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Mobility and Transport
News article17 October 2018Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport

Commission initials Horizontal Aviation Agreement with the Republic of Korea

Today the European Commission's Director-General for Mobility and Transport Henrik Hololei and Kim Hyoung-zhin, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the EU initialled a Horizontal Aviation Agreement on certain aspects of air services.

The agreement is important for both sides including in particular airlines of both the Republic of Korea and the EU as it will restore legal certainty to all the bilateral air services agreements that the Republic of Korea has with 22 EU Member States by bringing these into conformity with EU law.

The aviation market between the Republic of Korea and the EU has been growing rapidly. The number of passengers travelling directly between the Republic of Korea and the EU has grown on average 10.1% over the past five years totalling 3.4 million passengers in 2017. Currently, direct passenger flights are operated between 10 EU Member States and the Republic of Korea.

The conclusion of the Horizontal Agreement is an important step forward in the EU’s aviation relations with the Republic of Korea as it will allow the two sides to discuss closer cooperation in other fields of aviation and transport of common interest. Both sides have agreed to seek to have the agreement signed at the earliest possible.

The Commission expects the agreement to be signed early 2019.

Details

Publication date
17 October 2018
Author
Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport