EU-US air talks due for take-off

Date: 05/12/1996

By Chris Johnstone

PREPARATIONS for 'open skies' negotiations between the US and EU should get off the ground officially this week, when the Americans are expected to confirm their willingness to take part.

But talks between top transport negotiators from the two sides will not take place until March or April next year.

The US is expected to agree this week to the EU's complex two-pronged agenda for talks on the clear understanding that it will not sign up to any preliminary or partial agreements until the final deal is done.

The Union outline for negotiations calls for 'soft' issues to be dealt with first before tackling the heart of the matter: access for airlines on each side of the Atlantic to each other's markets.

The US will reluctantly agree to this as long as its 'no strings attached' condition for discussing issues such as rules for equipment leasing, code sharing, slot allocation, access to computer reservation systems, bankruptcy legislation and foreign ownership limits, is clearly understood.

During a meeting of top officials from the two sides in Washington in late October, the US made clear its impatience to deal with traffic rights. American airlines are keen to win more access for aircraft to European airports.

For its part, the European Commission would like to force the US to put EU airlines on an equal footing with their American counterparts in Europe by allowing them to offer internal flights within the US for the first time. American airlines already enjoy this right in Europe as a legacy from the Second World War.

However, EU governments have tied the hands of Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock by allowing him to broach the issue of traffic rights only after the first-stage discussions have been completed.

Union negotiators said this week that the US appeared to be showing more flexibility on European airline access to its domestic market, amid reports that Washington was willing to give UK carriers more openings into the world's biggest airline market through franchise deals with small American companies.

“It is a good sign. Let us see it develop,” said a top EU negotiator.