DUTCH VIEWS ON U.S.-EU OPEN SKIES PLUS AGREEMENT

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 000447 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EEB/TRA/AN (TCOLEMAN),EUR/ERA (PWALKER) STATE ALSO FOR EUR/UBI USEU FOR KMARENSKI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KTIA EAIR ECON PREL NL SUBJECT: DUTCH VIEWS ON U.S.-EU OPEN SKIES PLUS AGREEMENT REF: STATE 29781 ¶1. On March 9, Econoff passed reftel points to Rene Fennes, Head of International Relations at the Dutch Ministry of Transport (MOT). Fennes said the Netherlands had always been one of the earliest and staunchest supporters of the U.S.-EU agreement. Fennes stated that the Dutch had been ready to accept the previous version of the agreement and had no trouble accepting the current one. He added that if the agreement does not get through the Transport Council, it will be a tragedy. In a follow-up conversation with Hans Pulles, Civil Aviation Policy Officer at MOT and one of the Dutch representatives at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),Pulles said the Dutch position was well-known in Brussels and the Dutch had no intention of making a public statement or lobbying other EU member states. He reiterated previous Dutch sentiments that the U.S. should focus its efforts on the UK. ¶2. Econoff also shared on March 9 reftel talking points with Marjolein Schotel, Press Secretary for KLM Media Relations. In a March 7 press release, Air France KLM stated their strong support for the agreement based on its promotion of a free trade area for air transport between the EU and the U.S. ARNALL