Revision of the General Block Exemption Regulation

25.4.2017

Question for written answer E-002900-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Knut Fleckenstein (S&D) , Gesine Meissner (ALDE) , Gabriele Preuß (S&D) , Ismail Ertug (S&D) , Markus Pieper (PPE)

The EU needs to have an efficient transport network so as to help ensure prosperity and cohesion in Europe.

The Commission is currently revising the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). The inclusion of ports is intended to reflect their strategic significance for the internal market and the public and private investment needed to expand EU transport infrastructure.

When the Ports Regulation was adopted, Germany, France, Belgium, Poland and Italy stated that revision of the GBER must not run counter to the compromises reached during the legislative procedure. A number of Member States and stakeholders have expressed concerns about, in particular, the planned provisions on investment in access infrastructure in the second draft of the GBER and the proposed accumulation rule in Article 56b(6) and (7).

The proposed provisions on the duration of concessions, rentals and leases that are not in line with Concessions Directive and the Ports Regulation have also been rejected.

How does the Commission intend to ensure consistency between the GBER and other relevant legislation?

How will it be ensured, with sufficient legal certainty, that the relevant state aid provisions will make the EU transport system very efficient and take account of Parliament’s and the Council’s decisions?