Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-03-13-Speech-2-069"
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"en.20070313.7.2-069"2
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"Madam President, the recent agreement of principle between the United States and the EU on open skies is extremely welcome because, from a situation that seemed totally deadlocked a number of months ago, we are now on the brink of an open aviation market. This will benefit the travelling public.
Competition within the aviation sector has revolutionised air travel. Air passengers now have choice, and low-fare, no-frills air travel has become the order of the day. Passengers will benefit even more under the new arrangement. The ownership issue, which was a problem for the United States, has hopefully been resolved by way of an honourable compromise. But I would agree with my colleagues Mr Simpson and Mr Kirkhope and I would encourage the Commission to be very tough in future negotiations with the United States.
I commend the Commission for the strong stand it has taken in refusing to allow individual bilaterals between Member States within the EU and the United States. Such bilaterals would undermine and delay the agreement just reached. The new arrangement will hopefully offer some protection to Shannon Airport on the west coast of Ireland. For over 70 years, Shannon airport has been the gateway airport between the United States and Ireland. All planes travelling to and from the US stopped off at Shannon. In recent years, this compulsory stopover has been diluted. But, crucially, the new agreement would incorporate a transition period for airports such as Shannon to enable them to adapt to the new situation.
It is equally important that the open skies agreement be reviewed every few years in order to monitor the impact of the agreement on Shannon and other similar airports. The agreement is a very historic one. Indeed, it is the most historic since the 1944 Chicago Convention. I would commend both sides, and the Commission in particular, for rescuing an agreement that a few short months ago seemed doomed to failure."@en1
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