JUSTIN WASTNAGE / BRUSSELS
Brussels plans to take on high-profile negotiations and outsource others to countries with significant expertise
The European Commission hopes to present to European Union member states next month its formal request to take over bilateral air service negotiations, after the plan's expected approval at a high-level meeting this week. The two-stage proposal, thought to include a template for interim revisions of existing bilaterals, comes as the USA offers an alternative deal to comply with a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on the legality of existing open skies agreements.
Sources within European transport ministries say they expect to receive a wide-reaching mandate at the meeting of transport ministers on 29 March, combined with an agreement that the EC will not seek to nullify existing bilaterals while nations debate how much power to give Brussels. The EC is keen to handle high-profile, complex negotiations, such as those with Japan, Russia and the USA, but is likely to propose outsourcing the rest of the estimated ,500 current bilaterals to countries with significant expertise.
France would be expected to lead talks with North Africa, and Spain would conduct Latin American negotiations. The proposal will face delays from several of the more powerful countries, led by the UK, which are thought to be reluctant to relinquish ultimate power of veto. The Netherlands is to request increased voting weighting for smaller countries.
Meanwhile, the EC is rejecting new US proposals to renegotiate existing open skies bilaterals without nationality clauses as "unworkable". Frank Benyon, the EC's principal legal adviser, says that it "would be difficult" for any member state to revise its existing bilaterals to comply with the ruling, even excluding nationality clauses. The US government has drawn up a new proposal which would give all EU airlines equal operating rights to the USA, regardless of country of ownership. Sources within the EC view the proposal as an attempt by the USA to "divide and conquer", creating weaker bilaterals with each member state to avoid more wide-reaching negotiations.
ECJ advocate general Antonio Tizzano dismisses the possibility of modifying bilaterals as "unthinkable, not from a legal point of view, but from a practical viewpoint". He points to areas such as safety, slots and computer reservation systems as complicating factors. "Can you imagine a situation where the countries negotiate air traffic rights, the EC negotiates IT systems and a co-ordinator brought in to ensure commonality and compliance to EU law?" he says.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KAREN WALKER IN WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International
