newstodate.aero
Oct 28, 2010 (newstodate): The EU Commission may reportedly be considering filing lawsuits against four EU member states Austria, Finland, France and Germany concerning airlines arrangements with payments of arctic overflight charges to Russia.
The case builds on the assumption that these four EU states have entered bilateral aviation agreements with Russia in violation of EU's antitrust laws.
EU is pressing for Russia to sign the agreement from 2007, according to which Russia would gradually phase out the Arctic overflight charges levied on Western airlines and collected by Aeroflot as royalties.
Fears are that if EU countries sign individual aviation agreements with Russia to the detriment of a joint EU stand, the pressure on Russia will be weakened, and a solution will be pushed further back.
According to the agreement, the charges should be fully abolished from 2014, but Russia has still not signed the agreement, and western airlines are forced to pay up to 420 mio USD for rights to fly through Siberian airspace.
An official launch of procedures by the EU Commission against these four, and maybe more, EU countries is expected today, sources say.
The case builds on the assumption that these four EU states have entered bilateral aviation agreements with Russia in violation of EU's antitrust laws.
EU is pressing for Russia to sign the agreement from 2007, according to which Russia would gradually phase out the Arctic overflight charges levied on Western airlines and collected by Aeroflot as royalties.
Fears are that if EU countries sign individual aviation agreements with Russia to the detriment of a joint EU stand, the pressure on Russia will be weakened, and a solution will be pushed further back.
According to the agreement, the charges should be fully abolished from 2014, but Russia has still not signed the agreement, and western airlines are forced to pay up to 420 mio USD for rights to fly through Siberian airspace.
An official launch of procedures by the EU Commission against these four, and maybe more, EU countries is expected today, sources say.