Brussels, 01/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission may reopen the file on subsidies unduly paid to non-EU carriers, as this is detrimental to free competition and therefore also to European carriers. The Commission opened a public consultation process on this on 29 October, a process that will remain open until 20 January 2014.
Although no names have been given, the member states and the Commission are concerned about carriers in the Gulf. The transport commissioner stressed, when addressing the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) at its general assembly last month, that the global framework relating to free competition was to be modernised.
There is already a European regulation (868/2004) on unfair pricing and subsidisation practices that cause injury to European air carriers when air transport services are provided by countries that do not belong to the European Community. The regulation, however, has never been called into play, and the Council gave its go-ahead one year ago to develop a more effective European instrument to defend competition in the aviation sector.
Several concepts ought to be clarified, the Commission states, such as similar air services proposed on the same routes, or the exact meaning of “Community air carrier” and “Community interest”, as well as what is meant by “injury”.
An impact assessment analysis will follow the public consultation and will allow the European Commission to assess the relevance of a new legislative proposal. (MD/transl.jl)