Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 March 2004
188 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Transport his position on the European Commission decision on grant aid received by a company (details supplied) from the Government of Wallonia, Belgium, to fly to Charleroi Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6777/04]
View answerAs the Deputy will appreciate, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the specifics of the European Commission's recent decision in regard to Charleroi Airport in Belgium since the decision concerned a matter which was solely within the Commission's competence, related to another member state of the European Union and could well be appealed to the European Court of Justice.
I understand that the full text of the decision on the Charleroi case is not yet available but the main findings were summarised in a lengthy press statement by the Commission early last month. It seems clear from that statement that the decision relates only to the particular circumstances of the Charleroi case, albeit that, as such, it could have a precedent effect for other cases. The decision does not, however, set out more general ground rules or guidelines for State-owned airports on an EU-wide basis and I understand that the Commission may be giving consideration to such guidelines.
The member states and the Commission should now take this opportunity to reflect on how the right balance can be achieved between the needs of low cost airlines and the longer term needs of airports in the context of balanced regional development. In this regard, I intend to use the Irish Presidency to have a discussion about these important issues at the Transport Council meeting next week.
