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A new aviation agreement between the EU and Qatar have been made. The agreement presented on Monday means that EU or Qatar-based carriers can fly freely between one of 28 EU member states and Qatar in the future.
It is the first agreement between the EU and a state in the Gulf region. In addition to traffic rights, the agreement also contains provisions on fair competition, social responsibility and the environment.
Just Qatar is known for its somewhat relaxed relationship with labor rights. The nation's airline has, among other things, attracted attention to firing its cabin crew if they became pregnant.
There was thus satisfaction with EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, who submitted the agreement:
"Qatar was the first partner with whom we opened negotiations for our aviation strategy for Europe - and which is now also the first to reach an agreement goal. And more than that. The agreement sets a number of ambitious standards for fair competition, transparency and social affairs, ”says Violeta Bulc on the agreement that has been 2.5 years underway, adding:
"It will create a level playing field and raise the bar globally for aviation agreements. This is a major advance over existing agreements and our joint effort to make aviation more sustainable. "The provisions of the agreement are thus not just about the fact that air carriers in Qatar and the EU can fly far more freely than today in the future. The agreement also obliges both parties to improve both social and labor policies, according to a communication from the EU Commission.
UNDER THE IVER AFTER AGREEMENT
However, at the European Cockpit Association, ECA, which represents 38,000 pilots in 36 European countries, news of the agreement is received with some skepticism:
"Without undermining Qatar's role as a global player in aviation, it is only a country in a sparsely populated area that hardly matches the potential of the EU's vast market. Here, the question arises: Why is the EU so keen to conclude agreements that under-prioritize its own aviation market? "Says Jon Horne, President of the ECA, adding:
"I'm afraid, the answer is that aviation is continually regarded as a swap object in a broader macroeconomic or political strategy. But EU carriers and their employees should not pay the price of this short-term approach to external aviation policy. "
The EU's 28 member states represent a total of 500 million customers in aviation. It's more than 166 times the customer population in Qatar, which counts 3 million.
WAITING TO SEE RESULTS
The uneven distribution of market access, respectively, by European carriers on the one hand, and Qatar Airways, which is Qatar's only carrier, on the other hand, with the agreement, is not the only concern:
»Today you hear a lot of praise from the social clauses and fair competition in the agreement. But we are waiting to be convinced that they will really make a difference in practice, "said ECA Secretary-General Philip von Schöppenthau, adding:
"By experience, we know that even the best and supposedly waterproof clauses are nothing without the political will and dedication of the EU to enforce them. We hope that true life will be breathed into the agreement and ensured that the opening of our doors will not be detrimental to our carriers and the quality of the jobs they create in Europe. "
NO EXTRAORDINARY AGREEMENT
Qatar Airways currently operates 225 aircraft to 160 destinations worldwide - of which around 40 in Europe - one of which is Copenhagen. Here, the company has two daily departures with a total of almost 600 seats.
The company is a strong competitor for especially European carriers operating in Asia and Australia, bringing every year up to 7 million European passengers via Qatar's main airport, Hamad International Airport.
In this perspective, it may seem unclear why the EU wants to further open the market for the rapidly growing company, points out Jens Ladefoged Mortensen, associate professor and EU expert at political science at the University of Copenhagen, who has seen the agreement:
"The EU has received a lot of criticism for not using the desire of other countries for market access to make demands on both environment and social problems. The EU has now begun to do so, but in the way that no sanctions are imposed. It doesn't say what's happening if Qatar doesn't do as it says in the deal, ”he says.
The Qatar agreement is also not extraordinary compared to other EU latest free trade agreements, explains Jens Ladefoged Mortensen.
But on the other hand, it is the first agreement that makes Qatar no longer be able to refuse to deal with issues that the EU must address - including unfair competition and social dumping:
"How effective an agreement is, time must show. It puts a soft pressure on Qatar, but the only real sanction from the EU will be to withdraw the agreement. "
CHANGE WILL REQUIRE AN EMPLOYEE RECIPE
However, while the agreement is primarily written in words such as "dialogue", "work" and "contributing to fulfillment", Qatar has been required to comply with the basic guidelines of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Although Qatar has just been accused of violating even wholly banal labor rights, Janine Leschke, professor at CBS and an expert in the international labor market, asks questions at the EU's opportunity to even make Qatar change course:
"As a rule, rules and directives decided at EU level are much more detailed than ILO standards and standards as those found in the EU-Qatar agreement," says Janine Leschke, who has also seen the agreement.
She points out that even within the EU, where directives and regulation are made, whose focus is on working conditions in a liberalized transport sector, there are still many undercutting on working conditions and, not least, the right to organize and demand agreement:
"Although we have recently seen some changes at Ryanair, this only happened after massive pressure from the staff, which in my view is unlikely to happen in Qatar Airways."
The agreement is awaiting provisional final signature, until the EU and Qatar have prepared their internal procedures for the agreement, after which the agreement will enter into force.