The European Commission (EC) is to start negotiations with Qatar and the UAE on a new EU-wide aviation agreement, following approval by the bloc’s 28 transport ministers on 7 June. European transport commissioner Violeta Bulc said a new deal would bring more routes and lower fares. Passenger traffic between the EU and the six Gulf Co-operation Council states has tripled over the past decade, from 12m in 2005 to 39m in 2015. The EC has suggested a new deal could bring economic benefits worth €8.4bn ($9.4bn) over the first eight years and deliver 8,300 new jobs by 2025.
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