Newsstand - Court Will Decide Legality Of US-EU Air Accords

Court Will Decide Tuesday Legality Of US-EU Air Accords

The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg will decide Tuesday morning whether eight bilateral air agreements between European countries and the U.S. are illegal.
If the so called "Open Skies" accords are struck down, analysts expect consolidation to speed up among Europe's flag carriers. If that happens, Europe's air traffic could soon resemble that of the U.S. with large hubs increasingly dominating traffic.

The European Union Commission wants the agreements outlawed so it can negotiate a single accord with the U.S. on behalf of the E.U's 15 member states.

The prognosis for a Commission victory is good. The Court's Advocate General said in a preliminary assessment in February that the agreements involved a " case of discrimination based on nationality" that is illegal under E.U. law. The court has gone along with the Advocate General's opinion in four out of every five cases.

"It is time to move on and create a transatlantic airspace for the greater good of our air industry and the U.S. air industry," said E.U. Commissioner for Transport Loyola de Palacio earlier this year.

http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/021104/1210000489_1.html

EU High Court Rules 'Open Skies' Accords With U.S. Are Illegal

Eight bilateral air agreements between European countries and the U.S. break European Union law, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled Tuesday.

The decision by Europe's highest court to strike down the "Open Skies" agreements could speed up consolidation among Europe's flag carriers. Europe's air traffic could soon resemble that of the U.S. with large hubs increasingly dominating traffic.

http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/021105/0616000291_1.html

UK says EU court ruling won't stop U.S. air talks

Britain said on Tuesday a ruling by the top European Union court that bilateral aviation pacts between EU member states and the United States had in part broken EU law would not prevent it from continuing to seek more liberal bilateral agreements on air traffic rights.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/021105/airlines_eu_britain_1.html


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A victory for Brussels, sort of

Crucial parts of the “open-skies” deals that European countries have made with America are illegal, the European Court has ruled. The European Commission will now fight for the right to negotiate an over-arching deal with America on behalf of member states

http://www.economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1427639

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 11-05-2002).]

But what will the EU do if the United States refuses to negotiate with a monolith?

Or if the United States says that yes, we'll negotiate over how many flights AF can run from Paris, LH from Frankfurt, BA from London, and so on -- but keeps cabotage off the table -- no LH from London and no AF from Frankfurt?



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"Yes, but at least mine will be found in a first class seat." -- Peattie and Taylor