Considerations on COM(2002)110 - Protection against subsidisation and unfair pricing practices in the supply of airline services from countries not members of the EC - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2002)110 - Protection against subsidisation and unfair pricing practices in the supply of airline services from countries not members ... |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2002)110  |
| date | April 21, 2004 |
(2) Such unfair and discriminatory practices may result from subsidisation or other forms of aid granted by a government or regional body or other public organisation of a country not being a member of the Community or from certain pricing practices by a non-Community air carrier which benefit from non-commercial advantages.
(3) It is necessary to define the redressive measures to be taken against such unfair practices.
(4) Within the Community there are strict rules regarding the granting of State aid to air carriers, and for Community air carriers not to be placed at a competitive disadvantage and suffer injury there is a need for an instrument to offer protection against non-Community air carriers who are subsidised or receive other benefits from governments.
(5) This Regulation is not intended to replace air services agreements with third countries that can be used to deal effectively with practices covered by this Regulation; where a legal instrument exists at Member State level which would enable a satisfactory response to be made within a reasonable period of time, that instrument would take precedence over this Regulation for that period.
(6) The Community should be able to take action to redress such unfair practices resulting from subsidies granted by the government of a country which is not a member of the Community; the Community should also be able to address unfair pricing practices.
(7) It should be determined when a subsidy shall be deemed to exist and according to which principles it should be countervailable, in particular whether the subsidy has been targeted at certain enterprises or sectors or is contingent upon air service supply to third countries.
(8) In determining the existence of a subsidy, it is necessary to demonstrate that there has been a financial contribution by a government or regional body or other public organisation via a transfer of funds or that debts of any kind representing government revenue that are otherwise due are foregone or not collected, and that a benefit has thereby been conferred on the recipient enterprise.
(9) It should be determined when an unfair pricing practice shall be deemed to exist; an examination of the pricing practices of a third-country air carrier should be restricted to those limited number of cases where the air carrier is benefiting from a non-commercial advantage which cannot be clearly identified as a subsidy.
(10) It should be made clear that an unfair pricing practice can be deemed to exist only in cases where that practice is clearly distinguishable from normal competitive pricing practices; the Commission should develop a detailed methodology for determining the existence of unfair pricing practices.
(11) It is furthermore desirable to lay down clear and detailed guidance as to the factors which may be relevant for the determination of whether the subsidised or unfairly priced air services provided by non-Community air carriers have caused injury or are threatening to cause injury; in order to demonstrate that the pricing practices related to the supply of such air services cause injury to the Community industry, attention should be given to the effect of other factors, and consideration should be given to all relevant and known factors and economic indicators which have a bearing on the state of the industry, and in particular prevailing market conditions in the Community.
(12) It is essential to define the terms 'Community air carrier', 'Community industry', and 'like air service'.
(13) It is necessary to specify who may lodge a complaint and the information that such a complaint should contain; a complaint should be rejected where there is insufficient evidence of injury to proceed.
(14) It is desirable to lay down the procedure to be followed in the investigation of unfair practices by non-Community carriers; this procedure should be limited in time.
(15) It is necessary to lay down the manner in which interested parties should be given notice of the information which the authorities require; interested parties should have ample opportunity to present all relevant evidence and to defend their interests; it is also necessary to set out the rules and procedures to be followed during the investigation, in particular the rules whereby interested parties are to make themselves known, present their views and submit information within specified time limits, if such views and information are to be taken into account; whilst respecting commercial confidentiality, it is necessary to allow interested parties access to all information pertaining to the investigation which is relevant to the presentation of their case; it is necessary to provide that, where parties do not cooperate satisfactorily, other information may be used to establish findings and that such information may be less favourable to the parties than if they had cooperated.
(16) It is necessary to lay down the conditions under which provisional measures may be imposed; such measures may in all cases be imposed by the Commission only for a six-month period.
(17) An investigation or proceeding should be terminated whenever there is no need to impose measures, for example if the amount of subsidisation, the degree of unfair pricing or the injury is negligible; a proceeding should not be terminated unless the termination decision is accompanied by a statement of the reasons therefor; those measures should be less than the amount of countervailable subsidies or the degree of unfair pricing, if such lesser amount would remove the injury.
(18) It is necessary to provide that the level of measures should not exceed the value of subsidies or the non-commercial advantages granted as the case may be or the sum corresponding to the injury caused, where this is lower.
(19) It is necessary to provide that measures should remain in force only for as long as it is necessary to counteract the subsidies or unfair pricing practices causing injury.
(20) Preference should be given to duties when it comes to the imposition of measures; where duties prove not to be appropriate, other measures may be considered.
(21) It is necessary to specify procedures for the acceptance of undertakings eliminating or offsetting the countervailable subsidies or unfair pricing practices and the injury caused in lieu of the imposition of provisional or definitive measures; it is also appropriate to lay down the consequences of breach or withdrawal of undertakings.
(22) It is necessary to provide for review of the measures imposed in cases where sufficient evidence is submitted of changed circumstances.
(23) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(4).
(24) The form and level of measures and their enforcement should be set out in detail in a Regulation imposing these measures.
(25) It is necessary to ensure that any measures taken by virtue of this Regulation are in full accordance with the Community interest; the assessment of the Community interest involves the identification of any compelling reasons which would lead to the clear conclusion that the taking of measures would not be in the overall interest of the Community. Such compelling reasons could, for example, include cases where the disadvantage to consumers or other interested parties would be clearly disproportionate to any advantages given to the Community industry by the imposition of measures.
(26) Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the protection against subsidisation and unfair pricing practices causing injury to the Community air carriers in the supply of air services from countries not members of the European Community may well not be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.