Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

In 2003, the Transport Council gave the European Commission a mandate to commence open skies negotiations with the USA. It had been hoped that a deal could be reached by June 2004 and Ireland clearly indicated that the current Shannon stop requirement should be phased out over a period of years. As it happened, it was not possible to reach agreement in 2004.

Following a series of technical discussions, the recent EU Transport Council authorised the Commission to resume formal negotiations with the US authorities with a view to concluding a first stage EU-US open skies agreement by the end of this year. I have strongly supported the resumption of the EU-US negotiations. An EU-US agreement will be good for Irish aviation, tourism and business generally. It will also be good for consumers who can avail of greater access to the US and the lower prices that the increased competition should bring.

If the talks succeed and if an agreement is ready to be approved by the Transport Council in December this year, it is my clear intention to ensure that it contains an appropriate transitional arrangement for Shannon. The details of the transition arrangement will be a matter for negotiation with the US in the lead-up to the conclusion of the EU-US deal. I do not propose to compromise my negotiating position by giving details of what I might seek at this stage. However, I can confirm that I will seek a transition period of a number of years.

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