Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-12-13-Speech-3-183"
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"en.20001213.7.3-183"2
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"Mr President, the taxation of aircraft fuel really does seem to be long overdue. There is absolutely no justification for imposing high taxes on all fuels except kerosene at a time when the volume of air traffic is rising sharply in terms of both cargo and passenger miles. This has been accompanied by a correspondingly sharp increase in emissions of greenhouse gases and noise levels. Fuel taxation serves several purposes. On the one hand, excise duties on fuel, like all taxes, help to finance national budgets. On the other hand, they also have a regulatory function in that they reduce fuel consumption and hence the depletion of carbonised energy resources and the emission of greenhouse gases.
These taxes therefore confront industry with a constant challenge to manufacture vehicles with lower fuel consumption. That is precisely what we want to see for aircraft too. So why should aircraft fuel not be taxed now, at long last? We are, after all, anxious to ensure that no mode of transport is treated unfairly. But the situation is not quite as straightforward as that. Air traffic covers greater distances than any other mode of transport. More significantly, aircraft fly across borders, including the borders of the European Union. Even now, without kerosene duty, the airports in the EU are locked in fierce competition. The main reason for this is the fact that different regions have different rules for night flying, a situation which affects cargo transport in particular. This puts enormous pressure on airlines to keep their prices down. If we were now to go it alone in Europe and tax aircraft fuel, European operators would scarcely be able to compete with airlines based outside Europe. We would destroy our own European market. So the taxation of kerosene is only possible on the basis of an international consensus if a level playing-field is to be guaranteed. This is what Europe must work towards, even though it will be a long and arduous process. Until this goal is achieved, there are certainly other means of regulating air traffic, such as emission-based take-off and landing fees at all European airports. That option would affect all airlines, European and non-European. It would not distort competition in any way."@en1
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