EU tekent luchtvaartovereenkomst ("open skies") met Oekraïne (en)
The EU signed today an aviation agreement with Ukraine which will allow European airlines to fly between any EU Member State and Ukraine.
"After the first agreement signed with Chile in October, this new agreement gives all EU airlines access to the air transport market between any EU Member State and Ukraine. At the same time, it paves the way for a closer integration of Ukraine into European aviation structures", said European Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot i, in charge of transport. The agreement was signed today in Kiev by Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov for Ukraine, by Prime Minister Tony Blair for the EU Presidency and by President José Manuel Barroso i for the European Commission.
The agreement (known as "horizontal") removes nationality restrictions in the bilateral air services agreements between EU Member States and Ukraine and therefore allows any EU airline to operate flights between any EU Member State where it is established and Ukraine. The agreement acknowledges the existence of the single market for air transport between the EU and Ukraine and demonstrates that there is an external dimension of the single market for air transport.
The agreement signed today is also an important first step in the broader aviation relations between the EU and Ukraine with more than 1.5 million passengers carried in 2004 on flights between the two, 25% more than in 2003. In the context of the EU's neighbourhood policy, the Commission proposed on 27 September 2005 negotiations on a comprehensive aviation agreement to create a common aviation area (see IP/05/1190). Such negotiations would aim at progressively integrate the Ukrainian aviation sector into European structures, with two objectives: opening the markets in order to increase market opportunities for the industry and consumers, and ensure regulatory convergence and co-operation in fields such as aviation safety, aviation security, environmental protection, competition rules and industrial cooperation. The Commission hopes to receive a mandate to start negotiations during the Austrian Presidency.
Background
The agreement with Ukraine is the second "horizontal" aviation agreement to be signed - the first one was with Chile - and it would be the first horizontal agreement with a neighbouring country of the EU. The European Commission has successfully negotiated similar agreements with 18 other countries. Agreements with Croatia, Georgia, Bulgaria and Azerbaijan have been approved by the Council and are ready for signature. Other agreements negotiated by the Commission with for instance Morocco, Lebanon, Singapore and Australia are currently being considered by the Council. More such agreements with countries from all continents will follow in the coming months.
The EU-Ukraine "horizontal" aviation agreement does not replace the bilateral agreements in place between the EU Member States and Ukraine but brings them in line with EU law. It removes the nationality restrictions contained in bilateral air services agreements between EU Member States and Ukraine. Such nationality restrictions have been found incompatible with EU law by the European Court of Justice in the "open skies" judgements of 5 November 2002.