Open Aviation Area

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The Open Aviation Area is the aspirational name given to the Community Air Transport Agreement between the EU member states and the United States. The expectation is that this agreement will replace the various bilateral air service agreements between the Member States and the USA, some of which are currently based on the Open skies-model.

Following a 2002 European Court of Justice ruling it was decided that the European Commission should negotiate the treaty governing air services with the U.S., rather than the EU Member States as in the past. The negotiations started in October 2003, and after six rounds of talks, they were continued after the 2004 U.S. presidential elections.

Negotiations cover a wide range of issues, including regulation of air fares, competition, safety, security, market access, cabotage, environmental protection, state aids and taxation.

In November 2005 a preliminary agreement had been reached, but negotiations are expected to continue well into 2006.