UAE joins 25-country power group ready to impose sanctions on Europe in "unfair" tax retaliation

News of the coalition of nations preparing to fight the tax was described as “a bombshell” when it was revealed by Prashant Sukul, joint secretary of India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation at the World Route Development Forum in Berlin.

Speaking at the event’s Strategy Summit’s Sukul confirmed it is the first time multiple countries have banded together to fight the EU on emissions.

He warned that follow-up actions to the declaration could include sanctions against EU countries and carriers.

Sukul who organised a special summit with the USA in New Delhi last week said the joint declaration has “sharp teeth”.

He said: “If it falls on deaf ears, there are going to be serious economic consequences in Europe”.

Sukul said retaliatory measures could include reopening all aviation bilateral agreements with EU countries, a reduction in air service to/from the EU, and even implementing wide overfly zones across Europe. “There needs to be a wake-up call that growth is not happening in Europe,” he said.

He was quoted in Airline Business daily as saying “We have the economic power behind us,” naming China, the USA, Russia, Brazil, India, Japan and United Arab Emirates as being the countries behind the measure

The joint declaration urges the EU to “refrain from including flights by non-EU carriers to/from an airport in the territory of an EU Member State in its emissions trading system”.

The EU emissions programme will take effect in January.

At the same conference Olivier Jankovec, director general of the Airports Council International, Europe, said: “We risk having this escalate into a trade war between the EU and other regions.”   He told Airline Business Daily that EU politicians are “swimming in economic crisis” and that the industry “needs to engage the public on this issue”.

The group of 25 nations will meet again in November, possibly in Moscow, to decide if the next steps include retaliation.