UNITED NATIONS, June 3: A group of 14 nations, led by France, announced a new mechanism on Friday to provide a greater access to drugs, funded by a tax on airline tickets that is expected to raise $258.3 million a year.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and his Brazilian counterpart, Celso Amorin, were at UN headquarters in New York to announce the ‘ tax, dubbed solidarity levy.

Sponsors of the initiative, in the pipeline for three years, said the airline industry benefits most from globalisation, with an average growth of five per cent, and had a key obligation to redistribute the benefits of globalisation.

France has voluntarily imposed an economy class levy ranging from one euro — about $1.30 — in Europe to four euros for longer flights. For first and business class, the fee is 10 euros in Europe and 40 euros elsewhere.

The US opposes the tax, but 14 countries, including Brazil, France, Norway and Britain, have pledged to implement it.

Starting on July 1, France will collect the fee from all flights entering or leaving France.

“Every person in the world who can afford to buy an air ticket can afford this very mild, minimum-level tax upon it,” said Erik Solheim, Norway’s minister for International Development.