The European Commission should address the issue of alleged subsidies to Arabian Gulf airlines in talks with their governments as European airlines continue to complain about unfair competition from their GCC rivals, the German transport minister said yesterday.
Germany and France have asked the European Commission to take up bilateral negotiations with Gulf countries on any future aviation agreements rather than allowing individual European states to sign deals, said Alexander Dobrindt, Germany’s minister of transport and digital infrastructure.
"It is now the responsibility of the commission of the European Union in negotiations with the Gulf countries to clarify these [subsidies] issues," he told The National at a transport forum in Leipzig, Germany.
Air France-KLM and Germany's Lufthansa in December wrote a letter to the EU transport commissioner to address alleged government aid to Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. Gulf airlines have vehemently denied taking any subsidies.
“What has been spelt out on a European level is that there is a strong interest in fair competition, and this fair competition means that opportunities of Gulf airlines and European airlines need to be distributed evenly,” said Mr Dobrindt, describing the talks between EU and Gulf states as “complicated”.
The European Commission said in March it would address French and German concerns over what they regard as unfair subsidies to Gulf carriers when it proposes a commercial aviation agreement with the region later this year.
However, Germany is also holding talks with the UAE over aviation issues, including codeshare agreements, which affect Germany's second-biggest carrier, airberlin, in which Etihad has a 29 per cent stake.
“We are holding talks with the UAE at the working level, and up to now there has been no results of these talks,” said Mr Dobrindt.
“The talks are on our bilateral aviation agreement and all the agreements that exist right now. This will also include the codeshare issue with airberlin.”
dalsaadi@thenational.ae
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Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
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Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
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Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Jos Buttler, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaheen Afridi