§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Secretary of State for Transport what restrictions are proposed on the ownership of shares in the privatised British Airports Authority.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerA provision will be included in the articles of association of the privatised BAA restricting the shareholding of any individual, or of parties acting in concert, to 15 per cent. of the total issued share capital. The Secretary of State will retain a special share which will give him the right to veto any proposed change to this article.
598Wagreements between the United Kingdom and other European Economic Community member countries are compatible with the Treaty of Rome in the light of the recent judgment of the European Court in the Nouvelles Frontieres case.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerWe notified other member states in June 1984 that we would no longer require airlines to consult their competitors before submitting tariff proposals to us, even where the relevant air services agreement imposed such a requirement. To that extent we have anticipated the judgement. We are continuing our efforts to secure more liberal bilateral arrangements and, during our presidency of the EC council, will be giving high priority to securing an agreement to liberalise air transport in the Community.