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Andrew

Anti-Stansted campaigners have recently set out their stall in response to the government's consultation exercise on airport expansion in the South East. Their case is well made at the local level. It is clear why people living near the airport fear its future development. The British Airports Authority (BAA) has already got planning permission to double passenger traffic at Stansted over the next decade. For a lovely part of Essex and Hertfordshire, this means, despite quieter and cleaner aeroplanes, more noise, more traffic and endless construction work. There are also fears about safety (remember the Korean plane that ended up in Hatfield Forest).

There are, however, wider complaints to be levelled at the government's air transport policy. Ministers are basing their case for very large-scale expansion of airport capacity in the South East on unsound predictions of exponential growth in passenger demand. In fact, however, air travel has its limits. KLM issued a profit warning last week, and British Airways published gloomy forecasts. Other European airlines are in a similar pickle. Sabena and Swiss Air have already collapsed. The only growth at the moment is in the cut-price business out of Stansted and Luton. But can this last?

The air transport strategy of the European Union is designed to slow up demand. We are insisting that polluters pay for their pollution. A fare of £3.50 from Stansted to Strasbourg does not respect that principle. Liberal Democrats support the introduction of duty on aircraft fuel in the EU: at the moment kerosene, unlike petrol and diesel, is tax free. European airlines say this would disadvantage them against their US rivals. But no aeroplane with a cargo can fly across the Atlantic twice without refuelling.

The EU will also insist on the application of its competition policy to the development of international hub airports. BAA is already in a hegemonic position in London. It should not be allowed a yet greater chunk of Europe's international market if it has an unfair advantage over its European competitors at Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Brussels and Paris.

The EU Commission is calling for a better use of existing airport capacity and a review of airport charges. This year there will be a revision of the slot allocation system in order to improve airport access and reduce environmental pollution. The EU already imposes restrictions on airport development in terms of air quality, noise and protection of nature. Its own priority for trans-European travel is high-speed trains (expected to arrive at Stratford and St Pancras in a few years time). The Stansted campaigners are not on their own.

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Andrew's work
in the European Parliament since 1999

Andrew is Vice-President of the European Parliament delegation to the Constitutional Convention on the Future of Europe.

Rights for EU citizens

Andrew drafted the Charter of Fundamental Rights which has strengthened the rights of all the citizens of the European Union.

Turkey

Andrew is working for improved links between the EU and Turkey, to encourage improvements in Turkey's human rights record and to enhance its democracy.

Andrew's campaigning in the East of England

Airport Expansion

Andrew has led calls for the Air Travel industry to be subjected to the same rigorous environmental criteria as other modes of transport