On Tuesday 7 February, the European Commission announced that it had approved a number of measures for the financing and privatisation of Lübeck Airport. This is a small regional airport in northern Germany, less than a hundred kilometres from Hamburg.
Following an in-depth investigation, the Commission concluded that the acquisition of most of the shares in this airport by the city of Lübeck from the investment company Infratil (New Zealand) was carried out on market terms and therefore involved no state aid.
As regards the financing measures in favour of Lübeck Airport, the Commission found that these were no longer caught under EU state aid rules, as the airport has ceased its main economic activity and no longer operates scheduled or charter flights.
The Commission also concluded that the de-icing charges and airport charges payable were applicable to all airlines using the airport and were therefore not selective and involved no state aid. This was confirmed by a judgement of the Court of Justice of the EU in December of last year, allowing the Commission to conclude its assessment. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)