Brussels, 24/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 24 March, the European Commission announced that it had opened an in-depth investigation into two measures granted to the French advertising company JC Decaux by the authorities in Brussels.
The first measure concerns the exploitation of a number of advertising panels in the centre of Brussels. Between 1984 and 1999, JC Decaux had been operating the advertising panels in exchange for providing the City with public furniture (litter bins, maps etc), on the basis of a commercial contract with the City of Brussels. In 1999, JC Decaux signed a subsequent contract providing for new panels to be installed and a monthly rent to be paid to the City. The old panels had to be removed progressively before the end of 2010, but JC Decaux continued to make commercial use of a number of these old panels after that time, without paying any rent or tax. The Commission has concerns that this may have given the company an unfair advantage over its competitors.
The second part of the investigation concerns the Villo bicycle rental system in the Region of Brussels. The Region defined Villo as Service of General Economic Interest (SGEI) and granted JC Decaux an exclusive concession for performing this service in 2008, following a tender procedure. This system is funded by payments from users and the exploitation of the advertising panels linked to the bike stops. In addition, the Region granted JC Decaux certain rent and tax exemptions. The Commission is not challenging the definition of Villo as a public service or the fact that JC Decaux receives compensation for performing this public service in line with the requirements of the concession. However, the Commission has concerns that the additional rent and tax advantages granted to JC Decaux after the tender was closed could result in overcompensation for the company, in breach of the common rules on the provision of SGEIs. The Commission opened its investigation following a complaint by a competitor of JC Decaux, Clear Channel Belgium. (Élodie Lamer)