EU set to spend €5M more on private jets than it did in 2021

BRUSSELS ― The EU is planning to spend as much as €16 million over the next four years to fly its top officials by private jet, according to a tender document.

This is an increase of €3 million from the previous four-year period and is 50 percent higher than the period before that, which ended in 2021.

“In a time where ordinary people can’t afford traveling during their summer holidays, this sends a very weird signal,” said Green MEP Rasmus Andresen. It’s “embarrassing,” and “doesn’t fit” the EU’s climate goals.

The contract, whose buyers are named as the European Commission, Parliament, Council and the European External Action Service, is described as being “fully or partially financed with EU funds.”

For the highest officials within these institutions, international travel is a key part of their role as they hold discussions with foreign leaders and make speeches around the world. But while the EU prioritizes commercial transport, the Commission said, sometimes it deems that impossible or too dangerous ― especially when staff travel to conflict zones.

No company has yet been awarded the contract for “non-scheduled air-taxi transport services” worth €15.67 million despite it being out for tender for more than a year. The four-year contract from 2021 amounted to just over €12 million.

That previous agreement, which was due to expire at the end of 2025, has been extended until June while the tender procedure continues, the Commission said.

The increase in the estimated cost takes into account “the broader geopolitical context and increased volatility in international affairs, which may generate more short-notice travel needs,” a Commission spokesperson said.

Market developments, including “higher aircraft charter rates and fuel costs,” have also been factored into the projections, the spokesperson said.

“It is important to stress that charter air taxi services are not the primary means of transport,” adding that they’re used “only when scheduled commercial flights are incompatible with official agendas or when urgent, unforeseen political developments require rapid travel or when this is necessary for security reasons.”

The EU already stumped up extra cash for private jet use in 2021, with the previous contract — which ran from 2016 to 2021 — set €10.71 million as the maximum value that could be spent on private jets.

At the time, the Commission said the rise was down to a potential increase in demand, largely because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Prices in the eurozone have risen roughly 30 percent between 2016 and 2026.

“If the Commission is serious about its leadership on climate change, it should start by leading by example, closing the tax loopholes that allow the most polluting form of flying to remain one of the least regulated, and it certainly should not increase its own use of private jets,” said Diane Vitry, aviation director at the NGO Transport and Environment.

Private jets polluted “five to 14 times more than commercial flights and 50 times more than trains per passenger,” she said.

In its response, the Commission said that increased private jet spending was not a row-back of its climate ambitions and that it retained its commitment “to be a front runner in the transition towards a climate-neutral society.”

EU officials have faced criticism for their use of private jets in the past. The bloc’s joint presidents used one to fly to U.N. climate talks in Egypt in 2023, according to data seen by POLITICO that revealed heavy use of private flights by the then-Council President Charles Michel.

The EU’s commitment to tackling climate change is being questioned by NGOs which criticize the bloc for prioritizing competitiveness and red-tape cutting. A key piece of climate legislation, the EU’s tough rules on car emissions, has been watered down in recent weeks.

“Increasing spending on private jets for top officials in times of financial constraints and climate crisis is not only scandalous but also irresponsible,” said Green MEP Tilly Metz.

“Sustainable forms of traveling such as high-speed trains are available and must become the rule also for EU’s political elite,” she added. “For overseas travel commercial flights can easily be used, no need for PJs!”

Max Griera contributed reporting.