Brussels, 04/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has called on Belgium to notify it of the measures taken for supporting Sabena, placed under judicial administration after the defection of Swissair. The Belgian authorities announced that they were granting a bridging loan of EUR 125 million for one month in order to allow "the creation of a new Sabena", according to the expression used by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. On Thursday evening, the Commission sent a letter to the Belgian authorities calling on them to notify it of this aid and of the restructuring plan to accompany the aid, in order to examine it from the point of view of the guidelines on aid to company rescue (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.11). The Commission will then carry out examination of this bridging loan as swiftly as possible, but "all will depend on the quality of information provided by Belgium to justify the loan", said Gilles Gantelet, spokesperson for Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio, on Thursday. The Commission, moreover, is "concerned" about the aid of 450 million Swiss francs that the Swiss government is preparing to pay to Swissair. The Director General for Transport/Energy at the Commission, François Lamoureux, "summoned the Swiss Ambassador in Brussels on Thursday", said the spokesman, adding that, even if the EU/Switzerland agreement on air transport has not been ratified by several Member States, "Switzerland should be ready to provide information".
As it had announced earlier, the Commission should proceed, on 10 October, to a general examination of the situation of airline companies since the attack on the United States on 11 September from three angles and to present its "European Single Sky" proposal (see EUROPE of 27 September, p.9). The Commission envisages in this context to adopt "a Community framework of national measures that may be justified by the exceptional circumstances of the attacks and does not create discrimination between the different companies", announced the Commissioner in a press release. "It is still too early to envisage a Community plan for improving the sector as was the case for textiles and steel", said the spokesperson speaking before several journalists. He recalled that restructuring of the centre is the focus of the problem of the Open Skies Agreements concluded by nine Member States with the United States. These agreements prevent mergers between companies that would, in the case of acquisition, lose the rights that the Open Skies agreements confer upon the United States. During the general assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, that is to end of Friday, the United Kingdom presented a contribution calling for the international rules to be applied with flexibility "in order to facilitate all the crossborder mergers and acquisitions necessary for safeguarding the viability of the aeronautical industry during this crisis".