EU–US Open Skies Agreement

Open Skies Agreement (German: open / free air spaces ') in the aviation sector are international agreements for mutual market-based liberalization of the respective civil aviation sector - represented by civilian airlines - between the parties. They have nothing to do with the military Open Skies agreements. Liberalised landing rights, route rights, antitrust agreements, ownership provisions, etc. are part of civil contracts. The Parties are mostly to sovereign states or, as in the case of the EU, to supranational institutions. Decisive impact of these agreements primarily on private sector or governmental airlines of each country and the environment associated ( passengers, airport operators, tour operators, etc.). But moreover, also resulting economic, political and cultural aspects are not negligible. Worldwide, there are numerous open- skies agreement between one or more countries. The most important agreement is the Air Transport Agreement between the EU and the U.S. (English EU -US Open Skies Agreement ).

Open Skies Agreement between the EU and the U.S.

The EU has stood for decades in negotiations with the U.S. about the " unhindered access to each each other's airspace " in the civil sector. In June 2004, these negotiations were initially explained as a failure because the U.S. refused to grant wider access to U.S. civil aviation market, airlines from EU member countries. In technical jargon, it is called the authorized for foreigners aviation single market of a third country of cabotage '. The talks were resumed later and in November 2005, the parties could at least agree on proposals, although no agreements have been made. The Bush administration had indeed allowed for an increase in the share of foreign investments in U.S. airlines - one of the negotiating points - used, but had failed in their attempt at Congress and the protectionist resistance of the democratic opposition. In February 2007, found new negotiations between the EU Commission and the U.S. Department of Transportation, under the direction of EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot and U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters instead. On 22 February 2007, the European Commission has approved in a vote of the 27 EU transport ministers of the agreement between the EU and U.S. in early March unanimously.

Objectives

Airlines from EU countries should therefore fully fly all U.S. airports and from there may fly on to third countries. For example, to date, KLM could not connect Amsterdam - Los Angeles offer with connecting Flight to Mexico City. This will also give permission for foreign airlines, domestic air routes abroad, so-called, point-to -point flying ' to use. So it was, for example, Lufthansa has not allowed under U.S. law to offer the route San Francisco to New York without this route would be part of a flight connection to Germany or the EU. The U.S. lawmakers also submitted ( in 2003 modified version of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938), the upper limit of the voting ownership interests of foreign investors in U.S. Airlines with 25 % of the total shareholder fixed while the EU in the negotiations for a 49% - margin sought and still seeks to achieve - as in the U.S. was already law in the Air Commerce Act of 1926. In addition, according to U.S. law previously the chairman and at least two-thirds of the Board of Directors ( Executive Board and Supervisory Board ) of a U.S. airline from U.S. citizens exist. On the other hand, were allowed to provide more flights to third countries U.S. airlines in the EU and U.S. investors were allowed to participate, with up to 49 % of the shares involved in European air carriers. From a " competition on an equal footing " between the EU and the U.S. countries therefore could be no question. Furthermore, were also antitrust issues and duty-free provisions in the negotiations for debate.

Concerns in the U.S.

Sticking to existing laws was established by the U.S. side, among other things, that civilian aircraft in the United States can be inserted through the Civil Reserve Air Fleet determination by the armed forces of the United States to transport troops and this circumstance with foreign ownership to could cause problems. There was also paid for by U.S. Government funds air travel called the Fly America Act, could only be chosen after the airlines in U.S. possession as a travel agent. More U.S. fears were that U.S. jobs could be lost that income gains are dissipated abroad that safety standards would fall or that only profitable routes could be served. Was also in view of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 and is one impending foreign ownership of U.S. airlines are very skeptical about. The takeover of the British P & O shipping company in 2006, and thus the ownership and management of 22 American ports, including New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami, by DP World, an Emirati investment company owned by the Government of Dubai solved, in the U.S. from a storm of protest. Finally, DP World was, despite support from the Bush administration, the U.S. Congress for fear of Arab ownership and for the sake of national security to resell the seaports, at Ports America, Inc., an AIG subsidiary, forced. In the U.S., the Democratic Party, some of the U.S. airlines and the unions involved are the fiercest opponents of an open- skies agreement. Liberalization would be advisable, however, for example, has long been of United Airlines who worked closely on the Star Alliance network with Lufthansa and more and more U.S. airlines, hoping for economic benefits. A concern of the United States is to relax the ban on night flights in the EU, as major U.S. airlines courier such as FedEx or UPS depend on night flights. In addition, the U.S. is an eyesore that EU environment ministers from 2012 also want to include aviation in the EU emissions trading scheme, according to which flights starting in the EU or need to buy land pollution permits - which therefore also for American Airlines after Europe would fly, apply.

