Mr. Flaherty is only able to be with us for approximately 15 minutes. He will have introductory remarks and then we will proceed with Patrick Halley, Chief, Tariffs and Market Access; Dean Beyea, Director, International Trade Policy; and Jim Haley, General Director, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, who are here and will carry on after the minister finds it necessary to leave.

Patrick Halley, Chief, Tariffs and Market Access, International Trade Policy Division, International Trade & Finance;

Due to current demand uncertainty regarding the provision of very high-speed broadband services it is important in order to promote efficient investment and innovation, in accordance with Article 8(5)(d) of Directive 2002/21/EC, to allow those operators investing in NGA networks a certain degree of pricing flexibility to test price points and conduct appropriate penetration pricing.

Appearing as witnesses from the Department of Finance are Dean Beyea, senior chief, international trade, policy division, international trade and finance branch; and Maxime Lavoie, international economist, tariffs and market access, international trade policy division.

The EU is not a great user of tariff escalation, ie does not have a tariff structure that is very progressive.

According to the parties, the object of the cooperation is twofold: firstly, to enhance the two airlines' European and worldwide networks and, secondly, to carry out a plan for reducing their costs. The economic significance of the arrangement is considerable. In terms of passenger-kilometres within Europe, Lufthansa and SAS are respectively the second and third largest European airlines. Their cooperation agreement will thus have the effect of restricting competition significantly, particularly on routes between Scandinavia and Germany. However, account must also be taken of the positive aspects of the agreement, which must be seen in t ...[+++]he light of the restructuring of European air transport. The alliance between the two airlines will give them a much more efficient worldwide network, enabling them to stand up more effectively to competition from other airlines, notably non-European airlines.