Canada and EU sign deal to open aviation market

"This will generate major benefits for consumers and airlines ... and will make the EU-Canada aviation market one of the most open in the world," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference.

The deal will replace an existing patchwork of bilateral agreements between Canada and European states, which include restrictions on routes, prices and the number of weekly flights.

The agreement will also ease restrictions on control and ownership of airlines and follows a similar pact between the European Union and the United States in March last year.