Brussels, 20/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - Following talks by the European Commission Directorate General for Competition with IATA (International Air Transport Association), the Group of National Travel Agents' and Tour Operators Associations within the EU (ECTAA) and the Guild of European Business Travel Agencies (GEBTA) decided to withdraw their complaint lodged in October 2002 against IATA and IATA member airlines for violating EU competition rules. The Commission recognised that the complaint was justified and IATA's travel agency authorisation criteria seemed to violate Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty. IATA changes its travel agency authorisation rules to scrap the discriminatory billing procedures based on where the agency was located, introducing the option for travel agents to use tickets cross borders. The new measures will come into force on 1 January 2006. ECTAA and GEBTA now want to continue their dialogue with IATA on unresolved issues like centralising invoicing and payment, additional safety measures and local financial criteria and striking a better balance between travel agents' rights and duties, explains a press release.