Brussels, 17/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided on a preliminary draft regulation prolonging a block exemption for, among other things, consultation on tariffs for the carriage of passengers and baggage on scheduled air services and slot allocation at airports and airport scheduling. The exemption, granted by Regulation (EEC) No. 1617/93, as amended by regulation (EC) No. 1083/1999, is applicable to 30 June 2001 and the Commission has just extended its duration. The first Article of the draft amends Article 7 of Regulation (EEC) No. 1617/93, second paragraph as follows: "it shall apply until 30 June 2002 as the exemption for consultations on passenger tariffs is concerned and until 30 June 2004 so far as the exemption for slot allocation and airport scheduling is concerned". This preliminary draft was published in the Official Journal of the EC No. C107 (7 April 2001), pp.4/5.