Nine member States of the European Union urged the European Commission to raise taxes on air transport, one of the most polluting modes of transport, in order to make it more environmentally friendly.
As EcoTourism Expert became aware, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark and Bulgaria have called on Brussels to submit proposals for new tax measures on civil air transport, which they consider to be insufficiently taxable in comparison with other modes of transport.
Netherlands as the initiator of the appeal warned that in case the European Commission does not propose a legislative solution, from 2021 Amsterdam will be forced to introduce its own tax on air transport.
Meanwhile, the introduction of a common tax by the European Union seems problematic to experts since decisions on taxes as such require the unanimity of all EU member states. Spain and Greece already expressed concerns that the new tax measure will lead to higher airfares.
The same opinion is shared by European tour operators, negatively assessing the initiative of the nine EU members.
According to the European Commission, aviation accounts for between 2% and 3% of global emissions of greenhouse gases, and this figure continues to rise.