Brussels, 22/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - On request from Germany, the European Commission reached the conclusion that the granting of an annual subsidy to the private operator of a swimming pool does not constitute State aid in the meaning of the EC Treaty. This type of subsidy must from now on no longer be notified.
Germany had notified the Commission of an annual subsidy of DEM 2 million paid to the swimming pool in order for it to statute on the fact of knowing if the project should or not be notified. It had asked the Commission to declare that this project does not constitute aid in the meaning of the Treaty. The case concerns the city of Dorsten (North Rhineland - Westphalia) which operates several deficit running public swimming pools. Taking into account the considerable spending it faces to renovate the swimming pools and to build a new one, it decided to entrust these investments, as well as the operating of the swimming pools, to a private company, through a public call for tenders throughout the EU. Among the numerous rights and duties, set by contract, between the city and operator, we find the obligation made by the latter to make the swimming pools freely available to schools and swimming clubs, and the obligation made by the city to pay, each year, the sum of DEM 2 million.
Taking into account the description of the project, the Commission put across the principal that the installations will by used by the inhabitants of the city and neighbouring communes. It feels that there is a significant difference between aid of this kind that are aimed at subsidising the development of large leisure parks that target the national market, or even international, and that are frequented by a clientele that does not only come only from the region in which these parks are located, but also from much further. If due to the fact of the nature itself of the parks, which are frequented by an international clientele, aid measures in the favours can probably undertake exchanges between Member States, the Commission feels that it is practically excluded in the case of this kind of swimming pool.