Brussels, 17/02/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission is expected to adopt a communication on State aid in favour of services of general interest. The document presented by Competition Commissioner Mario Monti aims to give greater legal security to local authorities by clarifying conditions for granting "compensation" to companies for public service missions. Initiating consultation, it contains a draft decision allowing for aid for "small" public services and to hospitals to be exempted from the notification obligation, as well as a directive on aid to "large" public services.
The draft decision specifies conditions whereby compensation constitutes State aid and can be compatible with Article 86 of the Treaty. Minimal thresholds allowing for aid not to be notified would be fixed after consultation with Member States, the Parliament and interested parties. The document suggests that the amounts fixed for SMEs should be used as a basis: 1) EUR 40 million in turnover during two years preceding aid (50 million from 1 January 2005); and 2) aid not exceeding EUR 15 million. This decision would also apply to hospitals due to the "specific" nature of their task. Maritime transport to islands carrying fewer than 100,000 passengers annually ("small islands") would be covered at this stage of the discussion. Social housing could also be included.
A draft directive updates the 1980 text on transparency of financial relations between Member States and public enterprises. It sets out the conditions that allow for "compatible" aid to be defined, on the basis of the Altmark ruling of July 2003 (clarity of missions, transparency in calculating compensation, compensation restricted to the cost of carrying out public service obligations, and calculation on the basis of cost analysis for a well-managed average company).
During preliminary discussions, Loyola de Palacio insisted that aid to transport remains the responsibility of her services, and Frits Bolkestein recalled that the rules concerning the awarding of public contracts must be honoured.