Brussels, 21/02/2014 (Agence Europe) -The new guidelines issued to the member states for airports and airlines has failed to capture the heart of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), which flags up its lack of flexibility for regional airports. Its voice is a dissonant one, with the regions, airports and MEP Franck Proust (EPP, France) having given their seal of approval to the fact that airports dealing with 700,000 passengers a year will be eligible (see EUROPE 11023).
The consultative body points out that, in an opinion on the issue which was adopted in November of last year, it recommended that public support for infrastructure or development work should not be considered state aid, even in airports. The Committee of the Regions also laments the fact that the transitional period of 10 years to achieve financial autonomy will be applied to all categories of airports. Regional airports should have been treated as special cases and continued to benefit from subsidies beyond that period. “Regions and cities need the ability to mobilise adequate public funding. The revised guidelines seriously lack the much-needed flexibility”, concludes Catiuscia Marini (PES, Italy), the author of the opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the issue. (MD/transl.fl)