Brussels, 23/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission indicated in a press release that it has asked Switzerland to bring forward the application of the EU/Switzerland air transport agreement and has said that it will inform the Swiss authorities of its position on the aid Switzerland has provided for Swissair. The press release signals that in a telephone conversation with the President of Switzerland, Moritz Leuenberger, on Tuesday, the Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio informed him of her concerns regarding the aid for Swissair and Crossair since it could cause a seriously uneven playing field in European air transport.
On Monday evening, the Swiss government provided the Commission with information about the Swissair loan of 1 billion Swiss francs (EUR 67 million) approved by Switzerland's Federal Council that same day. The loan is intended to enable Swissair to keep 26 flights going until March 2002. The Swiss ambassador also provided information about the 2.74 billion Swiss franc recapitalisation plan (some 600 million Swiss francs (EUR 406.4 million) of which will be provided by the Swiss government).
In her telephone conversation with Moritz Leuenberger the Commissioner pointed out that the terms of the EC/Switzerland air transport agreement should be applied as from now, in line with the 1969 Vienna Convention on international treaties that stipulates that states signing an agreement have to abide by the spirit of the agreement in the run-up to its ratification. Four Member States (France, the Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium) still have to ratify the "free circulation of individuals" part of the eight sectoral agreements signed by the EU and Switzerland in 1999. In its press release, the Commission comments that Switzerland had requested and obtained earlier application of these agreements for road transport. The Commission asserts that President Leuenberger confirmed Switzerland's desire to abide by the legal framework governing relations between the European Union and Switzerland. The issue will be discussed by the Mixed Committee when it meets on 19 November in the framework of the implementation of the EC/Switzerland Free Trade Agreement of 1972. The Commissioner's spokesperson said that the Commission will analyse the Swiss aid in the light of the EU rules on aid for airlines and aid for restructuring to determine the criteria for accepting the aid and whether or not it constitutes state aid.