US drops key part of transatlantic air deal: EU

The United States has withdrawn a proposal that would have loosened rules on foreign control over US airlines, a key part of a planned EU-US aviation agreement, the European Commission said on Tuesday.
The proposal would have helped conclude an "open skies" aviation agreement between the EU and the United States to increase competition for airlines flying across the Atlantic.
US Transportation Secretary Mary Peters called European Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot on Tuesday to tell him the United States was dropping the proposed rule on "actual control" of US air carriers, the Commission said in a statement.