European court rules national 'open skies' agreement with U.S. illegal BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) =97 The European Court of Justice ruled Tuesday that= =20 eight EU states acted illegally when they signed bilateral air deals with=20 the United States offering advantages to their national flag carriers. The= =20 EU high court ruling gives the European Commission crucial legal backing in= =20 its battle to replace national governments in negotiating air traffic=20 agreements with the United States and other nations. In its judgment, the=20 Luxembourg-based court said the bilateral "open skies" accords with=20 Washington violated EU law since they infringed on the power of the EU head= =20 office to regulate and negotiate air transport accords with non-EU nations.= =20 The court added the bilateral agreements also discriminated against=20 airlines in EU countries that signed no such deals with the United States. The ruling, which is binding and cannot be appealed, means the eight member= =20 nations =97 Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Britain= =20 and Germany =97 must renegotiate their bilateral airline accords with=20 Washington to bring them into line with EU law. The court is still=20 considering similar cases against Italy, France and the Netherlands and=20 Portugal. "The agreements ... are now null and void," EU Transport=20 Commissioner Loyola de Palacio told a news conference. She urged national=20 governments to quickly give the EU Commission a mandate to negotiate a=20 pan-EU "open sky" pact with the United States. "It will be the Commission=20 who will have to negotiate on behalf of the 15 member states," she added,=20 warning that failure of member nations to comply with the ruling would mean= =20 they could face hefty fines. The decision could have far-reaching=20 implications for trans-Atlantic air traffic by allowing European airlines=20 greater freedom to fly to the United States from EU nations other than=20 their own. The Commission says that will increase competition on lucrative=20 trans-Atlantic routes, bring down air fares and make it easier for European= =20 carriers to merge. De Palacio said the Commission would shortly introduce=20 proposals setting out how it would hold talks between the EU and Washington= =20 in signing a "Trans-Atlantic Common Aviation Area," opening up airline=20 competition between the two sides. In London, Richard Branson, chairman of= =20 British airline Virgin Atlantic, said the decision should lead to pan-EU=20 deregulation of the airline industry, and more competition, giving=20 consumers cheaper fares, and better service. Virgin Atlantic and other smaller airlines has fought hard over the years=20 to gain access to routes between Britain and North America that have=20 traditionally been dominated by British Airways and major U.S. airlines. The "open skies" agreements between the United States and individual=20 European nations let U.S. airlines fly into EU countries from anywhere in=20 the United States but let European carriers only fly to the United States=20 from their home bases. For instance, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines can fly to=20 American airports only from Amsterdam, not Madrid or Rome, thereby=20 protecting its home base at the expense of other EU carriers. De Palacio=20 argued that by negotiating on behalf of all 15 EU states the Commission can= =20 strike a better, fairer deal for European airlines, notably by securing=20 rights to fly on domestic U.S. routes. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (I95.5FM) http://www.i955fm.com (Radio Station I95.5FM) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************