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At the beginning of 2012 the European Commission, on the basis of its administrative practice and the substantial influence the Court of the EU’s case law, in particular the famous judgment in Altmark Trans, completed the drafting of a revised “package” concerning services of general economic interest. The new “package” consists of two soft law instruments (a Communication and a Framework), a Commission Decision, and a de minimis Regulation. In addition, Regulation 1370/2007 of 23 October 2007 on public passenger transport services by rail and by road is also of key importance to the transport sector. This Regulation implements the provision of Article 93 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which represents lex specialis with regard to Article 106(2) TFEU, laying down the rules applicable to fees payable for the performance of public services in the land transport sector, while its application on passenger transport by inland waters remains a discretionary right of the member states. The Regulation also provides for an exemption from the registration, pursuant to Article 108(3) TFEU, of any fee paid in the inland transport sector meeting the requirements set out in the Regulation, so that it actually serves as a Regulation for an across-the-board exemption of aids for the inland transport sector. As for the maritime and air transport sector, such an across-the-board exemption is provided for by the aforementioned Commission Decision provided that the fees payable for these services are harmonised with both the special regulations for air transport and maritime cabotage, where applicable, and with Article 106(2) TFEU, provided that they are within the limits based on the average annual number of passengers, seeing as this calculation more precisely reflects economic reality of these activities and their significance as services of general economic interest.
The presentation will explain that fees for services of general economic interest in the transport sector may involve permitted state aids or fees which, provided that criteria from Altmark are met, will not even be considered as state aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the TFEU, which has significant implications in terms of procedure.
We will also discuss the existing frameworks for fees for services of general economic interest in Croatia, such as the fees for Croatia Airlines, Rijeka and Osijek airports, the Act on Liner Shipping and Occasional Coastal Maritime Traffic, etc.
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