JUSTIN WASTNAGE / BRATISLAVA
Czech flag carrier CSA and Slovakian start-up SkyEurope are protesting against a proposed import tax on non-European Union (EU) aircraft. The Slovak government and its neighbour the Czech Republic have come under pressure from the European Commission (EC) to reimpose a 5% import tariff to show its "good faith" ahead of accession to the EU. The EC says: "We are not pressuring them...we are requesting them to reapply their tariff."
The proposed tariff, which was abolished in 2001, is illegal under World Trade Organisation laws, as it would give European manufacturers an unfair advantage. Both countries will have to join the WTO when they join the EU in 2004-05, meaning that the tariff would only last a couple of years. SkyEurope, in "advanced negotiations" for two more turboprops and one Boeing 737-300, says its plans would be "severely affected".
Source: Flight International
