WRITTEN QUESTION E-0578/00 by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Taxing aviation kerosene.
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(2001/C 26 E/080) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0578/00 by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission (29 February 2000) Subject: Taxing aviation kerosene I refer to my Question E-2169/99 (1) and the answer in which the Commission supports the principle of taxing aviation kerosene but ascribes the absence of taxation today to the international legal situation. 26. 1. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 26 E/65 Should we not be seeking to have the Chicago Convention, which dates back to the first half of the last century, revised in this respect? In the meantime, flights within Europe should be classified as internal flights and the proceeds of a kerosene tax used to fund environmental projects. Is the Commission contemplating bold action along these lines? (1) OJ C 225 E, 8. 8. 2000, p. 63. Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission (2 May 2000) The conclusions of the Commission in respect of a comprehensive study on the impact of the imposition of excise duties on kerosene have recently been presented in the communication on air transport and the environment (1) and the communication on taxation of aircraft fuel (2). The Commission will include the views of the Parliament on these two documents when developing further policies in this field. There may well be a need for modernising the basic international law on aviation (Chicago convention) but this is a much broader issue and taxation is not really an issue in this context. It is important to recognise that the Chicago convention itself does not pose the major concern regarding taxation of fuel used in international aviation. Current legal constraints stem from standard clauses in bilateral air services agreements concluded between signatory states of the Chicago conventions which are based on a decision by the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) that fuel for use in international air transport shall be exempted from taxation. The communication on air transport and environment as well as the communication on taxation of aircraft fuel contain a detailed assessment of the impact of imposition of excise duties on aviation fuel for intra-Community flights operated by Community air carriers. (1) COM(1999) 640 final. (2) COM(2000) 110 final. (2001/C 26 E/081) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0584/00 by Mark Watts (PSE) to the Commission (29 February 2000) Subject: European sustainable transport policy How can the Commission continue to actively support the Council of Ministers in setting up a strategy for further integration and reinforcing the integration of environmental issues into transport systems? Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission (14 April 2000) The European Council in Helsinki approved the conclusions of the Transport Council of October 1999, according to which the Commission must come up with a global strategy by June 2001 to integrate the environment and sustainable mobility into transport policy and implement the appropriate measures