Ukraine expects to sign single sky agreement with EU by April

The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine expects to sign an agreement on a common aviation space ("single sky") between Ukraine and the European Union the day after Brexit, which is scheduled for the end of March 2019.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Minister Volodymyr Omelyan expressed such hope at a working meeting in France with Minister of Transport of France Elizabeth Borne.

“I am grateful for the active position of France regarding the common aviation space. Because the actual deterrent element now is the lack of a common aviation space between Ukraine and the EU. I very much hope that the day after Brexit we will be able to sign the agreement,” the press service quotes Omelyan as saying.

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In turn, Borne noted that France supports Ukraine in the matter of signing the agreement with the EU on "single sky."

As UNIAN reported, Ukraine had been negotiating with the EU for a common aviation space for several years. The deal will allow Ukrainian and European air carriers to operate freely in the EU and Ukraine. At the same time, the signing of an agreement is impossible without resolving a dispute between UK and Spain regarding Gibraltar, and Ukraine does not have the right to independently make any unilateral decisions in this direction.

The issue has been discussed by the European and Ukrainian sides since June 2014. At the same time, the rest of the agreement was initialed back in 2013.