WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3125/97 by Graham MATHER to the Commission. BA/AA merger
Date: 1997-10-13
Institutions: European Parliament, MATHER
Subjects: EU control, European Commission, United Kingdom, United States, air transport, civil aviation, competition law, merger

C 134/90

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

30. 4. 98

The relevant industry has already been contacted on the working document mentioned under point 2 and

3.
further consultations are foreseen.

4.
The  Commission  does  not  find  it  appropriate  to  finance  part  of  the  costs  for  the  authorisation  of  plant
protection  products.  The  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  measures  mentioned  in  the  reply  to  written
question  E-1761/97  can  contribute  to  an  easier  authorisation  of  plant  protection  products  containing
micro-organisms as far as it is demonstrated that the risks from use of such products are lower than those that can
generally be expected from chemical plant protection products.

(1)  OJ L 230, 19.8.1991.

(98/C 134/115)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3125/97

by Graham Mather (PPE) to the Commission

(13 October 1997)

Subject: BA/AA merger

British Airways has recently been extremely critical of the analysis carried out by the Commission regarding its
proposed  merger  with  American  Airlines.  Specifically,  questions  have  been  raised  over  the  issue  of  slot
allocation at Heathrow. Where the UK Office of Fair Trading proposed that BA should surrender 168 slots per
week, the Commission has proposed a figure of 358.

What methodology was followed by the Commission to arrive at this figure, and why is it so much greater than
the OFT figure?

Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission

(30 October 1997)

The Commission has conducted an analysis on the basis of Articles 85 and 86 of the EC Treaty and has arrived at
the preliminary view that the proposed alliance between British Airways and American Airlines raises serious
competition concerns.

The Honourable Member will appreciate that the Commission is not in a position to give details on a case that is
currently subject to scrutiny under the competition rules.

(98/C 134/116)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3126/97

by Gerardo Ferna·ndez-Albor (PPE) to the Commission

(13 October 1997)

Subject: Encouragement of youth exchanges between businesses in the various Member States

In  recent  years  there  has  been  a  significant  increase  in  youth  exchanges.  This  helps  young  people  to  gain
experience of the world outside their own countries.

However, it appears that the area which has been least explored is that of youth exchanges between businesses in
the various Member States. Such exchanges would enable young people to swap their usual job on a temporary
basis for another, similar one in some other Community country. The young people involved in such an exchange
would all benefit from the experience.

Could the Commission say what experience it has in this matter and what projects and other initiatives it intends
to  launch  in  order  to  encourage  young  people  to  exchange  jobs  with  a  view  to  gaining  experience  of  other
countries and other ways of working, with due regard to the legal provisions which would have to be coordinated
for the purpose?