The Government avoids the control of Brussels on Air Europa and Iberia | Airline News, rss1

The Spanish Government is using all the measures in its power to avoid the control of Brussels over the future of Air Europa and Iberia, which in the first case is conditioned to the public rescue and in the second to the permits to operate intra-European flights before Brexit (Brexit: Iberia and Vueling have their intra-European flights guaranteed for one year).

In the case of the Globalia airline, the Executive managed to remove the supervision of the European Commission by granting two loans of 240 and 235 million, and not a capital injection, so that the approval of the Community authorities to the rescue, whose approval is only necessary when aid exceeds 250 million.

Regarding Iberia and Vueling being able to continue operating intra-European flights after Brexit from 2022, the Government clings to the ambiguity of the language in the Christmas Eve agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU, whose key reference is “effective control”, a definition which they consider broad enough to defend their interests, although Brussels for months has insisted on asking for “honest” plans in this regard.

In October 2020 Adina Valean, Commissioner for Transport, even asked for “honest” plans to ensure that the rules were being met. “We are going to look very carefully and we would like to see compliance, not only in a nominal way but also in an effective way,” explained the Romanian commissioner, who with her words was mainly addressing IAG and AESA (IAG will change its structure in Spain and modifies its advice for Brexit).

The Spanish Government, however. It is showing significant difficulties in imposing its interests over those of Germany and France, now both shareholders of Lufthansa and Air France-KLM, and therefore not very in favor of strengthening its competitors, so that a complex negotiation is foreseen for this point crucial (Rescate Air Europa: Ryanair denounces a trick to avoid control of Brussels).

Likewise, Brussels must also give the go-ahead to the possible purchase of Air Europa by Iberia, through its Competition authorities, in an operation that would harm the two German and Franco-Dutch air giants, in favor of having a weaker rival to defend its ‘hubs’ in Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam.

The Government chaired by Pedro Sánchez, however, is at the moment ingeniously circumventing the spirit sought by European regulations on bailouts and on Brexit, although the consequence is that a legal dispute looms sponsored by rivals from Air Europa and Iberia such as Ryanair, for what they consider to be less common tricks in northern countries.

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