Brussels 24/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 24 June, Tunisia announced the postponement of negotiations on the liberalisation of aviation transport services. These Open Sky style negotiations between Tunisia and the EU were planned for 27-28 June. Two sessions have already taken place. Tunisian sources say that the third session, which has been postponed, was expected to bring things up to speed with a “horizontal co-operation agreement” to replace the bilateral agreements (with individual European countries) in civil aviation with an agreement between Tunisia and the EU. In a statement to the official press agency (TAP), a senior air transport official at the Civil Aviation Directorate stated that, under the horizontal co-operation agreement, airlines from EU member states could operate flights in Tunisia, not only from their country of origin but also from any other country in the EU. This creates a risk of sharpening competition for Tunisian airlines, which are afraid that they will not be able to compete with the powerful low-cost airlines.
This postponement reflects concern in the country, where a heated debate has begun between the air transport, travel agencies and hotels sectors on the costs/benefits involved in this kind of liberalisation. The Federation expressed the urgent need “to focus on the prospects provided by the Open Sky in Tunisia and the date of its entry into force in order to anticipate the impact on Tunisian consumers and tourism operators in general and travel agencies, in particular”. Morocco has already gone down this route and was invited to take part in a broad exchange of views organised at the end of May by the Tunisian transport minister and the Tunisian Federation of Travel and Tourism Agencies (FTAV). One of their representatives explained that the experience had proved successful. (FB)