The
Financial Times reports that:
'Leaders of the European aviation industry are seeking an urgent meeting with Loyola de Palacio, the European transport commissioner, after complaining that the Commission failed to inform them about crucial recent developments in negotiations over liberalising air services between the US and the European Union....'
The same source also has a very interesting
article (subscription required) about EU air transport policy. Key points are:
'The aim of the [EU-US] talks is to sign a comprehensive agreement that could dismantle the ownership restrictions still prevalent on both sides of the Atlantic. It could include provisions allowing US carriers to fly between European cities, and vice versa, a practice that is still banned. It could, in the end, ease the way for transatlantic mergers to go ahead...'
'In any case, the talks have already increased the likelihood of European mergers, witness the tie-up between KLM of the Netherlands and Air France.'