EU Transport Ministers were rather open to the idea of taxing air transport to help fight climate change on Thursday 6 June in Luxembourg, but delegations' assessments differ on this issue.
“I do believe that reducing CO2 emissions requires efforts from all sectors, and aviation is no exception”, Transport Policy Commissioner Violeta Bulc said at a press conference to comment on the debate.
This is the third time that this idea that the aviation sector should contribute to the fight against climate change has been raised at the level of the Council of the European Union in recent months. This issue was discussed in February by the Finance Ministers (see EUROPE 12192/15) and in March by the Environment Ministers (see EUROPE 12208/8), with, in both cases, a small group of States at work, namely the Benelux States (Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands), France and Sweden.
This trend was apparently repeated at the Transport Ministers' meeting on 6 June. According to our information, the discussions were very general, with no proposals or initiatives currently on the table.
It should be noted that since the two EU Council meetings in February and March, a Commission study on the subject has been released by the NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) in mid-May (see EUROPE 12253/14), then published by the Commission on Thursday 6 June, thus providing a little more input for the debates. This study suggests that new or higher taxes “would generally have a negative impact on the aviation industry, but its impact on the overall employment within a Member State, on fiscal revenue and on GDP would be close to zero”.
Several options are reportedly to be considered for air transport to contribute to achieving the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement, such as a tax on kerosene, a tax on ticket and flight prices, and an increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT). This should take into account existing or future mechanisms, in particular the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and the CORSIA scheme through the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
During the discussions, it seemed that the national delegations were open, but to very different degrees. Thus, the Benelux States, France and Sweden were reportedly the most willing, while Cyprus apparently showed reluctance to raising ticket prices, due to the island's dependence on air transport. Several peripheral European states are also apparently concerned about the impact of measures on the competitiveness of the European economy. Germany and Spain also reportedly expressed reservations.
Again, the discussions were not intended to go into the details of any possible measures. The Commission's study “is really just an entry point for the next Commission to be able to act upon if they see there is a willingness within the Member States”, said Ms Bulc. The next European Commission’s potential initiatives could therefore allow for more in-depth discussions in the coming months or years.
A conference on this issue will also be held in The Hague (Netherlands) on 20 and 21 June. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau with Marion Fontana)