Brussels, 26/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - In Rio de Janeiro for the first EU-Latin America Civil Aviation Summit, European Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas invited the Latin American countries to work more closely with the EU on civil aviation, and especially on improving aviation safety and reducing the impact of flying on the environment. At the summit, on 25-26 May, bringing together over 300 players, an agreement was signed between the EU and the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission (LACAC) under which the two sides agreed to develop a joint action plan before the end of the year setting out tangible cooperation initiatives.
“Given the steady growth and common challenges facing our aviation sectors, I am extremely pleased with the prospect of enhancing cooperation in civil aviation with Latin America. Cooperation will create opportunities for companies in both the EU and Latin America and result in more and safer flights to the benefit of our citizens,” Commissioner Kallas said in a press release published on 25 May. On that same day, Airports Council International-Europe (ACI-Europe) said that airports on both sides of the Atlantic wanted their respective aviation markets to be fully opened up to competition and that they backed the European Commission in its efforts. In a joint press release with its South American sister organisation ACI LAC, ACI-Europe says that the potential for further development in relations was “very significant”, with demand for air services perhaps even tripling over the next 20 years. “However, this opportunity requires a move from antiquated and inflexible bilateral agreements between individual countries to a new, fully open and liberalised model,” the press release says.
The summit also saw finalisation of negotiations with Brazil on a “horizontal” agreement and another on air safety. Both agreements are due to be signed at the EU-Brazil Summit in Brasilia on 14 July. Kallas and Brazilian Defence Minister Nelson Jobim also expressed their desire for negotiations on an “umbrella” agreement on air services to be opened before the end of the year (the Commission proposed opening talks on 5 May). (A.By./transl.rt)