The Commission approved an updated draft decision of the EU Council on the Common Aviation Area Agreement between Ukraine, the European Union and its Member States. The next step is to submit the draft to the EU Council for consideration and its final approval. This was announced by the Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Kryklii.

"The process of preparation for the signing of the Common Aviation Area Agreement with the EU is underway. For both our country and the European side, the soonest conclusion of this Agreement is one of the main common tasks today. We expect to sign it in the second half of June," he said.

According to him, the signing of the Common Aviation Area Agreement with the EU will bring Ukrainian air carriers closer to European ones, lift the monopoly on certain routes established by bilateral agreements, and facilitate the opening of new ones.

"By signing the CAA Agreement, we undertake to bring Ukrainian legislation in the field of flight safety, air traffic management and environmental protection in line with European standards. In the future, both the Ukrainian and European sides will have unlimited commercial rights to operate flights within Ukraine and between Ukraine and the EU. This will not only significantly increase competition in the market, but also help reduce ticket prices," Vladyslav Kryklii explained.

The conclusion of the Agreement will also contribute to the faster recovery of the air transportation market through the coronavirus crisis and the development of domestic air routes.

As Vladyslav Kryklii noted earlier, Ukraine, for its part, has fulfilled all the obligations and formalities required to sign the Common Aviation Area Agreement.

Background

The European Common Aviation Area (CAA) is a bilateral agreement between the EU and third countries that establishes common safety standards and liberalizes market relations in the field of aviation, allowing more efficient and safer use of airspace.

Negotiations on the CAA with Ukraine were completed in 2013, but the signing of the Agreement was blocked due to a conflict between the UK and Spain over the status of Gibraltar Airport.