The EU-Qatar Air Transport Agreement: Bound to Succeed? - Air and Space Law View The EU-Qatar Air Transport Agreement: Bound to Succeed? by - Air and Space Law The EU-Qatar Air Transport Agreement: Bound to Succeed? 45 3

Created to provide for a new global benchmark by virtue of strong fair competition mechanisms in combination with ‘modern’ provisions on transparency, environmental protection and social aspects that have traditionally never been addressed in bilateral air services agreements (ASAs), the 2019 European Union (EU)-Qatar Air Transport Agreement has its ambitions set high. By analysing the Agreement’s content as well as the relevant legal environments it will operate in, this article signals certain flaws in the Agreement’s enactment that may trump its functioning. In particular, it identifies that it is the lack of a culture of competition enforcement in the aviation sector on the part of the State of Qatar combined with a potential overly aggressive approach when it comes to the achievement of fair competition objectives on the part of the EU that could impede the Agreement’s future success.    

Air and Space Law