Case C-390/22, Obshtina Pomorie: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 25 January 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Okrazhen sad — Burgas — Bulgaria) — Obshtina Pomorie v ‘ANHIALO AVTO’ OOD (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Transport — Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 — Public passenger transport services by rail and by road — Public service contracts — Public service obligations — Public service compensation — Article 4(1)(b) — Mandatory content of public service contracts — Parameters for calculating public service compensation — Determination of prior, objective and transparent parameters — Absence of competitive tendering procedure — Application of the rules for calculating compensation contained in the annex to Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 — Conditions laid down by national legislation for the payment of compensation — Determination of the amount of compensation in the law approving the State budget for the year concerned and payment of that amount to the competent national authority — Setting parameters for calculating compensation by reference to general rules)
Date: 2024-01-25
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: State aid, financial aid, national budget, public transport, rail transport, road transport, services contract, services of general interest








C_202401824EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2024/1824


11.3.2024





Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 25 January 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Okrazhen sad — Burgas — Bulgaria) — Obshtina Pomorie v ‘ANHIALO AVTO’ OOD
(Case C-390/22, (1) Obshtina Pomorie)
(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Transport - Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 - Public passenger transport services by rail and by road - Public service contracts - Public service obligations - Public service compensation - Article 4(1)(b) - Mandatory content of public service contracts - Parameters for calculating public service compensation - Determination of prior, objective and transparent parameters - Absence of competitive tendering procedure - Application of the rules for calculating compensation contained in the annex to Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 - Conditions laid down by national legislation for the payment of compensation - Determination of the amount of compensation in the law approving the State budget for the year concerned and payment of that amount to the competent national authority - Setting parameters for calculating compensation by reference to general rules)
(C/2024/1824)
Language of the case: Bulgarian

Referring court

Okrazhen sad — Burgas

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Obshtina Pomorie

Defendant:
            ‘ANHIALO AVTO’ OOD

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on public passenger transport services by rail and by road and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) Nos 1191/69 and 1107/70
must be interpreted as precluding legislation of a Member State under which compensation paid by the competent authority to a public service operator in connection with the performance of a public service contract may be granted to that operator only if the funds corresponding to that compensation were provided for by the law on the budget of that Member State for the year in question and were paid to that authority.










2.


Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation No 1370/2007
must be interpreted as not precluding legislation of a Member State which allows the payment by the competent authority of compensation to a public service operator in the performance of a public service contract where the parameters on the basis of which that compensation is calculated are not laid down in that contract but are fixed in advance, in an objective and transparent manner, in general rules which determine the amount of that compensation.






(1)  
            OJ C 340, 5.9.2022.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/1824/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)