EU-US air liberalisation talks expected to take years
HONOR MAHONY
16.05.2008 @ 09:11 CET
A new round of EU-US talks on further opening up the transatlantic aviation market are expected to take several years, according to US officials.
Formally kicked-off in EU presidency country Slovenia on Thursday (15 May), the discussions are aimed at allowing EU companies to have a greater investment stake in US air firms, as well as freeing up competition in domestic flight routes.
The first stage of a liberalising air deal came into place in March (Photo: EUobserver.com)
At the moment, a US company can fly between Berlin and Rome but not between Berlin and Munich, while EU companies cannot fly between US cities.
But the talks are expected to drag on for many years. US special envoy for EU affairs Boyden Gray said that a completely liberalised market in this area was some time off.
"I don't think anyone thinks it's going to be done overnight," he said, according to news agency AFP.
"I think by some time next decade we will have virtually everything, by 2020 perhaps, but by 2010 I don't know," he continued.
The talks build on the back of an agreement that came into place at the end of March, which lifted the cap on routes, prices and the number of weekly flights between the two continents.
This agreement took four years of bitter negotiations before it saw the light of day. But it is already leading to results, say experts.
"We are seeing already concrete benefits, very positive developments," said Daniel Calleja Crespo, from the European Commission, according to AFP.
He said that, compared to 2007, there was an eight percent increase in EU-US flights this summer.