1. Agenda Acrimony.
- Author
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Wall, Robert and Flottau, Jens
- Subjects
- *
AIRLINE industry , *TRANSPORTATION industry , *COMMERCIAL aeronautics , *AIRCRAFT fuels - Abstract
This article reports that tension is mounting between the European Commission and the management of European airlines about the direction Brussels, Belgium, is taking in regulating the sector. Airline representatives are concerned they are being saddled with billions of euros in additional yearly operating costs as they grapple with intense competition and high fuel costs. In the past two years, the commission has been gradually expanding its air transport agenda. But airline representatives appear increasingly unhappy with the situation and feel, to a large extent, they are being treated more harshly than other industrial sectors. Disagreements surround European Commission initiatives ranging from air passenger rights to emissions trading to dealings with countries outside the EU. In the latest sign of tension, Jacques Bankir, chairman of Air France subsidiary Regional and a board member of the European Regions Airline Association has sent a letter to EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot requesting that Brussels rewrite a 2001 white paper on European transport policy.
- Published
- 2005