The agreement, signed between Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot and Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin on 24 November 2006, not only resolves a long-standing trade irritant between the EU and Russia, it also brings Russia a step closer to WTO accession.
Indeed, the EU had repeatedly warned Russia that the success of its WTO bid hinged on finding a solution to the overflight question.
European airlines currently have to pay royalties, amounting to around €300 million per year, to the Russian company Aeroflot in order to fly over Siberia – a necessary passage between Europe and Asian destinations in China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea.
The EU has long argued that these charges – a relic of the cold war – were in violation of international rules according to which no state may impose non-commercial transit charges.
Under the new deal, Russia must phase out all overflight charges by the end of 2013.
