Qataris fly to Brussels to unblock aviation deal with EU

The Qatari Minister of Transport, Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti, will fly to Brussels on Tuesday (10 May) to reinvigorate talks on an aviation agreement with the European Union, which have been stalled for almost half a year.

Officials close to EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc explained that the meeting will aim to push forward an agreement to open up European skies to Qatar Airways, while promoting better access to the oil-rich nation for European flag carriers.

As part of an aviation strategy unveiled last December, the Commission announced it would request mandates to reach “comprehensive agreements” with some of the fastest growing markets in the aviation sector, including the Gulf countries — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

But the EU’s 28 national governments did not deliver the green light as fast as Bulc had expected.

Member states barely discussed the issue over the first quarter of 2016. The terrorist attacks against Zaventem airport and a metro station in Brussels on 22 March contributed to further postpone discussions among EU transport ministers.

The Commission is now keen to bring the discussion back to the table, and so does Slovakia, whose government will hold the rotating EU presidency next semester, EU officials explained.

The executive wants enough progress made to discuss mandates for the comprehensive agreements during the Transport Council on 7 June. This is three months later than the originally foreseen date.

However, security concerns are expected to dominate most of the discussion among EU ministers. And member states such as France and Germany, are in no hurry to sign a deal with Gulf nations, given the opposition of their legacy carriers Lufthansa and Air France-KLM.

These two nations, and a few other member states, are reluctant to open European skies to powerful airlines such as Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates whom they accuse of unfairly subsidising their air carriers.

In its December strategy, the EU promised to address the issue of “subsidisation and unfair pricing practices” in the context of the negotiations with Gulf countries.

Moreover, the document also said that “the Commission is considering proposing new EU measures to address unfair practices” from third countries and third country operators “as soon as possible in 2016”.

As a preemptive maneuver, Emirates sent a letter to several European governments warning of the “growing pressure” on the Commission by Paris and Berlin, which could end up damaging connectivity and tourism growth in Europe.

“It has come to our attention that there has been growing pressure on the European Commission from the French and German Transport ministers to ensure conditions are virtually impossible for all sides to adhere to, thereby freezing Emirates’ flying rights as long as any negotiations are ongoing,” the letter says.

High temperatures

The Qatari minister’s visit came amid problems in the delivery of new Airbus planes to Qatar Airways.

The company announced this week that it will reduce the frequency of 15 routes amid concerns with the engine of the new Airbus A320neo, Reuters reported.

The European manufacturer was expected to deliver the first of these aircraft in December, but refused to accept the delivery after it pointed out that their American Pratt & Whitney engines were inadequately tested for the Gulf region’s high temperatures.