newstodate.aero
Dec 09, 2013 (newstodate): The Latvian government is to provide further materials to the EU Commission currently investigating the issue of alleged unlawful state subsidies to the Latvian carrier airBaltic.
According to Latvian press reports, the unsolved case with the EU probe makes it difficult to attract foreign investors to take a stake in the carrier that is still 99.8 percent owned by the state.
In August 2012, the Latvian state launched a tender for attracting non-binding expressions of interest by November 1, 2012, for a stake of up to 50 percent minus one share.
Since then, the carrier has remained tight-lipped about what came out of the tender and with which parties it may have been negotiating.
But in November 2012, EU opened an in-depth investigation to verify whether various public support measures provided by Latvia in favour of airBaltic are in line with EU state aid rules.
If the result of the current investigation goes against the Latvian state, airBaltic may have to repay the loans in question amounting to some 57 mio Lats - an obligation little attractive to a potential new airline partner.
According to Latvian press reports, the unsolved case with the EU probe makes it difficult to attract foreign investors to take a stake in the carrier that is still 99.8 percent owned by the state.
In August 2012, the Latvian state launched a tender for attracting non-binding expressions of interest by November 1, 2012, for a stake of up to 50 percent minus one share.
Since then, the carrier has remained tight-lipped about what came out of the tender and with which parties it may have been negotiating.
But in November 2012, EU opened an in-depth investigation to verify whether various public support measures provided by Latvia in favour of airBaltic are in line with EU state aid rules.
If the result of the current investigation goes against the Latvian state, airBaltic may have to repay the loans in question amounting to some 57 mio Lats - an obligation little attractive to a potential new airline partner.