U.S.-EU talks on liberalized aviation pact stall

U.S.-EU talks on liberalized aviation pact stall    The European Union has broken off talks with the United States on creating a free transatlantic aviation market that would lift restrictions on foreign ownership and carriage within domestic markets, the Wall Street Journal reported.
   The EU rejected an offer by U.S. negotiators to increase the allowable levels of foreign controlled voting stock in an airline to 49 percent from 25 percent, a proposal that did not catch fire in Congress when proposed last year by the Department of Transportation.
   The United States also offered to expand landing rights, but the EU wants to go right to open competition rather than take incremental steps to open the current system of restrictive bilateral aviation agreements. Talks could bog down because it is an election year in the United States and job losses to foreign competition are a hot topic in the presidential campaign. The Bush administration might find it politically hard to agree to a deal that could cost U.S. airlines jobs if foreign carriers come and take some business.
   Negotiations on a comprehensive treaty began in October and the fourth round of talks is scheduled for March 29 in Brussels, the paper said.