The Council emphasised the importance it attaches to concluding a historic first-stage EU/US air transport agreement that would establish an open market based on principles of fair competition. It reaffirmed its unanimous satisfaction with the draft EU/US air transport agreement resulting from the negotiations in November 2005, while noting that it would await the outcome of the US rulemaking process in relation to the control of US air carriers by foreign nationals before deciding whether to proceed with the agreement.
The Council stressed the crucial importance of clear, meaningful and robust policy changes in this area and noted that the US process has been extended and looks forward to reaching a conclusion in the second half of 2006, following its assessment of the US rule.