19/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - Intra-European passenger transport experienced growth of 5.6% in the first half of 2005, compared to just 4.8% in the first half of 2004, but progress in terms of competitiveness has been undermined by the increase in oil prices. Against this backdrop, at its General Assembly in Sweden, ERA (European Regions Airline Association) reaffirmed its opposition to the proposal to include air transport in the system of trading in greenhouse gas emissions quotas and to plans to impose taxes on airline tickets to help pay for development aid. In the view of Mike Ambrose, Director General of ERA, the debts of the developing countries is a matter for the international community, and not for one industry in particular. As for the environment and consumer protection, the President of ERA, Antonis Simigdalas, called upon the Commissioners in charge of the Environment, Stavros Dimas, and Health and Consumer Protection, Markos Kyprianou, to examine ERA's proposals for an alternative to the White Paper on transport policy ("A vision for European Air Transport" can be found at http://www.eraa.org/issues/erapositionpapers.php )