Efforts to free up transatlantic air services have hit a stalemate with recent U.S. elections expected to make it more difficult to push through new airline ownership laws needed to secure an "open skies" deal, a U.S. transport official said Wednesday, according to Reuters. "We are at a crossroads. The recent election in the US may well make it more difficult to move forward with the proposed investment rule," Paul Gretch, director of office of international aviation at the U.S. Department of Transport told a conference in London. Democrats won control of the House and Senate on Nov. 7 in elections, which is expected to strengthen congressional opposition to moves to ease restrictions on foreign investment in U.S. airlines. The European Commission reiterated it was up to the United States to make the next move to resolve a deadlock in negotiations on an "open skies" deal between Europe and the U.S. "At the moment the ball is very much is in the U.S. court. We recognise politically it is a very sensitive process," European Commission Air Transport Directorate David Batchelor told The Future of Air Transport conference in London. Negotiations between the European Commission and Washington have stalled. Brussels is waiting for the United States to back rules that would ease restrictions on foreign control of U.S. carriers, which U.S. lawmakers have opposed. The Bush administration in August delayed a plan to ease limits on foreign investment in U.S. airlines under pressure from Congress, a decision which jeopardised talks with Europe on removing competitive barriers to transatlantic air service.
