“more support, less burden”

“Future revisions to EU guidelines on state aid for regional airports must not block economic development,” Assembly of European Regions’ (AER) secretary general Klaus Klipp said today at an AER conference hosted by the Valencia (E) representation office in Brussels.

“A region’s economic competitiveness improves with its greater accessibility, which is why airports are important regional assets. The European Commission must ensure that its revisions to the guidelines support, rather than hinder, the development of such assets with a minimum of administrative burdens,” Mr. Klipp added.
 
AER’s conference examined the implications for regional airports, low fare airlines and regional authorities of upcoming revisions to the EU’s “Community guidelines on financing of airports and start-up aid to airlines departing from regional airports”. Regional airports from across Europe presented their experiences of the current guidelines (adopted in 2005), including examples of good practices and ongoing challenges.
 
One of the speakers at the conference and minister of transport for the region of Flevoland (NL), Harry Dijksma, drew attention to the importance of the EU regulations in the long term: “By 2020 more than half of all passengers travelling in Europe will be using low-cost airlines, so regional authorities and airports having to adjust to these developments will require EU regulations that strike a balance between market protection and market freedom.”
 
Juan Manuel Revuelta, director general of the Valencian regional office in Brussels, stressed the “paramount importance that the debate on regional airports and state aids mean to the Valencian region”. The Valencian region, which already receives more than 15 million arrivals yearly through the airports of Valencia and Alicante, has planned a new airport in the province of Castellón to channel important passengers and freight flows in the area.
 
The conclusions of AER’s conference will be included in a position paper to be published ahead of the EC’s revisions to the state aid guidelines.

Last Updated: 09-09-2009 10:43:35 By Katherine Hitchcock