European Parliament calls for EU-US open skies progress

European Parliament stated (17-Jun-2010) it regrets continuing US restrictions on EU companies' ownership of stakes in US airlines, stating the regulations are "unbalanced". It passed a resolution calling for better protection of air passengers' personal data and stated airlines from both sides of the Atlantic should be included in emission trading rules. MEPs asked the European Commission to start the third-stage of EU-US open skies negotiations, with a view to completing them by 31-Dec-2013. The negotiations should be conducted with a view to including further liberalisation of traffic rights, additional foreign investment opportunities, environmental and infrastructure constraints on the exercise of traffic rights and better co-ordination of passenger rights policies "in order to ensure the highest possible level of protection for passengers". [more]