Tunisia ready for open skies agreement with Europe-PM

Tunisia is ready to launch a long-awaited "Open Skies" agreement with Europe to give its economy a boost, prime minister Youssef Chahed said Friday, putting the govt on course for a possible confrontation with labour unions. Unions have threatened strikes should the deal go ahead, saying it would cause the collapse of loss-making Tunisair. But Tunisian officials say the deal will provide thousands of jobs and boost the vital tourism sector. The North African country and the EU said in December they had agreed to open all Tunisian airports except Tunisair’s main base in the capital Tunis to foreign carriers. Tunis airport will follow after 4 years. Both sides still need to finalise the agreement. <br/>