News Releases

No. 09/07
February 6, 2007

OPEN SKIES: EU AND U.S. LAUNCH A NEW ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS

The Vice President of the European Commission in charge of Transport, Jacques Barrot; the German Presidency of the EU, represented by German Transport Minister, Wolfgang Tiefensee; and the US Secretary of Transportation, Mary Peters, launched today in Washington a new round of air transport negotiations to reach a comprehensive Transatlantic agreement which would expand benefits for consumers, airlines, airports and communities of both sides of the Atlantic.

This round of negotiations is taking place after the US announced, in December 2006, the withdrawal of a rule that would have allowed EU companies greater participation in the US aviation market. The withdrawal was deeply regretted by the European Commission and by the EU Transport Council.

Launching the new round of negotiations, Vice President Barrot said: ''I know that there are some difficult issues on the table for the negotiators to solve this week. But I stress once more that the status quo is not an option and that failure is not an option. I urge both delegations to approach the discussions this week with creativity, with imagination and with determination."

Barrot added: ''The prize if we are successful is a historic agreement that will set the model for the rest of the world to follow. The cost, if we fail, is too terrible to contemplate. Time is not on our side. Now is not the time to delay or to shy away from hard decisions and hard choices. We must move forward. There is a lot of hard work ahead on both sides which needs to be constructive in order to achieve a fair deal.''

For further information, please visit:
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