Brussels, 27/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 27 January, the European Commission launched a further raft of infringement procedures over bilateral air service agreements with Russia which allow the overflight of Siberia. Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK were sent letters of formal notice by the Commission. In October 2010, the Commission sent similar letters of formal notice to Austria, Finland, France and Germany (see EUROPE 10246). The agreements have been called into question because they do not contain an “EU designation clause” as required by the European Court of Justice “Open Skies” ruling in 2002, which stipulates that terms should apply equally to all EU airlines. These separately negotiated agreements set the tariffs, in addition to air traffic duty, that individual airlines must pay to the Russian company Aeroflot for flying over Siberia. To comply with the Court ruling, the Commission obtained a negotiating mandate for the conclusion of a “horizontal” agreement which would bring the bilateral agreements signed by EU member states and Russia into line with EU law. Negotiations have, however, stalled. The Commission says that the fact that some carriers have to pay a duty to fly over Siberia could not only make the flights more expensive, but “also lead to unfair competition between EU and non-EU airlines”. These agreements could “hinder competition between European airlines and provide the basis for Siberian overflight charges that may be illegal under EU anti-trust rules”, the Commission says in a press release published on Thursday, explaining its decision. The seven member states have two months to respond to the Commission. If they fail to react satisfactorily, then the next step in the infringement procedure will be a reasoned opinion from the Commission requesting that they amend their bi-lateral air service agreements with Russia. The Commission is actively assessing the compliance with EU law of the bi-lateral air service agreements which all other member states have with Russia. (A.By./transl.rt)