UK set to back down on EU-US 'open skies' agreement[fr][de] 

Despite London's unhappiness with the draft agreement, UK officials have signalled that they will not risk a diplomatic row with their EU counterparts by attempting to block its adoption in a Council vote on 22 March. 

Britain is isolated in its opposition to the deal, which would force it to open up the lucrative route between Heathrow and the US to other airlines than the four currently permitted to serve the route (BA, Virgin, American Airlines and United) – a move welcomed by other European airlines. 

British diplomats have said that they will nevertheless attempt to bring some last- minute changes to the text, including a delay in implementing the deal until March 2008 (instead of the end of October 2007) – the date when Heathrow Airport will open a new state-of-the-art terminal, into which British Airways will be moving. 

They will also seek firmer guarantees that the US will open up its domestic market and lift foreign ownership restrictions as part of second-stage talks. It is mainly the US refusal to give any leeway in these areas up to now that has angered the UK. 

Britain will therefore seek an EU commitment to automatically withdraw from the pact if Washington has not agreed, by mid-2010, to allow European companies and individuals to invest in and operate American airlines and to fly between US states. 

Other member states are however likely to be less than willing to make any changes to the text, in light of previous deadlocks. 

EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said that the EU has secured itself a lever to force the United States to open its domestic market in the future because it will be able to suspend the open-skies deal if no second-stage agreement is reached between now and 2010. "The EU will have the right to suspend US access rights if they drag their feet…so we will arrive at our final goal," he said. 

British Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander said that the UK was prepared to contemplate a phased approach, but only if it was satisfied that there was "a clear mechanism in place, with real incentives on both sides, to reach the fully open market that we all judge to be the best way forward". 

But British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have expressed scepticism about the idea of a "termination clause", which would allow the EU to withdraw American carriers' traffic rights if the US does not free up its market on time, arguing that this could never realistically be used once access to Heathrow has been granted. BA Chairman Martin Broughton warned: "Once the US has achieved its prime negotiating objectives of achieving an open-skies deal, its motivation to liberalise further will evaporate." 

But the CEOs of Air France and KLM said: "A new agreement would mean considerable new opportunities for the travelling public, airlines and labour on both sides of the Atlantic," adding that the lack of an agreement "would open a period of major uncertainty for our industry and our customers", during which the Commission would have to take legal action against member states that have bilateral agreements with the US. 

"Rome was not built in a day," they said, adding that this first-stage agreement is "about the future". 

"If the agreement is properly implemented, we will have a framework in which to solve some of the most difficult issues looming ahead like data protection, environmental measures and consistency of security measures, to name a few…Europe and its industry are at the forefront in terms of offering a comprehensive set of measures designed to minimize the environmental impact of aviation. The structures put in place by the agreement can certainly serve a useful dialogue with our American friends," they said. 

However, green NGO T&E (European Federation for Transport and Environment) warned that, unless the agreement specifically stipulates that US airlines must comply with EU regulation on environmental protection, it will be a disaster for the environment. 

With increased competition and lower fares, the open skies agreement will lead to 25 million extra air passengers between the EU and the US over the next five years. This will lead to some 3.5 million tonnes of extra CO2 emissions annually – cancelling out expected reductions from emissions trading, claims the NGO. 

It also says that "the current text makes it even more difficult, or impossible to include American carriers in European environmental initiatives", adding: "If American carriers cannot be included, neither can European ones because discrimination of carriers by nationality is prohibited under the Chicago Convention which governs international air travel."