EBAA secretary-general Holger Krahmer has challenged Europe’s politicians to abandon a “business as usual” mentality to reviving the continent’s stagnant economy, arguing that they should embrace business aviation’s role in driving investment and growth. Speaking today at the Corporate Jet Investor conference in London, the former German politician and automotive industry lobbyist said the industry group is intently focused on building support among the European Parliament’s newly elected representatives to break a deadlock around a European Commission (EC) that he feels is inherently prejudiced against the industry.

The entrance to the conference was partly blocked by environmental protestors railing against private aviation. “The European Commission is driving a green agenda against business aviation anyway, so I feel like telling them, ‘Guys, you can go home, the Commission is already convinced and on your side,’” Krahmer said. “Growth needs business aviation, but the Commission won’t move.”

Among the most immediate examples of the EC’s efforts to inhibit business aviation are new rules penalizing operators that tanker fuel when operating in and out of European Union airports. But Krahmer warned that there is more turbulence to come as part of the so-called European Green Deal initiative, with the newly-appointed commissioners now looking to take action on emissions other than carbon dioxide (CO2).

Krahmer raised concern about possible action on contrails, even though the evidence around the environmental impact of these is contradictory. Meanwhile, the lawsuit that EBAA is jointly pursuing with Dassault and Daher against the EC over business aviation’s exclusion from the sustainability taxonomy is now being processed in the European Court of Justice. At stake is the industry’s ability to access funding to support sustainability initiatives, including the ability to finance new, cleaner aircraft.

Book-and-claim Report Pending

Following an initiative in the European Parliament, the EC has been forced to conduct a study to develop options for a book-and-claim program for sustainable aviation fuel. Krahmer told AIN that the EC has been reluctant to advance this approach and has delayed progress with the report, which will have to be published this year. However, he does not expect it to result in a workable policy.

As evidence of what he views as the EC’s flawed positions against business aviation, Krahmer said that during the European Business Aviation Summit, which EBAA hosted in December, one of the commission’s environmental policy officers acknowledged that the industry generates a tiny fraction of the emissions that come from cruise ships. “I doubt he would repeat that in a public discussion,” he said. “We need a more rational approach, and the only option we have is to fight for our right to operate and to defend our business model.”

Krahmer admitted frustration with the EC, not only for their apparent prejudice against EBAA member companies but also for their inertia in applying fresh thinking to policy initiatives. He pointed to the Oxford Economics report commissioned by EBAA and GAMA, which last week spelled out risks of Europe missing out on foreign investment and jobs without a freely functioning business aviation sector.

“We don’t create the proper environment for investments,” Krahmer said. “It’s on the table, but the EC and many of the member states are not ready to seize the opportunity.”

In his view, with Europe now facing new economic and political challenges from an aggressively “America First” Trump administration, the continent’s leaders need to take a new approach that may involve abandoning or compromising on some of its priorities. “[U.S.] tariffs are a worry, and it’s the obsession of a dealmaker to provoke the other side of the table with very harsh measures,” Krahmer concluded. “We need to learn how to deal. The European Union needs to learn how to define and defend its own interests rather than trying to save the world. There is too much moral content in legislation, and it’s not in our interests if the rest of the world isn’t doing it.”