Posted on 12/21/2011 10:19:38 AM PST by Olog-hai
Europe pledged Wednesday to press on with new charges for airline carbon emissions across its airspace as of January 1, after scoring a key victory over US rivals in the EU's top court.
The decision was welcomed as vindication by the European Union, which told US airlines to get ready to obey the law in the same way EU companies respect American regulations.
But it was not without collateral damage, with industry sources fearing a possible trade war after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned of reprisals ahead of the ruling.
A high-ranking source in the aviation sector told AFP that "the court's judgment risks unleashing a trade war between Europe and the United States."
The US government itself, while not a party to the court case brought by north American airlines and industry bodies, said it maintained "strong legal and policy objections."
The airlines had challenged an EU decision to include as of next year all carriers in a carbon trading system targeting heavy polluting industries as part of the EU's efforts against climate change.
US and Canadian carriers had argued that the decision was discriminatory and amounted to a backdoor tax.
But the European Court of Justice ruled that the EU's approach was "valid," and that it "infringes neither the principles of customary international law at issue nor the Open Skies Agreement" covering trans-Atlantic flights. …
(Excerpt) Read more at eubusiness.com ...
Gee Im sorry sir, we no longer fly to Europe.
More socialist insanity. Got a problem? Raise taxes.
They are incapable of learning from their own mistake: the EU.
Whole lot of money changing hands for no work being done.
Priced a ticket to Frankfurt, GE just yesterday. The ticket was about $550 - plus another $200 in taxes and fees. I wonder what that will go to with this stupid carbon tax?
On another note I read an article about buses making a comeback. They’re much nicer and offer wifi. Heck, I can sit on a bus for 24hrs and use wifi the whole way.
Orlando to Boston - $360 on Greyhound. Hell, I can fly for that much. Actually much less. I bought a RT ticket on Southwest from Orlando to New Hampshire for $135 three days ago.
Bad news for everybody. The EU seems determined to drag the entire world economy down the toilet in order to satisfy its own political purposes. It’s obvious that it’s now a malevolent force in world history.
Good. Maybe less of them will fly here now.
And just think! The EU is the same group of nations that wants us to bail them out again.
It won’t happen but I sure would like to see the airlines reduce the number of flights there or just stop flying to the EU as it is a waste of time and money.
not far from an airline tickets having as many fees as going on a cruise.
Did Algore come up with this brilliance?
I can only guess the “European vacations” will drop. We are holding on as is.
The only one’s going to Europe on vacation is the richy riches...i.e. MITTENS and his bff barry and family....ON OUR TAX DOLLARS!
More socialist insanity. Got a problem? Raise taxes.
Because a problem demands an answer and socialists are too dumb to think except to tax.
I’m betting that any US carriers based in Kalifornia or similar rat-run states will be forced to cave to EU demands or face punitive taxes/fees from their ‘green’, rat legistlators and environutter activists.
Wonder how they’ll handle it when Obama takes AF1, a pair of C-17’s and Marine One over to Europe for a ‘vacation’? Michelle and the Kids flying separately, as per usual?
Our only solution is to stop flying. If one must fly for business, it’s on their expense, not yours.
Hopefully business will see how screwed and being taken advantage of and perhaps....IN MY WILDEST DREAMS, keep jobs here in the USSA.
It’s at least a starting point.
I remember reading that their pensions are heavily invested in ‘green energy’.
Maybe that is why they can’t let it go.
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