KERRY EZARD/LONDON
European Union officials say an open skies aviation agreement is unlikely to be ratified with the USA before the second half of this year, ending hopes of a June ruling.
This follows the supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) issued earlier this month by the US Department of Transportation, which amends the foreign ownership proposal by inserting veto rights for board members with US citizenship.
The revised proposal does not alter the 25% foreign ownership cap on US carriers, which remains a key concern for the EU in its decision-making process on whether to ratify the tentative aviation accord brokered in November with USA.
The EU has not made an official statement on the SNPRM, but says: “We will wait for the final result of the US policy.” It adds: “We hope for meaningful change that will enable us to sign what we consider to be a good first-step EU-US agreement on transatlantic aviation.”
Source: Flight International
