You're reading: Ukraine initials open skies deal with EU in Vilnius

Ukraine and the European Union may have failed to align their political institutions and conclude a free trade deal at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, but both sides agreed to unite their air space. 

According
to a European Union news release on the Lithuanian presidency’s website, both sides
on Nov. 28 initialled an “open skies” agreement on the sidelines of the summit.
Coming into force in March 2015 after seven years of negotiations, airlines
from both the EU and Ukraine will be able to operate direct flights to and from
anywhere in each other’s countries. The deal also envisions that all
limitations to weekly flights between Ukraine and the EU will be removed, fostering
free and fair competition which will help establish market prices for flights.

Days
earlier, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Vilkul said that the open
skies deal will lead to improved services and lower prices for airfare in
Ukraine, which “are currently not the cheapest.”

European
Commission Vice President Siim Kallas, responsible for mobility and transport,
said: “The Agreement reached in Vilnius today will allow the EU and
Ukraine to become partners in aviation through gradual market integration. It is
an important stepping stone for our strategy to achieve closer cooperation
between the EU and its neighbors, particularly in the context of the Eastern
Partnership.”

The
agreement moreover foresees the alignment of Ukraine’s aircraft certification
system with relevant EU prerequisites.

“This agreement will promote free movement of persons and goods and expand commercial
opportunities,” reads the EU news release.

The EU has
similar open skies agreements with the U.S. the Western Balkans, Morocco,
Georgia, Jordan, Moldova and Israel.

Kyiv Post editor Mark Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].