That Was The Week That Was 08-12 February 2021
Let’s Play Spot The Questioner!
Every week, the Members of the European Parliament ask questions of the Commission, in writing, on notice. The Commission staff have a month to respond, also in writing. All this is on the public record, as it should be, in the name of transparency and good governance. It is, of course, perfectly appropriate that the executive branch be held to account and scrutiny by the elected branch.
The MEPs have a lot going on in their lives and in their electorates, but of course, they are keen to be seen by their voters as responsive to the issues that affect their area and their constituents. Indeed, what else can a backbench MEP do to be seen? Asking questions on the record shows they are in there trying. But, they cannot be expected to be across the minutia of their entire electorate.
Consequently, lobby groups have learnt that finding an MEP at a bit of a loose end or with unrequited ambition (not that hard a search) and feeding them with material for a well-placed question is a good way to get issues tabled and to get into the face of the relevant Commissioner and her staff. The questions come from specific MEPs, that part is not hard, but the real question is who, exactly, is feeding the data into the MEP to generate the questions?
So, this week, let’s play, Spot the Questioner!
Monday started with the tabling of a response from Executive Vice-President Vestager to question from Jörgen Warborn about why Swedish airlines are swimming in state aid, but Swedish airports are not. Warborn is from, oh yes, why, its Sweden! So, who might possibly be behind this one? We will never know.
Tuesday’s question is a bit harder, possibly. This was a question concerning European vaccine passports from Jordan Bardella, of France. Barbella is a member of the France’s National Rally – which you may have picked up from the quiet, dispassionate and not at all inflammatory way a question about the possibility of vaccine passports was couched in terms of ‘the trampling on the freewill of individuals’. The National Rally used to be the artist known as the National Front. Who might have been behind this? Either Marie Le Pen, or possibly, Emmanuel Macron.
Staying France, on Wednesday, Ryanair, never one to hide when there is a fight to be fought did not bother with a thinly-veiled ruse, it came right out, walked through the front door and told the world what it thought about the aid Air France was getting via the backdoor. You will no doubt be shocked, shocked that Air France is getting help from the French regulator with slot machinations and manipulations. What M Barbella might think has sadly not been recorded.
Thursday saw the industry gang together to announce, to much fanfare, its new sustainability target: carbon neutral by 2050. We will, of course, review this in detail in our Aviation Intelligence Reporter this month. Spoiler alert, it might help to re-read your copy of Alice in Wonderland. All that was done, albeit with a much better vocabulary than previously, was to announce new targets for what we used to call bio-fuels (yes, those very self-same bio-fuels that in 2009 ATAG told us would be 15% of all fuel used by oh, wait, 2020) and that between 2030 and 2050 the entire European fleet would be replaced by hydrogen propelled aircraft. Suffice it to say that if you owned a China shop, you would stay relaxed if the aviation industry bull walked in, because its ability to hit any targets would not be bothering you. However, we are playing Spot the Questioner, so the real question again is qui bono? Another tricky one…
Neatly bringing us back to Friday and a question from Elisabetta Gualmini, Paolo De Castro and Alessandra Moretti; all members of the Socialists and Democrats party, and yes, all from Italy. Their question concerned the dark red colour on the ECDC map of Covid-19 in Europe. Travellers from the dark red areas have to take a test before travelling. Guess which country was put into dark red?
The red that has been used, by the way, is somewhat like a very nice Barolo…