News Releases

No. 90/05
October 21, 2005

Joint Statement of the EU and US Delegations on Air Services Agreement

EU and US delegations met from 17 to 21 October in Brussels, Belgium, to resume formal negotiations on a comprehensive, first-step air services agreement. The delegations made substantial progress on the key elements of such an agreement and expressed their commitment to work hard to reach early and successful results. There is also a clear commitment on both sides to achieve further liberalisation of the transatlantic aviation market in subsequent steps.

The delegations reached full agreement on cooperation with respect to competition issues in the air transport industry based on a continuous and structured dialogue and with respect to government subsidies and support. Good progress was made on security matters in seeking compatible approaches in the EU and US, and on the environment. The agreement will also establish a joint committee that will review the implementation of the agreement and seek to resolve any issues.

Work remains to be done in Washington in the week of 14 November when both delegations will meet again for a further round of negotiations.

Please see also "Europe and the United States negotiating a Joint Aviation Agreement" (MEMO/05/376).

For further information, please visit the website of the Directorate General for Energy and Transport at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/air/index_en.htm.

Further Contact Information
Press and Media Relations
Delegation of the European Commission
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Washington, DC 20037
http://www.eurunion.org/PressRoom
Tel: 202-862-9552
Fax: 202-429-1766