Air Transport Portal of the European Commission

EU-US "Open Skies": Negotiations on a Second Stage EU-US Air Transport Agreement

3-4 December 2008

EU-US Aviation Forum on Liberalisation and Labour, Washington, D.C.

24-25 September 2008

Second Round of Negotiations on a Second Stage EU-US Air Transport Agreement

Joint Statement

Speech of Mr. Daniel Calleja, Director Air Transport at the International Aviation Club September Luncheon

15 May 2008

First Round of Negotiations on a Second Stage EU-US Air Transport Agreement

Talks between the European Union and the United States started on 15 May in Ljubljana on a second stage agreement which promises a new perspective on how aviation is structured in the future, potentially removing restrictions on the foreign ownership of airlines, exchanging access to domestic markets and introducing a more consensual approach to the regulation of the industry.

The talks build on the recent successful launch on 30 March 2008 of the "first stage" EU-US Air Transport Agreement. This earlier agreement has already opened up services between the EU and the United States, removing all caps on routes, prices, or the number of weekly flights between the two markets. The "second stage" of negotiations could lead to the removal of limits on services operated by carriers or investors within the other's market. The removal of such limits would normalise transatlantic aviation, bringing it into line with the changes that we have already seen in other sectors of the economy.

Press release

Joint Statement

Opening speech by Mr Zoltán Kazatsay, Deputy Director-General, Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, European Commission

Presentation by Mr Daniel Calleja, Director Air Transport, Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, European Commission

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History of a historical agreement