Regulation (EU) 2017/352 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

CHAPTER III FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY AND AUTONOMY

Article 11 Transparency of financial relations

1. The financial relations between public authorities and a managing body of a port, or other entity that provides port services on its behalf, in receipt of public funds shall be reflected in a transparent way in the accounting system in order to clearly show the following:

(a) public funds made available directly by public authorities to the managing bodies of the port concerned;

(b) public funds made available by public authorities through the intermediary of public undertakings or public financial institutions; and

(c) the use for which those public funds have been attributed.

2. Where the managing body of a port in receipt of public funds provides port services or dredging itself, or another entity provides such services on its behalf, it shall keep the accounts for that publicly funded port service or dredging separate from those for its other activities in such a way that:

(a) all costs and revenues are correctly assigned or allocated on the basis of consistently applied and objectively justifiable cost accounting principles; and

(b) the cost accounting principles according to which separate accounts are maintained are clearly established.

3. The public funds referred to in paragraph 1 shall include share capital and quasi-capital funds, non-refundable grants, grants only refundable in certain circumstances, loans including overdrafts and advances on capital injections, guarantees given to the managing body of the port by public authorities and any other form of public financial support.

4. The managing body of the port, or other entity that provides port services on its behalf, shall keep the information concerning the financial relations as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 for five years from the end of the fiscal year to which the information refers.

5. The managing body of the port, or other entity that provides port services on its behalf, shall, in the event of a formal complaint and upon request, make available to the relevant authority in the Member State concerned the information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 and any additional information that it deems necessary in order to complete a thorough appraisal of the data submitted and to assess compliance with this Regulation in accordance with competition rules. Such information shall be made available to the Commission by the relevant authority upon request. The information shall be transmitted within three months from the date of the request.

6. Where the managing body of the port, or other entity that provides port services on its behalf, has not received public funds in previous accounting years but starts benefitting from public funds, it shall apply paragraphs 1 and 2 from the accounting year following the transfer of the public funds.

7. Where public funds are paid as compensation for a public service obligation, they shall be shown separately in the relevant accounts and may not be transferred to any other service or business activity.

8. Member States may decide that paragraph 2 of this Article shall not apply to those of their ports of the comprehensive network which do not meet the criteria set out in point (b) of Article 20(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 where this results in disproportionate administrative burdens, provided that any public funds received, and their use for providing port services, remain fully transparent in the accounting system. Member States shall inform the Commission in advance of such a decision.

Article 12 Port service charges

1. The charges for the services provided by an internal operator under a public service obligation, the charges for pilotage services that are not exposed to effective competition and the charges levied by providers of port services, referred to in point (b) of Article 6(1), shall be set in a transparent, objective and non-discriminatory way, and shall be proportionate to the cost of the service provided.

2. The payment of the port service charges may be integrated into other payments, such as the payment of the port infrastructure charges. In such a case, the provider of port services and, where appropriate, the managing body of the port shall make sure that the amount of the port service charge remains easily identifiable by the user of the port service.

3. The provider of port services shall, in the event of a formal complaint and upon request, make available to the relevant authority in the Member State concerned any relevant information on the elements that serve as the basis for determining the structure and the level of the port service charges that fall under paragraph 1.

Article 13 Port infrastructure charges

1. Member States shall ensure that a port infrastructure charge is levied. This shall not prevent providers of port services which are using the port infrastructure from levying port service charges.

2. The payment of the port infrastructure charges may be integrated into other payments, such as the payment of the port service charges. In such a case, the managing body of the port shall make sure that the amount of the port infrastructure charge remains easily identifiable by the user of the port infrastructure.

3. In order to contribute to an efficient infrastructure charging system, the structure and the level of port infrastructure charges shall be determined according to the port’s own commercial strategy and investment plans, and shall comply with competition rules. Where relevant, such charges shall also respect the general requirements set within the framework of the general ports policy of the Member State concerned.

4. Without prejudice to paragraph 3, port infrastructure charges may vary, in accordance with the port’s own economic strategy and its spatial planning policy, in relation to, inter alia, certain categories of users, or in order to promote a more efficient use of the port infrastructure, short sea shipping or a high environmental performance, energy efficiency or carbon efficiency of transport operations. The criteria for such a variation shall be transparent, objective and non-discriminatory, and shall be consistent with competition law, including rules on State aid. Port infrastructure charges may take into account external costs and may vary depending on commercial practices.

5. The managing body of the port, or the competent authority, shall ensure that port users and the representatives or associations of port users are informed about the nature and level of the port infrastructure charges. The managing body of the port, or the competent authority, shall ensure that users of the port infrastructure are informed of any changes in the nature or level of the port infrastructure charges at least two months in advance of the date on which those changes come into effect. The managing body of the port, or the competent authority, shall not be required to disclose differentiations in the charges that are the result of individual negotiations.

6. The managing body of the port shall, in the event of a formal complaint and upon request, make available to the relevant authority of the Member State concerned the information referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5, and any relevant information on the elements that serve as a basis for determining the structure and the level of the port infrastructure charges. That authority shall make the information available to the Commission upon request.