Prague summit "opens the sky" between the EU and Canada
On 6 May 2009, Prague hosted the EU-Canada summit. In line with the conclusions of the previous summit, EU and Canadian leaders began negotiations leading to the deal on strengthening the economic partnership. During the summit, two more documents were signed: the Aviation Services Agreement and a joint declaration endorsing the Agreement on Civil Aviation between the EU and Canada.
The signing of these documents at the EU-Canada Summit in Prague is in accord with the motto of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU – a “Europe without Barriers”. At the same time, it can be seen as concrete implementation, in the transport sector, of one of the Czech Presidency foreign policy priorities, i.e. the strengthening of transatlantic cooperation between the EU and North America.
The agreements should substantially contribute to increasing employment, trade and income on both sides of the Atlantic. The participants in the summit also discussed the economic and financial crisis, climate change and regional conflicts, issues actively addressed by both the EU and Canada.
The EU - Canada summit itself marked, above all, the official launch of bilateral free trade talks that will make it possible to cut prices, unblock investments and cooperate on the regulation and rules governing the determination of the origin of goods. The annual benefit for both partners from the potential agreement, which should be finalised by 2011, is expected to exceed EUR 20 billion. With annual trading volumes exceeding EUR 70 billion, Canada has already become one of the key business partners of the EU.
At the summit, the representatives of the EU and Canada signed an agreement that opens their mutual aviation market. The agreement removes restrictions to the number of flights or locations of departures and arrivals, which may lead to a drop in prices of flight tickets. In practice, this will mean that European air carriers will be now free to fly to Canada from any airport in the European Union.
The EU-Canada deal opening the aviation market shares many features with the EU-US "Open Skies Agreement". However, Canada, unlike the USA, has allowed the EU to freely invest in Canadian airlines and establish new airlines. Experts assume that medium-sized and low-cost airlines, so far not admitted on EU-Canada routes by larger airlines, will benefit the most from the new agreement.
The signed memoranda may be easily labelled as a pioneer step in the field of aviation agreements and should become a precedent for other partners of the EU. It is widely believed that this agreement will become a milestone on the road to an international reform of the regulatory framework that governs global air travel. After the documents were signed, both the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the President of the European Commission José Barosso took the opportunity to praise the role of the Czech Presidency in the negotiations.
Contact:
- Lada Hlaváčková, Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Transport
- Tel.: +420 225 131 530, GSM: +420 607 946 989, E-mail: lada.hlavackova@mdcr.cz
Last update: 16.8.2011 15:23
