Co-ordination of European air transport policies concerning North-Atlantic routes
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Text adopted by the Standing Committee acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 1 July 1981. See Doc. 4747, report of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
2. Reiterating the need for Council of Europe member states to strengthen their solidarity within the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) through a better co-ordination on questions of common interest in an open and innovative spirit for the benefit of the public, in particular as a more liberal approach to fares and air line routes ;
3. Considering that international air transport can only be organised in an equitable way as an international public service if flexible multilateral relations are maintained and developed, taking the interests of all nations affected into account ;
4. Deeply concerned that outright deregulation of air transport with regard to flights between Europe and the USA, as practised by the United States' Civil Aeronautics Board, has had a profound impact on Europe's air transport interests and contributed to a rapidly deteriorating financial climate in which the airlines in question have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in the last four years on their North Atlantic services ;
5. Noting the risk that such losses have to be met either by European taxpayers or by cross-subsidy from other air transport services, for example the intra-European network ;
6. Considering that this situation may lead to retaliatory or discriminatory attitudes and jeopardise current efforts in Europe, notably in ECAC and the European Communities, to achieve lower intra-European fares and a more competitive European air transport market ;
7. Noting the efforts made by ECAC to discuss with the Canadian and United States authorities possible forms of multilateral tariff co-ordination on the North Atlantic, allowing for a more stable regime, while maintaining a liberal approach to fares and entry on the market,
8. Is of the opinion that governments, in cooperation with the airlines concerned, should coordinate air fares multilaterally in such a way as to ensure sufficient tariff flexibility and transparency as well as competition among airlines to cater for the interests of the travelling public, while at the same time providing such stability and predictability as the air transport industry needs to maintain its viability ;
9. Stresses the need for the governments of the Council of Europe member states to agree to a common European policy on such tariff co-ordination, as well as on air fare transparency, and to support the efforts of ECAC in this direction.
