The European Commission (EC) has opened dialogue with the Macedonian government over its controversial airline subsidization scheme.
The government signed a three-year deal with Wizz Air (W6, Budapest) back in 2013 wherein it pledged to allocate the Hungarian LCC MKD306 million denar (EUR5 million) in annual subsidies in return for its use of Skopje airport as a base.
The agreement, however, did not bode well with other regional airports, Pristina in particular. The Kosova gateway called on Brussels to investigate the arrangement claiming Skopje's actions distorted the regional Balkan market.
Last week, an EC spokesman confirmed that Brussels had raised the issued with the Macedonian authorities. While the former Yugoslav republic is not a member of the European Union, it is part of the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) which is governed by EC regulations.
"We are aware of concerns raised about financial incentive schemes granted by the government in Skopje since 2012 to airlines willing to serve the airport," Jacob Adamowicz was quoted by The Macedonian Independent in Brussels on Thursday. "Now we are in contact with competent authorities in Skopje and we are gathering information to further examine the matter, maybe just to put this issue of fair and transparent market conditions in context."
In its defense, the Macedonian Ministry for Transport and Communication has said in the past that its incentives policy has been carefully vetted for compliance with EC rules and regulations governing state aid and support.
