The
European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) recently
deplores the vote in the plenary of the European Parliament to
support the proposed derogation from compliance with EU
Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for flights to and from
non-EU airports.
The
exemption of more than 80% of EU aviation emissions of CO2 from
inclusion in the EU ETS renders the inclusion of aviation totally
ineffective environmentally, yet imposes an unfair burden on intra-EU
operators and passengers.The derogation flies in the face of the CJEU ruling, rejecting the legal challenge to the inclusion of extra EU flights in EU ETS. The Advocate General’s opinion clearly rejected any exemption of flights to and from the EU on the grounds that this would be discriminatory, with “long-haulflights being treated more favourably than short- haul flights”.
ELFAA supported EU ETS subject to its environmental effectiveness and will now bring a formal legal challenge to the flawed derogation. Meanwhile we urge the European Council to reject this proposal which is environmentally ineffective, discriminatory and distortive of competition to the detriment of passengers travelling within the EU.
