DTN News: EU, US See Breakthrough In 'Open Skies' Talks
Source: DTN News / AFP
(NSI News Source Info) BRUSSELS - March 27, 2010: The European Union and the United States on Thursday took a "major step forward" towards a permanent "ope
n skies" deal for aviation, agreeing to remove market barriers, the EU Commission said.
"Both sides have agreed to increase regulatory co-operation, and remove the barriers to market access that have been holding back the development of the world's most important aviation markets," EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said in a statement.
The draft deal represents "a significant breakthrough in the process of normalising the global airline industry," the statement added.
A full EU-US Open Aviation Area has been estimated to be worth up to 12 billion euros in economic benefits and up to 80,000 new jobs.
Closed door talks on the issue have been taking place in Brussels since Tuesday.
A commission spokesman said that the agreement would have to be approved by the US Congress, within two or three years, a commission spokesman said.
The "open skies" deal remains incomplete despite a landmark agreement signed in 2007, after four years of talks, and brought in provisionally the following year.
The 2007 deal eliminated restrictions on air services between the United States, allowing airlines from both sides to select routes and destinations based on consumer demand for both passenger and cargo services.
"The new agreement affirms that the terms of the 2007 agreement will remain in place indefinitely," a US department of state spokesman said in a statement.
"It also deepens US-EU cooperation in aviation security, safety, competition, and ease of travel," he added.
It will also, the US side said, provide greater protection for US carriers from "arbitrary restrictions" on night flights at European airports.
"The new agreement underscores the importance of close transatlantic cooperation on aviation environmental matters in order to advance a global approach to global challenges," the US spokesman said.
Source: DTN News / AFP
(NSI News Source Info) BRUSSELS - March 27, 2010: The European Union and the United States on Thursday took a "major step forward" towards a permanent "ope
n skies" deal for aviation, agreeing to remove market barriers, the EU Commission said.
"Both sides have agreed to increase regulatory co-operation, and remove the barriers to market access that have been holding back the development of the world's most important aviation markets," EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said in a statement.
The draft deal represents "a significant breakthrough in the process of normalising the global airline industry," the statement added.
A full EU-US Open Aviation Area has been estimated to be worth up to 12 billion euros in economic benefits and up to 80,000 new jobs.
Closed door talks on the issue have been taking place in Brussels since Tuesday.
A commission spokesman said that the agreement would have to be approved by the US Congress, within two or three years, a commission spokesman said.
The "open skies" deal remains incomplete despite a landmark agreement signed in 2007, after four years of talks, and brought in provisionally the following year.
The 2007 deal eliminated restrictions on air services between the United States, allowing airlines from both sides to select routes and destinations based on consumer demand for both passenger and cargo services.
"The new agreement affirms that the terms of the 2007 agreement will remain in place indefinitely," a US department of state spokesman said in a statement.
"It also deepens US-EU cooperation in aviation security, safety, competition, and ease of travel," he added.
It will also, the US side said, provide greater protection for US carriers from "arbitrary restrictions" on night flights at European airports.
"The new agreement underscores the importance of close transatlantic cooperation on aviation environmental matters in order to advance a global approach to global challenges," the US spokesman said.
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