Should airlines
be treated differently?
25. Airlines have been afforded special
treatment in the European Community's competition policy for historical
reasons. We believe that these reasons are just thathistoric.
While we fully recognise the importance of safety standards and
controls in the airline industry we believe that these should
not inhibit the creation of a more competitive airline industry
worldwide (paragraph 132).
26. Member States' governments are
as culpable, if not more so, than the Commission for playing politics
with airlines. Because the Commission would have to balance the
competitive needs of airlines from all 15 Member States in its
decision-making. It should not, therefore, have a relationship
with any particular airline (paragraph 133).
27. The real issue affecting airline
competition worldwide is the continuing existence of ownership
and control restrictions, particularly in the European Community
and the United States (paragraph 134). Removing these ownership
and control restrictions is a vital step towards achieving a truly
competitive global airline industry (paragraph 135).