U.S. and E.U. negotiators achieved "a major step forward" for a second-stage Open Skies agreement, including "incentives" encouraging reform to airline ownership rules

, according to European Commission vice president for transport Siim Kallas. "When the United States changes its legislation to allow European Union investors' majority ownership of U.S. airlines, the E.U. will reciprocally allow majority ownership of E.U. airlines by U.S. investors and U.S. airlines will benefit from additional market access rights to and from the E.U.," according to a European Commission statement. The "provisional agreement" also provides to European airlines "further access to U.S. government-financed traffic" and "future" opportunities to fly between the United States and non-European Union countries.