Europe, Canada Near Open Skies Deal

The European Council this week unanimously endorsed its pending bilateral air transport agreement with Canada and said it expects the agreement to be signed at a European Union-Canada summit in May. The deal would enable European carriers to operate direct flights to Canada from any European point while "gradually" removing restrictions on foreign investment.

The EC said the agreement "removes all restrictions on routes, prices or the number of weekly flights between Canada and the EU. Other traffic rights will be liberalized gradually in parallel with the opening up of investment opportunities."

The EC noted that under the agreement European Union nationals would be able to establish operations in Canada and "freely invest in Canadian airlines and vice versa."

The agreement also sets the stage for the EU and Canada to jointly work on other aviation initiatives, from security to the environment. On security, the agreement "envisages mutual recognition of standards and one-stop security," which would help to "reduce hassles" for travelers. Meanwhile, the EU and Canada also expect further cooperation "in order to mitigate the effects of aviation on climate change."

The EC said the deal could yield "consumer benefits of at least €72 million through lower fares," while creating up to 3,700 jobs.