EU ambitions

On the EU side - for U.S. airlines are in the EU, of course, the corresponding reciprocal benefits if they were not even before the agreement valid - were in the negotiations less the disadvantages for the consumer rather than resulting improvements through greater competition in liberalized seen markets. The main objectives were and are the increase of foreign investments in U.S. airlines, unrestricted access for EU airlines to destinations in the U.S. and the opening of the domestic flight operation in the U.S. for EU airlines.

Bilateral agreements

Between the U.S. and European countries passed in this context, individual agreements. However, put these different bilateral agreements with individual EU members after an ECJ judgment of 2002 a violation of EU law, general dar. Accordingly, the between the United States and Great Britain agreed in 1977 and 1995 modified the Bermuda II agreement - after the next other provisions, only four airlines, namely British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines and United Airlines from London Heathrow to the U.S. and allowed to fly back - not compatible with EU law. A new regulation was therefore imperative.

Changes from 2008 (Phase 1)

Which came into force on 30 March 2008 Open Skies Agreement between the EU and the U.S., it is EU airlines allowed " to fly from any airport in the EU from any city in the U.S.," but they are domestic routes in the U.S. ( yet) may not operate. In addition, it was then called, was to " increase the number of air passengers in the coming years to 26 million " on the transatlantic routes and the competition will improve significantly. However, neither the number of passengers or the number of trans-Atlantic flight deals have hindsight greatly increased. As a result of the global financial and economic crisis transatlantic capacity was even reduced. Originally, the agreement had already end of October 2007 to be effective, but the British government, which had initially threatened to vote on a poll of the 27 EU transport ministers on 27 March 2007 in Brussels against the pact had to airport protection at Heathrow, temporal delay requested. As part of the annual EU - US summit, signed, among others, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as current EU Council Presidency, the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and U.S. President George W. Bush the binding agreement on April 30, 2007 in Washington, DC.

Further negotiations (Phase 2)

In the so-called ' second round ' (Phase 2) of the negotiations, which began in mid-2008, should start to 2009, then until the end of 2010, additional agreements, for example relating to harmonized safety and climate change, are taken. The main objective of the Europeans, the increase in the allowable foreign ownership of U.S. airlines, has not been achieved. The U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Affairs John Byerly made ​​the following statement in December 2008 that a related easing " in the foreseeable future will not happen ." The Americans, however, achieved a major success with the henceforth unlimited access to Heathrow Airport. In the United States went in the course of the agreement in August 2007, the airline Virgin America, an offshoot of the British airline Virgin Atlantic, in San Francisco as American domestic airline at the start. Its founder, Richard Branson, a British citizen, but may not hold more than 25% of the shares. The release for Virgin America was very controversial in the United States. Meanwhile, the EU, and especially the United Kingdom, the United States has repeatedly threatened to suspend the Open Skies Agreement, if the United States until 2010 to open its domestic aviation market is not on EU carriers (cabotage). U.S. negotiator Byerly, however, commented on this end of 2009 adverse, that it was completely out of the U.S. side on the subject of cabotage, that you "move even a millimeter " will and called European threats to be counterproductive. Calls the second round took place in May and September 2008. In December 2008, they met under the Aviation Forum on Liberalisation and Labour ( Aviation Authorities Forum on Liberalisation and Labour) in Washington DC. In May 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill to re- authorize the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2009 ) that U.S. ownership of American Airlines secures and provides, among other things, that maintenance on U.S. airlines in other countries ( for example, will be controlled by Lufthansa Technik in Frankfurt) by the FAA. Both will be considered a violation of the Open Skies Agreement and could the U.S. Senate, the law should actually adopt in early 2010, even lead to termination of the negotiations. End of June 2009 in Brussels in the framework of the second EU -US Aviation Forum on Liberalisation and Labour another meeting place. They agreed only to conclude the negotiations by the end of 2010 and adjourned to a meeting in Washington DC in October 2009. In Washington, however, and the second phase agreed to tighten the pace now but completed by the end of 2009, which did not succeed. Iceland and Norway were included as non-EU members surprising in the contract, the order applies to 29 countries. From the EU side, it was now that neither the FAA nor the Bevollmächtigungsgesetz domestic flight regulations in the U.S. could lead to a breakdown in negotiations, although both of the United States so far refused, points at a meeting in Brussels on 9 November continues had been promoted.

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