EU Reaction to U.S. Withdrawal of the Proposed Rule on ‘Actual Control’ of U.S. Carriers

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ — U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters called the Vice-President of the Commission in charge of Transport, Jacques Barrot, on December 5 to inform him that the Department of Transportation is withdrawing the proposed rule on “actual control” of U.S. air carriers and to explain the reasons which led to this decision.

Vice-President Barrot expressed disappointment and regretted this decision, noting that for the EU, this was an essential element in order to conclude the comprehensive first step Air Transport Agreement with the United States.

Vice-President Barrot accepted Secretary Peters’ proposal to send U.S. representatives to hold consultations on an urgent basis early 2007 in Brussels, to review the situation and discuss the way forward.

Delegation of the European Commission to the U.S.

CONTACT: Mattias Sundholm, +1-202-862-4720, or Kasper Zeuthen,+1-202-862-9530, both of the Delegation of the European Commission to theU.S.

Web site: http://www.eurunion.org/