Ukraine has agreed the text of an agreement with the European Union on creation of a Common Aviation Area, Ukraine’s mission to the European Union has said, avianews.com reports. It was agreed during the eighth round of talks, which took place in Brussels from October 21 to 22.
The aviation market between Ukraine and the European Union will be liberalized gradually after the signing of the document and its ratification. This will allow airline companies of Ukraine and the European Union to operate flights on any routes after reaching agreements with airports.
The existing quota system, which limits the number of flights, carriers, and routes, will be phased out. Nothing was said about the duration of the transition period.
Ukraine held the first round of negotiations on establishment of a Common Aviation Area between it and the European Union in 2007. In addition to liberalization of the market, the agreement provides for introduction of the European Union’s standards on certification of aircraft and airline companies in Ukraine.
As reported, the State Aviation Administration’s first deputy head Oleksandr Hrechko said in early October that Ukraine and the European Union still had some disagreements on regulation of civil aviation. The disagreements are expected to be addressed in separate bilateral memoranda. However, it is unclear what degree of liberalization of air transport between the European Union and Ukraine will be approved as a result.
