Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-07-07-Speech-1-112"
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"en.20080707.17.1-112"2
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"Madam President, for some years now the market for the manufacture of large aircraft has been virtually bipolar. Airbus and Boeing rule the roost. For the last two years, though, we have been witnessing an investigation by the World Trade Organisation into the EU-US dispute over subsidies to these two heavyweight concerns. What is at stake here is a lot of money, and also – perhaps more importantly – ambitions to be leader in the field of state-of-the-art technology.
The United States is accusing Airbus of enjoying the advantage of large subsidies and beneficial credits from EU Member State governments. Meanwhile, from the European side, we also hear serious reservations regarding the vast amount of state aid given to Boeing in the form of tax breaks provided by the states of Illinois, Kansas and Washington, as well as aid from the army and NASA within the framework of public procurement.
We fear a Pyrrhic victory in this dispute. Both companies benefit from state aid of a debatable legitimacy. Let us not forget, however, that they are the world’s only manufacturers of large passenger aircraft. They compete with each other, but they must also cooperate if they are to make use of the best solutions in their designs and technologies. All this has to be to the benefit of passengers.
It seems to me that what is needed here is more partnership and amicable negotiations, as there is room for both Airbus and Boeing in the world market. According to my calculations, over 15 years the world will require some 36 000 modern, safe civil aircraft. Perhaps 1 500 of these will be of the large type. It is hard to say for sure who will come out on top, Boeing or Airbus, but let us also bear in mind that Russia is starting to feature in this market, and Russia too practises government subvention."@en1
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