The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) has joined Dassault Aviation in legal action against the EU Commission.
Dassault brought action against the commission on February 14, 2024, over the Delegated Act on EU Taxonomy which the EBBA describes as “unprecedented and discriminatory”.
According to the EU, the EU Taxonomy is a classification system that “helps direct investments to activities most needed for the transition to net zero and environmental sustainability”.
However, the EBAA claims that the “current Delegated Act explicitly excludes Business Aviation while including commercial aviation”, a decision the association views as “unprecedented and discriminatory”.
According to the EBAA, the exclusion hampers the “competitiveness” of European business aircraft manufacturers, operators, and the entire value chain in the sector.
The EBBA has expressed concerns that the EU Taxonomy framework will make more efficient and sustainable aircraft in the business aviation world less attractive for financing.
“The exclusion of Business Aviation from the EU Taxonomy framework is a significant oversight that fails to recognise the sector’s substantial contributions to sustainability and technological advancement,” Holger Krahmer, Secretary General of EBAA, said. “Furthermore, with reference to the EU Treaties, the EU Commission does not have the right to subject individual sectors to discrimination in a legal act without further justification. The Commission has carried out an arbitrary political act that must be urgently corrected.”
It is not the first time that the EBAA has fought against the exclusion of business aviation from the Taxonomy Delegated Act.
“Despite extensive efforts, including consultations and public participation, the Act was adopted with this exclusion,” the EBBA said in a statement on July 8, 2024.
In response, Dassault Aviation initiated an action for annulment, arguing, among other pleas, that the exclusion breaches the principle of equality.
On July 4, 2024, EBAA’s legal team lodged an intervention to support Dassault Aviation’s appeal.
“This legal step demonstrates EBAA’s commitment to safeguarding the competitiveness and future of European business aircraft manufacturers, operators, and the entire value chain within this vital industry,” the EBBA added.