Symposium: "The financing of airport infrastructure: European Commission decision-making principles and practices"
Lectures on the evolution of European case law concerning the financing of airport infrastructure and the diversification of funding for airport managers.
In recent years, the European Commission has revised its position on public funding of airport infrastructure.
There was a time when such facilities could be financed entirely by public funds without any regulatory constraint.
However, since the adoption of the guidelines on the financing of airports in 2005, member states must respect the private investor principle: the airport manager must finance the planned investments from his own resources or must pay rent covering the economic value of the infrastructure made available to him. One notable exception to this principle: costs related to areas dedicated to public service missions. Otherwise, any support provided to the manager must be approved beforehand by the European Commission.
In addition to the presentation of the guidelines on airport financing, the symposium will review the decisions taken by the European Commission in order to deduce the principles applied to airport infrastructure funding. A review of Commission case law will also be made on this occasion and the lessons to be drawn from this will be clarified by specialists in the field.
The issue of the airport managers' need to diversify sources of finance will also be discussed. The airports of Liège and Charleroi will be highlighted as examples.
Registration by invitation only
Press accreditation: see press contact
