The European Commission’s proposals to support open and connected aviation markets have been generally well received by politicians and the sector.
The reaction to the Commission proposals unveiled on Thursday 8 June to further support open and connected aviation markets (see EUROPE 11804) has been largely favourable. The package presented contains four texts but it is the revision of Regulation 868/2004 seeking to protect EU air carriers from subsidies and unfair pricing practices by third-party operators that has drawn the largest response.
Differences apparent in Council over revision of regulation. Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, who presented the package of proposals to the Transport Council in Luxembourg on 8 June, was congratulated on the publication of this raft of proposed measures. She had to face differences of points of view, however, between Western and Eastern European states. France, Germany and Italy welcomed the proposals, with German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt stating that revision of Regulation 868/20004 was “urgently needed” to ensure fair competition between EU airlines and those of third countries. Fearing repercussions in their dealings with third countries, some Eastern European states, such as the Czech Republic, were not persuaded of any need to revise the regulation.
In the European Parliament, Franck Proust (EPP, France) said that “revision of the regulation will bring clarification to the legal framework and will reassure European operators”.
The organisations representing the airports and airlines, such as the International Air Carriers Association (IACA) and the Airports Council International (ACI), also gave their backing to the said regulation. ACI views fair competition to be “an essential feature of any well-functioning open aviation market”.
Continuity of aviation public service backed by companies but strongly criticised by unions. The proposed revision of Regulation 868/2004 may be the part of the package that attracted most attention but three other texts were unveiled on Thursday 8 June. Among these was a Commission working document on the continuity of the public service obligation in aviation. This non-binding text suggests measures to member states in the event of strikes by air personnel, and in particular air controllers. The text was welcomed by IACA and, through the association Airlines for Europe (A4E), by European airlines but the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) which represents the workers in the sector, was much more critical. It lambasts “this attempt to limit indirectly this fundamental right (the right to strike) guaranteed by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights”, adding: “we reserve the right to challenge them (the measures) at the European Court of Justice”. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)