EC questions Siberian air toll

The European Commission (EC) has launched infringement procedures against the Czech Republic and Bulgaria over a bilateral air-service agreement with Russia that it says hinders equal treatment and competition among European Union airlines.

Currently, in order to fly over Siberia, airlines must pay overflight charges to Russian airline Aeroflot as part of these bilateral agreements, which the commission has said "may be illegal under European anti-trust rules."

Jakub Ptačinský, a Transport Ministry spokesman, said they had not yet officially been informed about the procedure but expected it because member states' explanations for the 2004 agreements were rejected by the EC in 2010, after which the EC "started additional procedures."

In 2008 alone, European airlines paid $420 million in charges to Aeroflot.

"The Commission is concerned that this is in breach of EU antitrust law whereby airlines should not be forced into concluding a commercial agreement with a direct competitor," the EC said in a statement. "These bilateral agreements also impose different conditions on EU airlines depending on the country they are based in," which can distort competition.

The agreements may also run counter to requirements that bilateral agreements between EU member states and non-EU states include an "EU designation clause" that ensures terms in the contract apply equally to all EU airlines.

Russia, the commission said, is one of "the few countries in the world that fails to recognize that all EU carriers must be treated equally," which puts traffic rights at risk "for airlines taken over by a carrier from another EU member state."

The Czech Republic and Bulgaria will have two months to respond to letters of formal notice about the infringement proceedings. If they do not respond appropriately, the EC will send opinions requesting them to amend their bilateral air-service agreements with Russia, according to the commission. The commission had already sent formal notices about the bilateral agreements to 23 other member states last October.

Cat Contiguglia can be reached at
ccontiguglia@praguepost.com