| Author (Person) | Carstens, Karen |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.8, No.40, 7.11.02, p23 |
| Publication Date | 07/11/2002 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 07/11/02 By THE European Court of Justice in a landmark ruling on Tuesday (5 November) struck a blow to bilateral 'open skies' agreements between the United States and eight EU member states, paving the way for a major shake-up in the hitherto highly protected European airline industry. 'Today's judgement is a major step towards developing a new coherent and dynamic European policy for international aviation,' said Loyola de Palacio, the transport and energy commissioner. MEP Brian Simpson, the Socialist group's transport spokesman in the European Parliament, hailed the ruling as ushering in a 'new era' in European aviation: 'With this landmark decision, air travel in Europe will never be the same again,' added the British member. The Court ruled that agreements over transatlantic routes between eight countries - the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria and Germany - and the US were illegal. The cases were brought before the court by the European Commission in 1998. 'In most sectors of the economy, Europe speaks with one voice in international negotiations,' de Palacio said. 'Until now, aviation has been excluded from this approach as member states have pursued their own individual agendas. 'From now on, it is clear from the Court's ruling that we will all have to work together in Europe to identify and pursue our objectives jointly,' she added. The court found the bilateral deals to be inconsistent with rules on the establishment of airfares and rates on intracommunity routes. More importantly, it also found that the deals amounted to discrimination of air carriers of other member states for the benefit of the airline of the host nation, which is against EU law. 'That is a case of discrimination excluding air carriers of other member states from the benefit of national treatment in the host member state, which is forbidden by the Community rules on the right of establishment,' the Court said. The ruling was a partial victory for the Commission, but it still legally speaking keeps the ball in the member states' court. 'Now they have to renegotiate all these deals with the US,' said Anton Van der Lande, chair of the global businessorganisation ICC's air transport commission. 'And they can do that on their own or do it together.' The bottom line, he explained, is that the member states can still decide whether or not they want to negotiate with the US en masse via the Commission, even though the Commission's competencies in the field have been widened by the ruling. The US, not surprisingly, would probably like to maintain the status quo for as long as possible: 'The current agreements that we have remain in force as the legal basis for air services between the US and individual EU member states,' said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. The existing agreements, he said, 'already recognise the primacy of EU law' in the 'two relatively limited areas, computer reservations and pricing, that member states lackedcompetence to negotiate so it shouldn't have any significant effect on airline operations'. Still, MEP Simpson remained optimistic. 'In the past America has negotiated with 15 individual member states, playing them off against each other and cherry-picking the best deals. 'By coordinating an EU position we will increase our leverage fifteen fold. The Americans won't like it because they will be talking to someone their own size, and with the EU's combined strength we will negotiate a better deal.' In a landmark ruling on 5 November 2002, the European Court of Justice struck a blow to bilateral 'open skies' agreements between the United States and eight EU Member States, paving the way for a major shake-up in the hitherto highly protected European airline industry. |
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| Subject Categories | Mobility and Transport |
