French State aid to airline Amelia (Regourd Aviation) for Strasbourg connection

Question for written answer E-000854/2023
to the Commission
Rule 138
Paul Tang (S&D)

The European Green Deal is a major set of reforms that aims to make the EU economy modern, competitive and above all sustainable. One of its objectives is to promote sustainable travel. However, the Commission is undermining this by approving State aid from the French Government to Amelia airlines for flights between Strasbourg and Amsterdam.

These flights are not only harmful for the environment and the climate but also inefficient from an economic perspective. There are already ample alternative travel routes available between Strasbourg and Amsterdam, making State aid for a direct route redundant. Moreover, it is clear from casual observations that these flights are far from fully booked.

• 1.Will the Commission reiterate that, in the context of climate change, rail travel is the preferred mode of transportation?
• 2.Does the Commission recognise that these flights undermine the Green Deal objectives, and that for this reason alone it could and should reverse the decision to approve State aid?
• 3.Can the Commission provide either the data (such as the number of flights, the average number of passengers per flight and the subsidies both per flight and in total) that underpins the State aid decision or that is derived from the most recent flights between Strasbourg and Amsterdam?

Submitted: 13.3.2023