The Dutch government has put together an informal nine-country coalition to lobby the EU Commission for a new European aviation tax to help cut CO2 emissions – in a move which will be hugely unpopular with airlines.
The Netherlands has been joined by Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg and Bulgaria in supporting the new tax on the basis that air travel – unlike travel by road or rail – has no tax on fuel, although it generates about 2.5 per cent of emissions globally.
The initial response from Brussels has been positive. Commissioner Frans Timmermans, a former Dutch foreign minister now responsible for EU environmental policy – the European Green Deal – said he considered the principle that the polluter pays “to be both fair and efficient”.
Read more at: Irish Times
