Brussels, 27/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - After Chile, India, Australia and New Zealand (EUROPE 9020 and 9025), the European Commission announced on Tuesday that Ukraine should start negotiating with the EU for greater thrust in opening up their respective air markets with equivalent competition conditions, and in favour of strengthening cooperation on regulations. Recently, Ukraine and the EU extended their cooperation by signing a horizontal agreement on air services and an agreement opening Ukrainian participation in the European satellite radionavigation system, Galileo (EUROPE 8962). Air traffic between the two countries increased by 25% between 2003 and 2004 and this cooperation is in the interest of aeronautic industries and consumers, the vice-president of the Commission in charge of transport, Jacques Barrot, commented (EUROPE 8962).
Cooperation in the field of civil aviation, especially for security and strategy aspects, is also a central element of the joint EU-Ukraine action plan, adopted in February 2005 in the context of the European Neighbourhood Policy.