newstodate.aero
Aug 30, 2011 (newstodate): Long overdue, EU and Russia will meet for another EU-Russia Aviation Summit 2011 in St Petersburg, October 12-13.
-Air transport is vital for EU-Russia relations both for trade and people-to-people contacts. Air transport between the Russian Federation and the EU has significantly increased over the past five years by nine percent per year for passenger traffic.
-Growth rates for 2010 were particularly impressive, both for passenger traffic, up 18 percent, and even more so for freight that increased 38 percent. In 2010, EU destinations accounted for more than 40 percent of Russias international air traffic. And there is potential for further growth, says the release on the forthcoming meeting.
A list of priorities for discussions is also published, but one item still seems to be missing: the crucial issue of Russia's over-flight charges levied on commercial airlines flying through Siberian airspace.
This issue has delayed the convocation of this summit that was originally planned for November 16-17, 2007, but postponed on Russian initiative as the country did not ratify the agreement reached earlier with EU.
On March 22, 2007, the Council of EU Transport Ministers gave its unanimous approval to the "Agreed Principles" on Siberian overflights, negotiated by Vice-President Barrot and the Russian Transport Minister Levitin on November 24, 2006 in the margins of the EU-Russia summit.
The "Agreed Principles" provided for the abolition of payments for overflights for EC carriers not later than December 31, 2013, and ensured that newly operated overflights by EC carriers in the transition period until 2013 would be free of payments.
In the meantime, Russia has pocketed more than 225 mio euro annually for en-route navigation charges levied on European airlines.
-Air transport is vital for EU-Russia relations both for trade and people-to-people contacts. Air transport between the Russian Federation and the EU has significantly increased over the past five years by nine percent per year for passenger traffic.
-Growth rates for 2010 were particularly impressive, both for passenger traffic, up 18 percent, and even more so for freight that increased 38 percent. In 2010, EU destinations accounted for more than 40 percent of Russias international air traffic. And there is potential for further growth, says the release on the forthcoming meeting.
A list of priorities for discussions is also published, but one item still seems to be missing: the crucial issue of Russia's over-flight charges levied on commercial airlines flying through Siberian airspace.
This issue has delayed the convocation of this summit that was originally planned for November 16-17, 2007, but postponed on Russian initiative as the country did not ratify the agreement reached earlier with EU.
On March 22, 2007, the Council of EU Transport Ministers gave its unanimous approval to the "Agreed Principles" on Siberian overflights, negotiated by Vice-President Barrot and the Russian Transport Minister Levitin on November 24, 2006 in the margins of the EU-Russia summit.
The "Agreed Principles" provided for the abolition of payments for overflights for EC carriers not later than December 31, 2013, and ensured that newly operated overflights by EC carriers in the transition period until 2013 would be free of payments.
In the meantime, Russia has pocketed more than 225 mio euro annually for en-route navigation charges levied on European airlines.