Brussels, 25/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 25 July, the European Commission ordered Ireland to ask for the repayment of State aid to airlines Ryanair, Aer Lingus and Aer Arann.
In 2009, Ireland brought in a tax on flights taking off from Irish airports. This tax was set at €2 for destinations up to 300 km from Dublin and €10 for all others. The Commission took the view that the reduced rate favoured internal flights and flights to the closest regions of the United Kingdom, thereby giving the airlines in question an economic advantage over their competitors and distorting competition on the single market. Ireland must recover this advantage from all airlines which benefited from it. Additionally, the Commission validated financial arrangements aiming to implement a strategy favouring low-cost airlines at the airport of Tampere-Pirkkala, in particular its agreement with Ryanair. As for the investment aid of €77.7 million granted to the Greek airport of Chania, the Commission felt that this was reasonable, as this airport makes Crete more accessible.
In the field of rail, the Commission authorised an Austrian aid regime with a budget of €1.118 billion over the period 2012-2017, designed to support goods transport by rail. (MD/transl.fl)