European Union plans airline industry shake-up

BRUSSELS (AFP) - The European Union (EU) will get tougher rules to ensure fair competition and protect its airline companies as it seeks to boost an industry vital to the wider economy, the European Commission said on Thursday.

"Archaic ownership and control restrictions" must also go as part of an international effort so as to ensure airlines get easier access to needed new capital, EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said in a statement.

The European Union would negotiate "new and more effective EU instruments to protect European interests against unfair practices," he said.

Standard "fair competition clauses" would be included in current bilateral air services agreements between EU and non-EU countries, he added.