Alan George/BRUSSELS
The European Commission (EC) plans to begin legal action this month against states which have defied Brussels by refusing to abrogate bilateral open skies agreements with the USA, according to a senior EC official.
In March, EC transport commissioner Neil Kinnock warned European states in writing that proceedings in the European Court in Luxembourg would result from a failure to abandon the agreements and give Brussels a mandate to negotiate open skies deals on behalf of the entire European Union. His argument is that bilateral agreements violate the European single market.
They were given a mid-May deadline, but have since been granted an extension to 16 June. So far, none of the countries involved has acquiesced to Kinnock's demand. Legal action by the end of the month is now "highly probable", says a senior official in Brussels.
Eight states have open skies agreements with the USA: Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Austria. The UK has agreed a partial open skies accord with the USA and is negotiating a full agreement. Portugal and Italy are discussing bilateral agreements with Washington.
The issue was to have been high on the agenda of a European transport ministers' meeting on 17 and 18 June, but it will not now be discussed. Insiders say that this was to avoid potentially heated criticism of the UK's failure to break the logjam during its six-month presidency, which ceases on 30 June.
Source: Flight International
