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France, Germany favour EU tax on jet fuel

BRUSSELS: France and Germany renewed support on Monday for taxing jet fuel but Spain and Ireland declared hostility, a European Commission source said.

The Commisison has made a new call for changes in legislation which bans taxing kerosene at a meeting of European Union finance ministers. The changes, which require unanimous support, would be part of a broad energy tax. "A number of member states intervened on both sides. Germany and France were supportive, Spain was hostile, Ireland was hostile, and the Netherlands suggested that a tax on aviation ...should be looked at in a broader context in terms of all taxes," the source said.

The source said the issue would now be discussed at the level of ambassadors, adding that Monday's debate did not go into great detail and no definitive position was agreed.

Current EU legislation on excise duties does not allow for taxation of kerosene.

The Commission, under pressure from the bloc's environmental lobbies and international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is still pushing the idea of an optional tax on jet fuel used for domestic and intra-EU flights.-Reuters