The organisations Greenpeace, Transport & Environment (T&E), and Carbon Market Watch published a document on Wednesday 22 April listing the financial aid allocated to airlines, which are currently experiencing major economic difficulties.
According to this document, which will be updated regularly, 3.6 billion euros have been allocated to European airlines since the beginning the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
"9.47 billion euros are under discussion for other companies", the NGOs said in a statement. Negotiations, they say, are still ongoing for some of Europe's largest airlines, including Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, British Airways and Alitalia.
The three environmental organisations authoring the document call on States to make their financial aid conditional on the adoption by airlines of green technologies and the introduction of new taxes as soon as possible (see EUROPE 12469/18).
"The aviation sector must start paying for the climate damage it causes," said Gilles Dufrasne, a member of Carbon Market Watch.
Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean opposed the introduction of such a measure, while the Commission's Executive Vice-President responsible for the Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, assured MEPs yesterday that "States are free to introduce conditions" to the granting of state aid (see EUROPE 12471/5).
Asked about this contradiction, Commission spokespersons said on Wednesday 22 April that it is indeed up to national governments to decide whether or not they wish to grant state aid with measures "in line with their policy objectives", such as digital or environmental transition.
To consult the funding monitoring document: https://bit.ly/2Vtiw81 (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)