Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/317Show full title

CHAPTER V FINANCING OF AIR NAVIGATION SERVICES, ESTABLISHMENT OF CHARGING ZONES, ESTABLISHMENT OF COST BASES FOR CHARGES AND TRANSPARENCY

Article 20 Principles for the financing of air navigation services

1. The determined costs of en route air navigation services shall be financed by en route charges imposed on airspace users and, where Article 25(3) applies, by other revenue as referred to in that Article.

2. The determined costs of terminal air navigation services shall be financed by terminal charges imposed on airspace users and, where Article 25(3) applies, by other revenue referred to in that Article.

3. Revenues derived from en route charges or terminal charges shall not be used to finance commercial activities of air navigation service providers.

Article 21 Establishment of charging zones

1. Member States shall, in the airspace under their responsibility where air navigation services are provided to airspace users, establish one or more charging zones for the purposes of incurring en route charges (‘en route charging zone’) and one or more charging zones for the purposes of incurring terminal charges (‘terminal charging zone’).

Member States shall consult the airspace users' representatives concerned prior to establishing or modifying those zones.

Member States shall notify the Commission, and the Central Route Charges Office (‘CRCO’) of Eurocontrol where applicable, about the establishment or modification of those charging zones, at least seven months before the start of the reference period.

2. Member States shall ensure that the geographical scope of charging zones is clearly defined. The charging zones shall be consistent with the provision of air navigation services, and may include services provided by an air navigation service provider established in another Member State in relation to cross-border airspace.

3. Where air traffic services related to the approach and departure of aircraft are provided jointly for a group of airports, Member States may establish a specific terminal charging zone within the terminal area concerned.

4. Where Member States decide to establish en route charging zones or terminal charging zones which extend across the airspace for which more than one Member State is responsible, or where Member States decide to establish a common charging zone, the Member States concerned shall ensure consistent and uniform application of this Regulation to the provision of air navigation services in the airspace concerned.

Member States shall, without delay, inform the Commission and the CRCO of Eurocontrol about any such decision.

5. Member States may modify or establish a new terminal charging zone during a reference period, provided that they:

(a) consult the airspace users' representatives and air navigation service providers concerned prior to the modification;

(b) notify, without undue delay, the Commission and the CRCO of Eurocontrol of the modification;

(c) provide the Commission, without undue delay, with all of the following:

(i)

the relevant cost and traffic data adequately reflecting the situation before and after the modification;

(ii)

the comments of airspace users' representatives and air navigation service providers consulted in accordance with point (a);

(iii)

an assessment of the expected impact of the modification on the achievement of the national performance targets or FAB performance targets in the key performance area of cost-efficiency and on performance monitoring;

(iv)

an update of the performance plan with the relevant data.

6. Member States shall not modify an en route charging zone during a reference period.

Article 22 Establishment of the cost base for charges

1. The cost base for en route and terminal charges shall consist of the determined costs related to the provision of air navigation services in the charging zone concerned.

Determined costs stemming from new ATM systems and major overhauls of existing ATM systems shall only be included in the cost base where those systems are consistent with the implementation of the European ATM Master Plan, and, in particular, with the common projects referred to in Article 15a(3) of Regulation (EC) No 550/2004.

Member States may decide to include in the cost base the following determined costs incurred in relation to the provision of air navigation services, in accordance with the second sentence of point (b) of Article 15(2) of Regulation (EC) No 550/2004:

(a) determined costs incurred by competent authorities;

(b) determined costs incurred by the qualified entities referred to in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 550/2004;

(c) determined costs stemming from the Eurocontrol International Convention relating to cooperation for the safety of air navigation of 13 December 1960 as last amended.

2. Without prejudice to Article 18, the determined costs included in the cost bases for en route and terminal charges shall be set prior to the start of each reference period as part of the performance plan in real terms and specified for each calendar year of that period in real terms and in nominal terms, with the exception of the determined costs referred to in the third subparagraph of paragraph 1 and the determined costs referred to in points (c) and (d) of paragraph 4, which shall be set in nominal terms where historical cost accounting is applied.

3. Determined costs included in the cost bases for en route and terminal charges shall be calculated in national currency. Where a common charging zone with a single unit rate has been established, the Member States concerned shall ensure conversion of determined costs into a single currency, which may be the euro or another national currency of one of the Member States concerned to ensure a transparent calculation of the single unit rate in application of Article 25(4).

4. The determined costs included in the cost bases for en route and terminal charges shall consist of:

(a) staff costs;

(b) operating costs other than staff costs;

(c) depreciation costs;

(d) cost of capital;

(e) exceptional costs;

As regards point (a), staff costs shall include gross remuneration, overtime payments, and employers' contributions to social security schemes, as well as pension costs and costs of other benefits. Pension costs shall be calculated using prudent assumptions based on the applicable pension scheme or on national law, as appropriate. Those assumptions shall be specified in the performance plan.

As regards point (b), operating costs other than staff costs shall include costs incurred for the purchase of goods and services used to provide air navigation services, including outsourced services, material, energy, utilities, rental of buildings, equipment and facilities, maintenance, insurance costs and travel expenses.

