EBAA adds an expert Advocate in the EU/EP/EC Green Battle
the European Business Aviation Association EBAA recently issued its S.T.A.R.S. (Standards & Training for Aviation Responsibility and Sustainability) program (below) and announced that Holger Krahmer will be its new secretary-general. Their selection of the new leader of this association was wisely propitious. The S.T.A.R.S. initiative is nice but the pan European elected officials, the Eurocrats and the local political opinions dwarf the aggression of EBAA proposal.
EUROPE: The European Green Movement is as robust there as the environmentalists on the other continents. The Parliament in Strasbourg is heavily populated with members who find aviation and particularly business aviation antithetical to their Carbon agenda.
The EU taxonomy for sustainable activities, makes it clear that EBACE’s member flights have been targeted. Flight shame or flygskam actions have targeted their operations and even events
To this battle, EBAA brings a man who knows Strasbourg (he was a member there) and Brussels (he lobbied the Council for Opel and Mercedes-Benz). Here is a thorough review of Mr. Holger Krahmer ’s career:
“His tenure in the European Parliament, from 2004 to 2014, saw him FOCUS ON THE TRANSPORT SECTOR, driving the incorporation of airlines into the EU’s Emission Trading Scheme and the Single European Sky initiative.
Krahmer previously served as director of European Affairs for automotive manufacturer Opel/Groupe PSA. He also has served as the head group representative Office of Mercedes-Benz in Brussels. His professional roots are in the banking sector, where he worked for Commerzbank and Berliner Bank from 1990 to 2004…
“Being intimately familiar with the challenges of the European transportation sector and how the European institutions work,” Krahmer said. “I look forward to this exciting position and I am well aware of the huge tasks that lie ahead to ensure that Business Aviation will continue to thrive, connect regions and enable economic and societal development as well as serve as an incubator for innovations to the overall aviation industry.”
But another source provided deeper insights:
In Brussels, Krahmer had a reputation as a climate skeptic. In 2010, he published an FDP brochure in the European Parliament entitled “Inconvenient truths about climate policy and its scientific foundations”. Of the failed climate conference in Copenhagen, he wrote that “the end of climate hysteria has been heralded.” Two years later, he co-organized a conference of climate skeptics in Dresden with the call “Can we still be saved?”
The new EBAA White Knight knows the insides and outs of the governmental opposition and Mr. Krahmer may have some insights on how S.T.A.R.S. may be fortified.
NBAA Welcomes Holger Krahmer as EBAA Secretary-General
Contact: Dan Hubbard, 202-431-5970, dhubbard@nbaa.org
Washington, DC, Oct. 31, 2023 – National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen welcomes the appointment of Holger Krahmer as secretary-general of the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA). The EBAA today announced that Krahmer would fully assume the position starting Jan. 1, 2024.
“NBAA joins the rest of the aviation community in welcoming Holger Krahmer as EBAA secretary-general,” Bolen said. “Holger brings to the position a background in both government service and transportation-sector advocacy. His ability to leverage effective partnerships will serve the industry well, especially at a moment characterized by significant challenges and promising opportunities. We look forward to working with him and his team to advance our shared priorities in Europe and around the world.”
Krahmer succeeds previous EBAA Secretary-General Athar Husain Khan, who passed away earlier this year. In its announcement about Krahmer’s appointment, EBAA noted that his background includes SERVICE IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, FOLLOWED BY LEADERSHIP POSITIONS IN THE AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR INCLUDING OPEL/GROUPE PSA AND MERCEDES-BENZ. Previously, he worked in the banking sector, including positions with Commerzbank and Berliner Bank.
Since 2001, NBAA and EBAA have partnered each year in the production of the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland. The premier annual event for the European business aviation community, EBACE brings together professionals from all corners of the business aviation sector in Europe and from around the world.
The two associations have long collaborated on issues impacting the industry on both sides of the Atlantic, including those pertaining to safety, security, sustainability, workforce development and other concerns.
