts and figures

Air traffic between the EU and ASEAN has been growing steadily in recent years and nearly doubled over the last 15 years to reach more than 10 million passengers in 2012. With a combined population of 1.1 billion, the EU-ASEAN air transport market is of increasing strategic importance to both sides with an expected average growth rate of 5% per year over the next 20 years.

Half of the world's traffic growth over the next 20 years will be to, from, or within the Asia-Pacific region, which will thereby become world leader in air traffic by 2030 reaching a market share of 38%. ASEAN will be at the very centre of this development.

ASEAN is developing, by 2015, an ASEAN Single Aviation Market which will have many similarities to the single aviation market that the EU has successfully created over the past two decades. This offers interesting new opportunities for cooperation between the EU and ASEAN in aviation.

In its 2012 Communication on 'The EU's External Aviation Policy - Addressing Future Challenges', the Commission proposed that this at some stage should lead to a comprehensive air transport agreement between the EU and ASEAN. The summit will explore the potential benefits of such an agreement.

More information

Further information and programme of the EU-ASEAN Aviation Summit

More information on international aviation relations of the EU

Follow Vice President Kallas on Twitter

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