Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-11-15-Speech-4-035"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20011115.2.4-035"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, briefly, on the subject of the discussion that we have just heard, I do not believe that anyone here, either the Council, or the Commission, or any one of us, has exclusive rights to indignation in the face of the social problems that are occurring now for each of these airlines, and perhaps for some of them more than others. I am particularly well-placed to know all about that.
I believe that this social crisis that is being experienced by a certain number of those who operate and work in the air transport sector is obviously a challenge to all of us. However, I also believe that, despite this challenge and the need to react to this problem, to follow the road that we took in the past, via massive state aid, would be to avoid or conceal a situation which was already in existence before 11 September. This is a fragile sector, in which the profit margins have been extremely low in recent years. Therefore, despite the indignation that we all feel in the face of the current social problem, I believe that to imagine that simply returning to massive structural aid will solve the problems in this sector would be to evade an obstacle which will confront us again later, in an even more dramatic form.
I really believe, on behalf of the Council, even though this debate has only just started in the Council, that it will not be easy, and what you have said today demonstrates that. We well know how much Member States are attached to their national airlines and how important that attachment is, and here I am speaking more on my own account than on behalf of the Council, where we shall soon have to start these discussions. We have made an immediate start by giving immediate and specific responses in this sector. Yes, there is aid in various forms. There are specific and targeted forms of aid with regard to the closure of airspace, and the possibility of providing even more, on the basis of objective criteria. There has been aid in connection with insurance facilities. There are other types of aid, not financial aid, regarding the problem of time slots, so as to enable the airlines to keep their heads above water, or at least not to sink any deeper. There have been responses. I also believe that what we have done regarding the matter of security is an immediate response concerning those elements which will restore passengers’ confidence in the safety and security aspects, which are obviously so essential if the public is to regain confidence.
I therefore believe that the responses which have been given by the Council and the Commission are immediate responses. It is true that the social crises which we are experiencing in various European airlines, and particularly in Belgium, and which also call for social responses involving taking these problems into consideration, should not cover up the urgent need to begin a debate, within the Council, on a more structural consolidation of the sector. This is without a doubt the only way of giving to this sector, in structural terms, not only the social responses which it needs, but also economic responses, and responses which will guarantee its long-term survival, not forgetting – as some of you have mentioned – the need for multi-mode transport systems, the need to place air transport too in the context of short-distance journeys at European level, the development of the high-speed train and any other alternatives which will enable us, in that context too, to provide responses at the level of a common transport policy. However, I really believe that a return to massive state aid would be a step in the wrong direction, a step backwards, and a step which would, above all, risk leading us, at a later date, into even more serious difficulties. By contrast, we have provided specific responses, and there are other responses to come: the security regulation, which I hope we shall be able to agree on on 7 December. I also hope that it will be possible for Parliament to contribute its views on this subject to the debate as well. There is still an enormous amount of work to do, but I really think that the time has come to begin these discussions on structural consolidation, in addition to the specific responses which have already been provided and which were necessary in the very short term."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples