Commission plans legal action over air deals

Date: 27/01/2000

By Renée Cordes

TRANSPORT Commissioner Loyola de Palacio is planning to take legal action against Italy and Portugal for following in other member states' footsteps by concluding 'open-skies' pacts with the US.

The move demonstrates her determination to continue the fight launched by her predecessor Neil Kinnock for the right to negotiate deals on air-traffic rights with third countries on behalf of all 15 EU governments. "It is not good to have bilateral relations between some member states and the US," said a Commission spokesman, adding that a "question of principle" was involved.

The warnings come a month after Lisbon and Rome joined a list of nearly 40 countries which have signed bilateral agreements with Washington over the past few years.

The Commission has repeatedly challenged the legality of such accords between EU member states and the US, arguing that they exclusively benefit air carriers which are majority-owned and controlled by nationals of the countries concerned, thereby discriminating against foreign competitors. It also contends that natio-nality clauses in the agreements effectively discourage European carriers from joining forces to challenge their US rivals.

During his term as Transport Commissioner, Kinnock launched legal action against nine member states which signed bilateral deals, but the European Court of Justice has yet to rule on these cases. The Commission also wrote to two other member states - France and the Netherlands - recently, outlining its concerns over their open-skies agreements with Washington.

As the Commission awaits the ECJ's verdict, De Palacio is stepping up pressure on the US to make the rules governing transatlantic air traffic as uniform as possible, calling for the creation of a transatlantic common aviation area. This would involve the full harmonisation of regulations and a step-by-step removal of regulatory barriers.

While industry officials support this idea, most expect EU member states to go on signing bilateral pacts as long as there is no viable alternative.

Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio is planning to take legal action against Italy and Portugal for following in other Member States' footsteps by concluding 'open-skies' pacts with the US.