Brussels, 06 May 2009 Why such an agreement? Europe and Canada
are close international partners, with strong economic, cultural
and political ties. However, arrangements for air transport do
not reflect this reality, with Canada having restrictive or no
agreements on aviation with the vast majority of Member States.
The new Agreement transforms this important market to the
benefit of European and Canadian consumers and airlines. It also
brings legal certainty to operations between the EU and Canada
by recognising the principles of the EU internal aviation market
and of a Community carrier. What changes can passengers and the
industry expect from the Agreement? In 2007, nine million people
were travelling between the EU and Canada. A study launched by
the European Commission suggested that an open agreement would
already generate an additional half a million passengers in its
first year. After a few years, 3.5 million extra passengers are
expected to make use of the opportunities of an open aviation
area betwe