Where do we go from here?
So, how do we incentivise EU co-operation. There are several grounds upon which this is unacceptable to us - not just EI specifically, but the fact that this effectively amounts to the imposition of a competitive disadvantage. The article refers to the Netherlands, but the Netherlands has Open Skies and although the EU took action against most other countries which have O/S, they didn't do anything to force them to backtrack. Now, despite the fact that we have the most insanely anti-competitive bilateral with the US, the EU seems to be forcing us to maintain it in place, DESPITE the fact that the issue holding up EU/US negotiations has nothing to do with Ireland (foreign ownership of US carriers).
Is the govt going to take this lying done? More than likely, yes, BUT we still have not seen the US proposls on foreign o/ship, so maybe these will be acceptable to the EU (although the real question is whether they're acceptable to Congress). If, after they are released, we still cannot get increased US access, the govt will have to assess its options:
- On environmental grounds: the govt has been ticked off by the EU about its failure to reduce CO2 emissions and yet, here is another part of the commission insisting that we maintain in place THE most environmentally unfriendly use of a large aircraft.
The joker card has to be the Constitution, if all else fails. If this is the way the Commission seeks to treat our interests, notwithstanding the fact that changing the regulations would have absolutely no effect on the EU/US negotiations, then we need to rattle sabres on this front; at the very least, the govt should insist that a provision should be included in any new EU constitution that no EU institution can impose a competitive disadvantage on any other members state. If the EU wants its constitution passed, it can start living in the real world; what Ireland is asking for is completely reasonable and doesn't post a competitive disadvantage to any other country.