Brussels, 16/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - Switzerland has provided the European Commission with information about the downsizing of Swissair in what the Swiss ambassador to the EU, Dante Martinelli, described as an "informal" manner, in a "totally voluntary" fashion after the meeting of the EU/Switzerland Committee in Brussels on Thursday. Opening the meeting, Mr Martinelli said that although the June 1999 aviation agreement had not yet come into force and the EU is not a member of the European Union, it had kept the European Commission informed orally and in writing about developments at Swissair and the decisions that were taken concerning the airline and would continue to do so in the future. The EU delegation asked about the impact of the aid provided to Swissair in terms of inter-airline competition in Europe. Following complaints lodged by several airlines (including Lufthansa) the European Commission asked the Swiss authorities to investigate whether Swissair's cut in prices constitutes dumping. Dante Martinelli told journalists that they were aware of the problem, which is why the contract for disbursing the first tranche of aid (1 billion Swiss francs) includes a clause preventing Swissair from using the first tranche of aid to force prices down. The Swiss air authorities check prices on a daily basis and to date have not found any evidence of an uneven playing field, he said, adding that at this time of year, it is standard practice to have flight promotions. On Thursday, the Commission services sent the Swiss authorities a letter concerning a meeting of experts to discuss the issue, as was agreed at the Joint Committee.
The meeting also discussed the breakdown of road traffic after the Gotthard Tunnel incident. Mr Martinelli told journalists that the 4,500 lorries that used to drive through the Gotthard Tunnel every day now have to use the San Bernadino, Simplon and St Bernard Tunnels and called on EU lorry drivers to make use of the piggyback infrastructure. The Swiss President, Moritz Leuenberger, called on Transport Ministers in countries in the Alps to meet with Commissioner de Palacio at the end of the month to look at road traffic and tunnel safety.
At the Joint Committee meeting, the 46th since 1972, trade and customs issues were also discussed such as monitoring Swiss exports transiting through the EU; Italy's restrictions on the import of Swiss meat following the mad cow outbreak; authorisation to sell the Aproz mineral water in the EU; etc. another issue discussed, the new bilateral negotiations into the ten topics not touched upon in the first round of negotiations that came to a close in 1999. The second round of bilateral negotiations started in July 2001 into four areas where both sides already have negotiation mandates: combating fraud, processed agricultural products, statistics and the environment. Switzerland asked for details of the mandate and the status of the authorities that will be looking into the fight against fraud, and Mr Martinelli stressed that their starting point was that negotiations into the remaining 6 dossiers would start at the same time and that Switzerland was prepared to consider an "early harvest" as long as the 1999 agreements are implemented and negotiations into all the remaining areas be launched in a constructive fashion. France, Belgium and Ireland have yet to implement the 1999 agreements