Ukraine and EU signed long-awaited “open skies” agreement

Ukraine and the European Union signed the long-awaited “open skies” agreement.

According to “Evropeyskaya Pravda”, the signing ceremony took place within the framework of the Ukraine-EU summit on October 12 in Kiev.

On the Ukrainian side, the agreement was signed by Prime Minister Denis Shmygal, on the EU side – by the head of diplomacy Josep Borrell and Slovenian Ambassador to Ukraine Tomas Mencin.

The Open Skies Agreement aims to equalize Ukrainian and European airlines in some rights, remove the monopoly on certain routes established by bilateral agreements, facilitate the opening of new routes between Ukrainian and European cities, and as a result, ticket prices should be reduced.

The EU notes that one of the consequences of signing the agreement should be the entry of new low-cost airlines to Ukraine and an increase in the tourist attractiveness of Ukraine.

The agreement was initialed back in 2013, but has not yet been signed due to the British-Spanish dispute over the ownership of Gibraltar.

The signing was expected on February 11 in Brussels, but in early February, the president’s office said it had failed.

On June 28, the EU Council agreed to sign an Agreement on a Joint Aviation Space with three countries, including Ukraine.