Next Round Of Open Skies Talks Set For May

The European Union and United States on May 15 plan to begin negotiations on the second stage of the Open Skies agreement, the EU announced today. According to the agreement, signed last year, second-stage negotiations must commence within 60 days of the first-phase enactment, which goes into effect next week.

Transportation officials on both sides of the Atlantic expect a fully negotiated bilateral agreement to be in place in 2010, though several issues remain unresolved, including the right of EU carriers to fly between points in the United States and foreign-ownership requirements that limit investment in U.S. carriers to 25 percent voting equity (BTNonline, April 2, 2007).

A statement released by EU transportation officials today said, "If no substantial progress has been made by November 2010, the EU can decide to suspend certain rights granted to U.S. airlines." Vice president of the European Commission and head of transport Jacques Barrot today said, "A fully Open Aviation Area between the EU and the U.S. must remain our objective."

Open Skies is expected to lower transatlantic fares, increase capacity between the U.S. and EU, expand airline alliance cooperation and boost competition. EU officials today said the agreement also sets forth greater cooperation between the U.S. and EU on matters impacting aviation security, environmental issues and airport policies.

The first phase of the agreement gives EU carriers the right to serve the United States from any EU airport, while giving U.S. carriers access to markets from which some had been precluded. EU in a statement today also said the agreement "removes all restrictions on routes, prices or the number of weekly flights."

London's Heathrow Airport has been the focal point of the first phase thus far (BTNonline, March 17), and the EU today said flights between that airport and the United States would increase 20 percent next month, compared with the same period last year, though growth at other European hubs should be minimally impacted by Open Skies in April (BTNonline, March 25).