Russia is ready to review intergovernmental air service agreements, Deputy Transport Minister Valery Okulov said on Tuesday.
"We are ready to modernize our intergovernmental agreements while preserving their bilateral character," he said.
However, he stressed that national aviation authorities should be responsible for flight safety.
For example, the Austrian aviation administration should be responsible for the safety of flights by Austrian Airlines, he said.
In late October, the European Commission launched infringement procedures against France, Germany, Austria and Finland over their bilateral air service agreements with Russia, which include provisions concerning flyovers through Siberia.
The Commission has two main concerns.
First, the agreements do not contain a clause recognizing that the terms apply equally to all EU carriers. "This can create serious practical problems - for example, if an airline is taken over by an airline from another Member State it stands to lose all its traffic route rights," the Commission said.
Second, the bilateral air service agreements between the four member states and Russia contain specific provisions on the setting of traffic rights as well as on the modalities for fixing the charges that EU-designated carriers must pay in order to fly over Siberia on their way to Asia.
The Commission is concerned that such provisions "may be in breach of EU antitrust rules and could lead to competition distortions to the disadvantage of both EU airlines and consumers."
The Commission says it is actively assessing the compliance with EU law of the 23 other Member States' bilateral air service agreements with Russia.
MOSCOW, November 9 (RIA Novosti)
