Barrot to press US on open skies

Jacques Barrot, the European commissioner for transport, said he would be pushing Washington to agree to a second phase of ‘open skies’ negotiations in early 2008.

Liberalisation of the US aviation market will be discussed when James Oberstar, chairman of Congress’s transport-ation committee, visits Brussels on 3 April.

Barrot is keen to show that he is pressing the US for a second phase that would produce a more balanced deal after working hard to convince the UK government to consent to a first phase agreement between the EU and US at a meeting of EU transport ministers today (22 March).

The first phase draft would open up the lucrative London Heathrow-US market and the UK is looking for rewards. "What we want is a second stage that delivers. The question we are addressing is the need for a clear mechanism which [provides] real incentives on both sides to reach a fully open market," said a London-based spokesman for the UK government.

Barrot said: "What the UK needs is to know is that the Commission is convinced that we have not finished and that we want a better balance in future. I think the British are right to demand that the transport commissioner, beyond the first phase agreement, continues to exert strong pressure on the US to reach a better deal."

Barrot is investing considerable effort into "changing Congress’s mentality". He stated that the German presidency’s efforts to forge closer economic ties with the US had helped negotiations. "President Bush wants to show that the EU and US are co-operating. There is also the moral pressure [in terms of] the perception we have of US open markets," he said.

Jacques Barrot, the European commissioner for transport, said he would be pushing Washington to agree to a second phase of ‘open skies’ negotiations in early 2008.