Legal framework
EUROCONTROL is a civil-military intergovernmental organisation with 39 Member States across the European continent. It is governed by an international convention.
Original EUROCONTROL Convention
The Organisation was established through the EUROCONTROL International Convention relating to Co-operation for the Safety of Air Navigation signed at Brussels on 13 December 1960 which entered into force on 1 March 1963.
Two Protocols were signed in Brussels on 6 July 1970 and 21 November 1978 relating to tax issues and are still in force today (as amended by Article XXXVIII of the amending Protocol of 1981).
Amended EUROCONTROL Convention and Multilateral Agreement relating to Route Charges
In order to align the EUROCONTROL functions with the expectations of its members, the Protocol amending the EUROCONTROL Convention of 1960 (the "Amended Convention") as well as a Multilateral Agreement relating to Route Charges were signed in Brussels on 12 February 1981 and entered into force on 1 January 1986. Both instruments are still in force today.
Revised EUROCONTROL Convention
On 27 June 1997 in Brussels, 27 EUROCONTROL Member States signed the Protocol consolidating the EUROCONTROL Convention (the "Revised Convention"). The ratification process of the Revised Convention is currently ongoing, but the EUROCONTROL Member States agreed in December 1997 on the early implementation of some of the provisions contained in the revised Convention.
Accession of the European Union
On 8 October 2002, in Brussels, EUROCONTROL Member States and the European Community signed a Protocol on the Accession of the European Community to the EUROCONTROL Convention which is now in the process of being ratified by the European Union and the EUROCONTROL Member States. The EUROCONTROL Member States and the European Community decided in 2003 to provisionally apply, pending their entry into force, certain provisions of the Protocol on the Accession of the European Community to the revised Convention.
For any request for information relating to EUROCONTROL's legal instruments as well as their status:
Contact point
Mr Alain Cherry
Legal assistant - Legal Service
Email: alain.cherry@eurocontrol.int
