The European Commission is set to call for important new powers, including the right to scrutinise international agreements on competition grounds, in an aggressive response to a recent court ruling on "open skies" aviation deals.

In a new document, the Commission asks all 15 European Union member-states to revoke their aviation agreements with the US, demands a mandate to negotiate a replacement deal and argues that it already enjoys extensive rights to carry out such talks, in areas ranging from the environment to safety concerns.

The draft document, which is expected to be approved by the 20 commissioners on Tuesday, may prove a controversial response to the verdict of the European Court of Justice this month, which identified illegal elements in the bilateral deals with the US but declined to give the Commission a full negotiating mandate.

As a result, the EU now has to find a political solution to the problem, at a time when the legal status of the present bilateral agreements and the respective rights of the Commission and member-states are far from clear.

But attempts by Transport Commissioner Ms Loyola de Palacio to persuade member-states to give the Commission a mandate could be complicated by the scope of the Brussels authority's goals.

It says: "The EU should have the same effective and efficient \ enforcement tools for international aviation as it has for air transport within the EU ...

"An adequate enforcement of the competition rules will be needed to ensure that a stronger industry does not deprive consumers of the benefit of an open market."

Such a role would boost the powers of Mr Mario Monti's competition department, which at present has to share competence over agreements such as the failed attempt at a joint venture between British Airways and Americans Airlines.