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EU accusation on engine purchases `unacceptable'

Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Ling-san (林陵三) yesterday rebutted the EU's allegation that the government had interfered with China Airlines' (CAL) aircraft engine procurement project.

"The EU allegation was unfounded and is unacceptable," Lin said in a meeting of the Legislative Yuan's Transportation Committee.

During the session, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Yu-ting (王昱婷) asked Lin to comment on a newspaper report that the EU had filed a complaint with the WTO alleging that authorities had meddled with CAL's recent engine deal.

Lin said that the government had no role in CAL's aircraft engine procurement.

"All of CAL's aircraft and engine procurement projects were decided by the carrier itself in terms of its best interests," he said.

CAL, the nation's largest air carrier, announced in August that it had decided to purchase engines from General Electric (GE) in the US instead of Rolls Royce in Britain -- an EU member. The decision caused a backlash from the EU, which accused the government of forcing CAL to buy engines from the US instead of EU countries.

However, CAL has on numerous occasions stated that its decision to purchase GE engines was based purely on commercial considerations.
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