§ Lord Gainfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the outcome of the informal meeting of EC Transport Ministers on 27th September.
The Earl of CaithnessEC Transport Ministers met on the day before the September Transport Council at the request of the Presidency to hear presentation from the European airline associations. In the ministerial discussion which followed, we stressed that the success of British airlines was founded on commercial, private sector management and emphasis on the customer. We emphasised that there should be no going back on the liberalising third aviation package and that governments and the Community should limit themselves to areas where only they could take action, that the Community should tackle over-regulation and that urgent action should be taken on state aids and ground-handling monopolies. This was supported by much of the evidence given by the associations.
Given the informal nature of the meeting, no decisions were taken, but a useful discussion took place.