Two more SGEI compesation cases for airports cleared by the European Commission
Introduction In Bornholm Airport [1] and Sumburgh Airport [2] , the European Commission has declared the PSO compensation granted, respectively, by the Danish and the Scottish authorities to the Bornholm Airport and the Sumburgh Airport to be compatible with the internal market. The Commission held that the national authorities had correctly qualified the aided airports as a genuine service of general economic interest (SGEI). And the public financial support granted to the airports met the compatibility conditions laid down by the SGEI Framework for the application of the SGEI exception in Article 106(2) TFEU. The facts of the case The Bornholm Airport is a small regional airport in the Danish island of Bornholm. Since 2014 an SGEI was entrusted to the airport by a contract concluded between the manager of the airport and the Danish authorities (the Entrustment Act). In 2016 the length of the entrustment was prolonged until 2020. The entrusted public tasks consisted of