Vol. 513 No. 2
62 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the regulations, if any, at EU or national level which prohibits State capital investment in companies owned by the State, for example, the capital investment programme set out by Aer Rianta for Cork Airport; the difference between subventing or subsidising a State company which may be in breach of EU rules as a conventional shareholder; and the EU directive applicable in this case. [2116/00]
There is no specific statutory prohibition on the State investing in bodies in its ownership, including Aer Rianta. However, such investment must be in conformity with our obligations under the EU Treaties. In particular, Articles 81 to 89 of the Amsterdam Treaty deal with competition matters, State aid matters and issues related to public undertakings and undertakings to which a member state has granted special or exclusive rights. In considering such cases, the European Commission applies "the commercial investor principle" and their specific approval is required in advance. However, in the case of Aer Rianta's capital investment programme, funds are provided from Aer Rianta's own resources and the need for direct investment by the State does not, therefore, arise.
