U.S. mulls 'open skies' treaty with EU BRUSSELS (Reuters) =97 The United States hopes to get a quick, basic deal=20 with the European Union on air traffic rights when talks begin after=20 August, leaving trickier issues for later, a U.S. transport official said=20 on Thursday. The EU's 15 member states want to replace their existing=20 national trans-Atlantic airline rights with a single "open skies" treaty=20 for the whole EU. Washington has said it is in favor, but is hesitant about= =20 some of the extra demands the Europeans may make. In addition to take-off=20 and landing rights for Atlantic routes, the EU wants to discuss allowing=20 greater foreign ownership of U.S. airlines, the possibility for EU airlines= =20 to operate domestic U.S. routes and limits on state aid. The U.S. State Department's person in charge of the negotiations, John=20 Byerly, said the issues which would not require changes to U.S. law would=20 be the quickest to agree. "(We should) look at possibilities for an 'early= =20 harvest' agreement with both sides deciding that negotiations would of=20 course continue," he told reporters after meeting his counterparts at the=20 European Commission in Brussels. "This would allow near-term benefits for=20 European and American publics and yet keep the door open for further=20 advances." EU governments gave the Commission, the bloc's executive arm, a= =20 mandate to negotiate a wide-ranging aviation deal with Washington earlier=20 this month, following a court ruling last year that parts of existing=20 bilateral treaties break EU law. One of the main aims of an EU-wide deal would be to remove the nationality= =20 clause which currently means that, for example, only French airlines can=20 fly to the United States from France. Aviation experts say this could open= =20 the way to mergers between airlines from different EU countries which would= =20 no longer have to worry about losing flying rights if they change=20 nationality. U.S. Transport Secretary Norman Mineta is due to discuss the=20 issue for the first time with EU Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio=20 at an EU-U.S. summit in Washington next Wednesday. Substantive talks are=20 due to begin after the August recess. One of the more problematic issues=20 the United States may raise is environmental regulation, Byerly said.=20 Washington is concerned about tough restrictions on night flights at=20 European airports that particularly hit express freight operators *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.carib-link.net/naparima/naps.html TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************