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* EU tries to bolster competitiveness of its carriers
* Commission seeks mandate for deals with Gulf, others
* To consider measures to address unfair practices (Adds reaction from air industry)
By Julia Fioretti and Victoria Bryan
BRUSSELS/BERLIN, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The European Commissionis seeking a new European-wide air traffic agreement with Gulfstates as a way of boosting European airlines against what someof them have termed unfair subsidies enjoyed by MiddleEast-based rivals.
Europe's aviation industry, which contributes 110 billioneuros ($119 billion) to EU gross domestic product, has been hitby the rapid expansion of Gulf airlines and shifting trafficflows to Asia.
The EU executive, in a package of proposals unveiled onMonday to boost the competitiveness of Europe's aviation sector,asked national governments to give it a mandate to start talkson air transport agreements with a number of countries includingChina, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar.
Such agreements, at the moment often done on a bilateralbasis between the governments of two countries, would set outwhere and how often foreign airlines could fly into the EU, andvice versa.
Some European legacy carriers, notably Lufthansa and Air France KLM, as well as major U.S. airlines,have accused Gulf carriers of receiving unfair state subsidies,allegations they have rejected.
The Commission said it would look to include faircompetition provisions in upcoming traffic rights negotiations,and would also consider measures to address unfair practicesoutside the bloc, "as soon as possible in 2016."
The head of European airports association ACI Europe,Olivier Jankovec, said Europe needed more "Open Skies," orunrestricted traffic agreements, along the lines of what it haswith the United States, but that clarity was still needed onwhat constituted "fair competition".
"A level playing field is a misleading concept. The playingfield will always be unlevel, for example, depending on theairline or airport's geographic position," Jankovec said.
Gulf airline Emirates said it welcomed any"reasonable and sensible" definition of fair competition rules.
"We would also be interested to see what such a policy wouldmean for state-supported airlines in Europe, as well as existinganti-trust immunised joint ventures between European andnon-European carriers," it said in a statement.
SUMMIT
The EU is due to hold an aviation summit in January at whichit will discuss first responses to the package. On Monday,various associations welcomed the focus on aviation as a driverof economic growth, though they said it lacked details.
The Commission also said it planned to issue guidelines onthe law on ownership and control of EU airlines, It said itwould pursue a relaxation of the rules on ownership, whichcurrently restrict foreign investors to a 49 percent stake in EUcarriers, on the basis of reciprocity through bilateral aviationand trade agreements.
The Aviation Package further contained measures designed toimprove connectivity in the 28-member bloc and tackle airports'capacity constraints.
However, ACI Europe and regional airlines association ERAsaid the package did not do enough to address capacityconstraints in Europe. ACI's Jankovec said he had hoped for aproposal on introducing a pre-check system for frequent fliers,as used in the United States.
EU member states were also urged to complete the "SingleEuropean Sky" project, in process for a decade and which wouldcut costs and emissions by merging national air corridors.
Associations representing airlines, meanwhile, expresseddisappointment the package did not include any concrete measuresto encourage members to abolish national and local aviationtaxes.
($1 = 0.9246 euros) (Reporting by Julia Fioretti in Brussels and Victoria Bryan inBerlin; Additional reporting by Nadia Saleem in Dubai; Editingby Philip Blenkinsop and Mark Potter)
