1. These Regulations may be cited as the Civil Aviation (Route Charges for Navigation Services) (Second Amendment) Regulations 1998 and shall come into force on 1st January 1999.

2. The Civil Aviation (Route Charges for Navigation Services) Regulations 1997(3) shall be amended as follows:

(1) In regulation 3(1) the definition of "ECUs" shall be omitted.

(2) In regulations 5(1) and (5) and 6(1) for "ECUs" there shall be substituted " euros".

(3) In regulation 5(4) for the figure "7.73%" there shall be substituted " 6.75%".

(4) In regulation 6(1) and (8) for "ECU" there shall be substituted " euro".

(5) For regulation (7)(v) there shall be substituted the following-�

"(v)flights other than the flights referred to in paragraph (i) of this regulation made exclusively for the purpose of the carriage on official business of a reigning Monarch or his immediate family, a Head of State, a Head of Government or a Government Minister;".

(6) For Schedule 2 there shall be substituted the following Schedule-�

Regulations 3(1), 4(3) and 6(1)

"SCHEDULE 2SPECIFIED AIRSPACES

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Civil Aviation (Route Charges for Navigation Services) Regulations 1997 (the "principal Regulations") as follows:

(1) In regulation 3(1) of the principal Regulations the definition of " ECUs" is withdrawn (regulation 2(1)).

(2) Regulation 5(1) is amended to require the payment of charges in euros (regulation 2(2)). Consequential changes are made in regulation 2(2) and (4).

(3) In regulation 5(4) of the principal Regulations the rate of interest payable is decreased from 7.73% to 6.75% (regulation 2(3)).

(4) In paragraph (v) of regulation 7 the exemption from the regulations in the case of flights made by aircraft which are used in the service of a State is amended to restrict the exemption to flights made exclusively for the purpose of the carriage on official business of a reigning Monarch or his immediate family, a Head of State, a Head of Government or a Government Minister (regulation 2(5)).

(5) New unit rates are introduced in Schedule 2 of the principal Regulations. Unit rates are expressed in euros.

The unit rates in euros set out in Schedule 2 of the principal Regulations are calculated by reference to the costs of provision of en-route navigation services in the participating countries in the Eurocontrol charges system, the amount of traffic using each country's airspace and the relationship of each country's currency to the euro over a period agreed by Ministers of the participating countries. The interaction of these elements varies in each country. In calculating the revised charges the average of the exchange rate between the ECU and the currencies of the participating countries obtaining in the month of July 1998 have been used. The euro will replace the ECU at the rate of one euro for one ECU. In the case of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey the unit rate is established in euros.

The unit rates of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia, Spain (Madrid and Barcelona FIRs), Sweden and Switzerland decrease on average by 5.4%. The unit rate for Spain (Canaries FIR) decreases by 6.1%. The unit rates of Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey increase on average by 4.1%. The unit rate for Portugal (Santa Maria FIR) increases by 35.1%. The unit rate of the United Kingdom decreases by 3.3%.

The United Kingdom Air Pilot and the foreign Aeronautical Information Publications referred to in the Regulations can be purchased from Westward Digital Limited, 37 Windsor Street, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 2DG and can be inspected at major aerodromes in the United Kingdom.