(JAKARTA) - Indonesian officials met counterparts from the European Union on Tuesday in an effort to get the bloc to lift its blanket ban on Indonesian airlines flying in its airspace, officials said.

European officials refused to comment on the likelihood of a future lift in the ban, but said discussions over allowing Indonesian airlines to fly to the EU in return for improved airline safety standards had been positive.

"We had really, really good discussions," Matjaz Sinkovec, the representative of current EU presidency Slovenia, told AFP.

Indonesia last year launched a programme to improve air safety standards after the EU in June banned the country's 51 airlines from flying in its airspace following a string of fatal accidents.

Indonesia has proposed the EU accept a "fast-track" programme for four airlines, including national flag carrier Garuda, to be re-admitted before other Indonesian carriers.

The head of Indonesia's delegation, Dian Wirengjurit, said the EU representatives promised they would recommend to the European Commission that the ban be lifted for key airlines which had improved safety standards.

"The EU side is satisfied with the explanation through (Indonesia's) presentation. The problem is the decision to take off the ban doesn't lie with them but with the European Commission authority on aviation," Wirengjurit said.

"There is no timeframe, only their commitment, their promise to take up this issue seriously," he added.

Wirengjurit said the four airlines picked for the fast-track -- Garuda, Mandala, Premiair and Airfast -- had already improved safety practices to fall in line with EU requirements.

Indonesia is hoping the four fast-track airlines could be approved for flight within the EU by the end of July, he said.

An Adam Air plane crashed into the sea off Indonesia's Sulawesi island in January 2007 due to pilot error, killing everyone on board. The airline has since been banned from flying on safety grounds.

Two months later, a Garuda jet burst into flames on landing in Central Java, killing 21 people.

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