As regards point (c), depreciation costs shall include costs related to the total fixed assets in operation for the purpose of providing air navigation services. The value of fixed assets shall be depreciated in accordance with their expected operating life, using the straight-line method applied to the costs of the assets being depreciated. Historical or current cost accounting shall be applied for the calculation of the depreciation. The methodology used to calculate depreciation costs shall not be altered during the duration of the depreciation and shall be consistent with the cost of capital applied, that is to say nominal cost of capital for historical cost accounting and real cost of capital for current cost accounting. Where current cost accounting is applied, the cost of capital shall not include inflation and the equivalent historical cost accounting figures shall also be provided to allow for comparison and assessment.

As regards point (d), the cost of capital shall be equal to the product of the following elements:

(i)

the sum of the average net book value of fixed assets in operation or under construction and possible adjustments to total assets determined by the national supervisory authority and used by the air navigation service provider and of the average value of the net current assets, excluding interest-bearing accounts, that are required for the purposes of providing air navigation services;

(ii)

the weighted average of the interest rate on debts and of the return on equity. For air navigation service providers without any equity capital, the weighted average shall be calculated on the basis of a return applied to the difference between the total of the assets referred to in point (i) and the debts.

For the purpose of establishing the cost of capital, the factors to which weight is to be given shall be based on the proportion of financing through either debt or equity. The interest rate on debts shall be equal to the weighted average interest rate on debts of the air navigation service provider. The return on equity shall be that provided in the performance plan for the reference period and shall be based on the financial risk incurred by the air navigation service provider.

Where air navigation service providers incur costs from leasing fixed assets, those costs shall not be included in the calculation of cost of capital.

As regards point (e), exceptional costs shall consist of non-recurring costs relating to the provision of air navigation services, including any non-recoverable taxes and customs duties.

5. The determined costs shall be allocated in a transparent way to the charging zones in respect of which they are incurred. Determined costs that are incurred in respect of several charging zones shall be allocated in a proportional way, on the basis of a transparent methodology.

To this end, national supervisory authorities shall lay down, before the start of each reference period, the criteria used to allocate determined costs to charging zones, including in respect of points (b) and (c) of this paragraph, and the criteria to allocate the determined costs between en route and terminal services, and shall include this information in the performance plan in accordance with point 3.3(d) of Annex II.

The determined costs included in the cost bases for terminal charging zones shall cover the cost of the following services:

(a) aerodrome control services or aerodrome flight information services which include air traffic advisory services and alerting services;

(b) air traffic services related to the approach and departure of aircraft within a certain distance of an airport which shall be defined on the basis of operational requirements;

(c) the proportional part of the air navigation services common to en route and terminal services.

6. The determined costs incurred for flights exempted in accordance with Article 31(3) to (5) shall be composed of:

(a) the determined costs of exempted VFR flights, calculated through a marginal cost methodology;

(b) the determined costs of exempted IFR flights, calculated as the product of the following elements:

(i)

the determined costs incurred for IFR flights, which shall consist of the total determined costs less the determined costs of VFR flights;

(ii)

the ratio of the number of exempted service units to the total number of service units which shall consist of the service units in respect of IFR flights and, where they are not exempted, of VFR flights.

The determined costs of exempted VFR flights shall be separated from the determined costs incurred for IFR flights for the purpose of calculating the unit rate.

7. The national supervisory authorities shall verify, in respect of each charging zone, that the cost bases for en route and terminal charges comply with the requirements of Article 15(2) of Regulation (EC) No 550/2004 and with this Article. For this purpose, the national supervisory authorities shall examine the relevant accounting documents, including any asset book and other material relevant to the establishment of the cost base for charges.

Article 23 Actual costs

The provisions of Article 22 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the establishment of actual costs.

Article 24 Transparency of costs

1. Member States shall establish cost bases for charges for each charging zone in a transparent manner.

2. At the latest four months before the start of the reference period, Member States shall, in a coordinated manner, consult air navigation service providers, airspace users' representatives, and, where relevant, airport operators and airport coordinators on the intended establishment of the determined costs included in the cost base for en route and terminal charges, new and existing investments, service unit forecasts and charging policy for the reference period concerned.

Member States shall also do so during a reference period, where they intend to request a revision of performance targets in the key performance area of cost-efficiency in accordance with Article 18(1).

Member States shall provide the reporting tables and the information required in Annexes VII and IX to the entities invited to the consultation at least three weeks before the consultation.

3. During the reference period, Member States shall on an annual basis, in a coordinated manner, and in accordance with point 1 of Annex XII, consult air navigation service providers, airspace users' representatives, and, where relevant, airport operators and airport coordinators on the actual costs incurred during the previous year and the difference between the actual costs and the determined costs contained in the performance plan.

Member States shall provide the reporting table and information required in Annex VII to the entities invited to the consultation at least three weeks before the consultation.

4. Member States shall provide the information referred to in the last subparagraph of paragraphs 2 and 3 to the Commission at the date when it is provided to the consulted parties. Member States shall also inform the Commission about the outcome of the consultation.