The EU Commission has released a report on the
implementation of Directive
2009/12/EC on airport charges. The report evaluates the Directive as to its
impact on consultation of airport users by airport managers, transparency and
non-discrimination of the charges imposed, the role of the established
Independent Supervisory Authorities (ISAs) in each Member State, and the
flexibility to impose differentiated services on airport users. The report
concludes that the Directive has brought about improvements, yet further steps
should be taken, for its implementation varies not only among Member States but
also among different airports of the same Member State.
Consultation of airport users, i.e. mainly airlines,
has improved, yet problems remain in some Member States regarding the time
given to the airlines to submit their opinion, especially with regard to
charges for prefinancing future infrastructure.
As to transparency, in most Member States no detailed
cost data are made available. The Commission considers that in such cases a greater
degree of supervision from the ISAs may be necessary.
Complains have also been expressed concerning the modulation
in charges applied by the airports, which in the opinion of the airlines result
in discriminations. Such complains focus on modulations that have the form of
incentives schemes, i.e. charges designed to increase traffic in airports. To mitigate
the problem, the Commission proposes greater transparency and sharing of experiences
among Member States.
Regarding the ISAs, airlines are satisfied with the
establishment of a complaint procedure, yet they would welcome the establishment
of also concrete deadlines for the complaint submission, to increase legal
certainty and facilitate investments in infrastructure. On the other hand,
airlines have expressed their concerns as to the factual independence of the
ISAs in some States combined with the fact that many airports are either State
owned or State controlled. Another issue of concern was the insufficient
technical expertise and the resources made available to the ISAs by the Member
States.
Problems in the implementation of the Directive have
been identified also regarding the differentiation of charges according to the
services offered.
In sum, the Commission is not dissatisfied with the impementation
of the Directive. Nevertheless, it will keep monitoring it, not excluding a
possible revision in the future. In the meantime, a forum of ISAs has been set
up, to exchange experiences, identify best practices and facilitate
coordination. Its first meeting will take place in Thessaloniki, Greece, on 13
June 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment