Russian overflight charges to be eliminated

EU delegation to Russia head Fernando Valenzuela announced (29-Nov-2010) the agreement to eliminate overflight charges in Russian airspace (The Moscow Times, 01-Dec-2010). The deal is part of preparations for a joint Russian-EU document on accession to the WTO, to be signed at the Russia-EU summit on 07-Dec-2010. The European Commission claims that the fees cost EU carriers approximately USD420 million in 2008. They may now be approximately USD200 million. Further details of the agreements have not been announced.