EU signs aviation agreement with Chile

The European Union (EU) and Chile have forged an aviation agreement in Luxembourg, the European Commission (EC), the executive arm of the European Union (EU), said in a press release on Thursday.

The agreement, the first of its kind, removes nationality restrictions between the EU and Chile and allows all European airlines to fly between Chile and any EU member state.

"The agreement recognizes that airlines in the EU are no longer national airlines but European airlines. This is an important step in our external aviation policy," EC Vice-President Jacques Barrot said.

The agreement was signed by British Transport Secretary Jacques Barrot, President of the EU Council Alistair Darling, and Chilean Transport Minister Jaime Estevez in Luxembourg.

The EC has successfully negotiated similar agreements with 16 other countries including Croatia, Ukraine, Morocco, Lebanon, Singapore and Australia.

More such agreements between the EU and countries in the rest of the world will follow in coming months, the EC added.

Source: Xinhua