Vol. 544 No. 3
212 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she will make arrangements for a subvention to the Aer Lingus pension fund along the same lines as was made in accordance with EU rules by another airline as detailed in her reply to Parliamentary Question No. 205 of 13 November 2001. [28869/01]
As I advised in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 205 of 13 November, in 1995 the European Commission investigated plans by the German Government to contribute to pension funds concerning Lufthansa employees as part of the company's privatisation programme. The measures were linked to Lufthansa's withdrawal from a supplementary pension fund managed by the VBL, Versorgungsanstalt des Bundes und der Laender, to which as a public company it had been obliged to belong but as a private company was obliged to leave. This proposal was challenged by the European Commission for its compatibility with State aid rules. The Commission decided not to raise any objections on the basis that a private investor in the same position as the German Government would probably have acted in the same way and the injection was, therefore, found to be compatible with State aid rules.
Deputies are already aware from my recent statements to the House that the European Commission in all recent contacts have been unyielding in their view that a State injection of funds into Aer Lingus in whatever form would be in breach of the State aid rules. Furthermore, any proposal such as a subvention to the Aer Lingus pension fund would require to be notified to the Commission under Article 88 (3) of the Treaty. The resultant examination by the Commission could take a minimum of 12 months, with no certainty of approval at the end of the process. Unfortunately, I do not have the luxury of such a timeframe while attempting to ensure the survival of Aer Lingus.
Notwithstanding this position, my officials are reviewing all competition and state aid rules in consultation with the Attorney General's office and other experts. I welcome the fact that Aer Lingus has been in a position to announce a voluntary early retirement programme within the resources available to them.
