Who wants the millions illegally paid to Ryanair during its presence in Montpellier ?
Un appareil de Ryanair, sur le tarmac de Montpellier-Méditerranée en 2015. Midi Libre – JEAN MICHEL MART
Un rapport définitif de la chambre régionale des comptes, sorti en février, invite les collectivités qui avaient « subventionné » la compagnie low-cost à demander la restitution de leurs aides considérées comme illégales par Bruxelles. 9,20 M€ sont en jeu.
It’s an old story that we almost ended up forgetting but which the Regional Chamber of Accounts has just unearthed. A case of public subsidies skillfully paid by local authorities to an association with the almost exclusive aim of subsidizing the arrival and then the maintenance of the low-cost Irish company Ryanair at Montpellier airport. nbsp;
A mechanism imagined in 2010 but interrupted in 2019, after the State alerted to the illegal nature of this aid with regard to European regulations. An analysis confirmed in August 2019 by a decision from the European Commission, submitted by Air France. "The commission concluded that the marketing contracts gave Ryanair an unfair and selective advantage over its competitors, that they amounted to illegal aid and incompatible under EU rules on ;rsquo;state aid" takes note of the investigation which recommends the restitution of the sums paid.
The association for the promotion of tourist and economic flows (APFTE), specially created to receive these funds and transfer them to Ryanair (and other companies) therefore requests reimbursement of the sums collected with late payment interest. In November 2019, 9.2 M€ are thus recovered but the company decides to file an appeal with the European Union court. It rendered its decision last June, unfavorable to Ryanair. For the Regional Chamber of Accounts, which looked into the activity of the APFTE from 2018 to 2021, "the decision of the court of the European Union having confirmed the illegal nature of the subsidies paid, the APFTE must organize the restitution of this sum to all the financiers"< /em>.
Other beneficiary companies
According to the statements of the regional chamber of accounts, nearly 80% of "subsidies" have been captured by Ryanair between 2014 and 2017. Three other companies were acquired by Ryanair between 2014 and 2017. beneficiaries of this system, KLM (subsidiary of Air-France) for 2014 and 2017 and its connection to Amsterdam, Alitalia (2014 market) and the rotation to Rome and, finally, Germanwings (2014 market) for its flights to Düsseldorf. According to the Accounts Chamber, "it’it is not possible to establish a correlation between the aid received by the airlines and the’& eac;traffic evolution". The magistrates believe that the cessation of aid "has été without impact on airport traffic.
Five local authorities and the CCI concerned
Five communities are affected by this possible reimbursement, the Region, the Department, the City and the Metropolis of Montpellier, the agglomeration community of Pays de l’Or, to which is added the Chamber of Commerce and industry. Even before last June's decision, the City and the Metropolis signed an agreement with the APFTE, to organize the return of nearly 3.50 million euros; in the coffers of the two communities last March.
However, and this is one of the subtleties of this case, the Irish company has decided to appeal to the European Court of Justice in order to challenge the decision of June… which is therefore not definitive. This uncertainty led the Department to wait for a final judgment before asking for its "due". Same caution on the part of the Region. "The Region therefore favors at this stage the solution of maintaining the disputed sum in the accounts of the APFTE which fully assumes the legal and accounting risk of reimbursement to Ryanair" wrote Carole Delga in her response letter to the Regional Chamber of Accounts. The amount at stake for the community, 2.6 M€, is considered "very low on the scale of the regional budget". For the Agglo du Pays de l’Or, the sum to be returned is estimated at 570,000 € and it is one million for the CCI.
In its final report, the CRC regrets that "the financing communities have perpetuated until 2018 a situation of which they have known for more than three years that it presented a strong risk of illegality both in form, due to the absence of notification, and in substance, as to the nature of the aid".
Jean-Yves Labbatut, president of the APFTE: “the restitution has been organized”
The president of the Association for the Promotion of Tourist and Economic Flows, Jean-Yves Labbatut responded to the observations of the Regional Chamber of Accounts. He particularly regrets in his letter that the report does not make the observation, " materialérially incontestable that the APFTE has well organized (on its own initiative and before the report) a system of restitution, legally guaranteeing the association in the event of annulment of the judgment by the CJEU" . As proof, he cites the agreement signed in 2022 with the City and the Metropolis to organize this early repayment. "The evolution of the decision-making practice of the Commission and European case law and the resulting uncertainty for public authorities does not can be attributed to the APFTE" is pursuing its manager. Jean-Yves Labbatut recalls that the structure had been created in 2010 with the support of the prefect of the time and state services to put itself in place compliance with European regulations. He further assures that the departure of Ryanair was a success. "problematic" for the airport and has been ; compensated by the arrival of two Transavia aircraft. The president of the APFTE ensures, finally, that the "economic relevance of the actions developed" by the structure wasé mentioned in "various studies carried out by the Region" .
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