Nine Member States – the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Sweden – are calling on the European Commission to propose “a European initiative on civil aviation pricing”, in a joint statement adopted on Thursday 7 November.
Noting that air transport is “the source of about 2.5% of global CO2 emissions and generates nuisances such as noise and air pollution”, these countries call for “aviation taxation or similar policies” that also take into account national policies, the competitiveness of the sectors concerned, as well as the geographical distribution of transport infrastructure in the Member States.
To justify their initiative, originally launched by the Netherlands (see EUROPE 12255/16, 12328/9), the nine Member States argue that, compared to other modes of transport, civil aviation is not sufficiently priced (exemption from excise duties, exemption from VAT for international flights). As a result, “the price of air tickets for international flights does not sufficiently reflect the average cost of CO2 emissions and negative externalities of air transport”, they point out.
See the statement (in French): http://bit.ly/2PWJdzn (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)